After COVID-19 passes, we must keep making personal protective equipment in America
If we have learned anything from the COVID-19 crisis, it must be that America can no longer abrogate the production of personal protective equipment to China or any other foreign manufacturer. The only way to assure our first responders’ and healthcare frontline workers’ safety is to have a plentiful supply of PPE stored and ready to be deployed on a moment’s notice.
This story is personal to me. Only seven months ago we transitioned a portion of our manufacturing from non-woven fabric for the automotive and bedding industries to a line of PPE fabric. Today, we produce 4 million yards of PPE material each month. We currently we have no intention of switching back.
I started in this business straight out of college; my father was in the apparel industry and my grandfather before him. I remember the days of garment racks being pushed down the streets of New York