'Protect the protectors': West Palm companies supply gear to first responders
Just over the bridge from Palm Beach, Cathie Nash and her husband, Robert Barnard, work to ensure that the town's police and fire-rescue departments have the equipment they need.
Nash, a Miami native, owns and operates Blue Line Innovations, a West Palm Beach-based company that supplies first responders, military and security personnel with uniforms and equipment.
Barnard, who is originally from Houston, runs Covert Armor, an 8-year-old, West Palm Beach-based business that designs, manufactures and distributes personal protective equipment such as body armor, helmets and shields.
Blue Line is one of Covert Armor's many domestic distributors, and the Wellington couple work closely to provide equipment and uniforms to public safety units throughout Palm Beach County.
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The town began working with Blue Line in 2019.
"Cathie and her crew have consistently treated the town’s Police Department as a priority, even throughout their growth and added work with larger agencies," department spokesman Capt. Will Rothrock said. "That is a testament to their commitment to service."
Though Blue Line works with numerous public safety agencies in Palm Beach County, Nash said she is fond of Palm Beach Police.
Officers regularly visit her store at 1101 Clare Ave. to get measured for uniforms and other protective equipment.
"I love the town," said Nash, who founded her company as a mobile business in 2010 and opened her West Palm Beach store six years later. "They are one of my easiest departments to work with. They're organized. They know what they want. It's very simple, and I love that about them."
Nash had little background in law enforcement until she began doing accounting work for businesses that distributed public safety equipment.
Barnard, however, grew up around law enforcement.
"I started my company in 2014, but I've been in the industry for 30 years," he said. "My entire family is law enforcement — city and federal. It just was a natural fit. I decided to protect the protectors."
Blue Line and Covert Armor manufacture and distribute protective equipment for public safety officials, but not weapons or ammunition, Nash said.
Her company's goal is to make officers and other security officials as comfortable and protected as possible when they're on the job.
"It's gratifying to know that we're doing our part as best as we can," she said. "These officers deal with a lot day to day. We do whatever we can to make that a little less burdensome."
Barnard said he and Nash enjoy their work, and they've grown close to the public safety officials who wear their uniforms and armor.
In addition to Palm Beach, they work with local public safety departments in Boynton Beach, Lantana and Palm Springs. Blue Line also provides uniforms and equipment to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Motorcycle Unit.
"I love the people in our business that we deal with," Barnard said. "It's the reason why I stuck with it for so long."
Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: West Palm company supplies protective gear to local first responders
