McIlvaine Coronavirus Market Ale

Shawmut and Fallon Launch Protex N95 Masks

Hudson Valley Mask Producing Double Filter Masks

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Since the beginning of the pandemic, 3M has played a critical role in the global response to COVID-19, and as economies reopen, 3M is helping businesses return to work. Today, the company is launching the 3M™ Clean & Protect Certified Badge Program, a new comprehensive system for cleaning, monitoring and protecting facilities.

There is a cautious optimism in the air as the world emerges from this global pandemic," said Greg Brown, facility care business director for 3M Commercial Solutions Division. "By providing our customers with the tools, products and training needed to reopen, the Clean & Protect Program not only provides facility teams with the ability to help create a safer work environment but also helps give their guests more confidence in the health and safety of the facility."

The 3M^TM Clean & Protect Certified Badge Program was designed to provide facility management teams with effective cleaning and disinfecting solutions and training to allow for a safer return to normal activities and operations. Although teams are working hard behind the scenes to reopen safely, being able to provide a visual cue that illustrates their commitment to clean is important. The program includes four components to promote cleanliness, confidence and compliance in facilities.

With the reduction of pandemic restrictions, there is a palpable excitement about returning to normal activities like dining out, traveling, attending events and learning and working in person. However, even as the pandemic slows, guests and employees may still have fears about the cleanliness of public spaces.

"As we all do our part to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and prepare to resurrect a new normal, putting the proper tools, products and training in place now will help reduce financial and operational burdens in the future," adds Brown. "Showing your employees and customers that you care about their health and safety by earning a 3M Clean & Protect Certified Badge, will help you to reopen – and stay open – with confidence."

Recently, researchers at the University of Bristol and the University of Exeter found that infection with B.1.1.7, a strain of SARS-CoV-2 that first surfaced in the U.K. in October, is associated with a higher risk of death than infection with other previously known strains of the virus.

Designated a “variant of concern” by Public Health England in December, B.1.1.7 has already spread to more than 50 countries around the world, including the United States and Canada, and has even emerged as the dominant strain of the novel coronavirus in some regions.

In the U.K., it now accounts for three-quarters of all infections; in Florida, more than half, according to Robert Challen, PhD, a postdoctoral research associate in the department of mathematics at the University of Exeter and a lead author of the study; in Connecticut, more than a quarter. What’s more, it shows no signs of slowing down.

Thus far, doctors and scientists have tentatively attributed some of B.1.1.7's early success to one or more genetic mutations that enhance the ability of the virus’ spike proteins to bind to host cell receptors. Most likely thanks to these mutations, B.1.1.7 is more easily transmitted than earlier strains.

But Challen’s work suggests it may also be more lethal. The March study was published in The British Medical Journal.

“The increase in transmissibility and in severity means more caution is required, and in the face of a wave of new variant infections, public health bodies should be prepared to act quicker to prevent hospitals being overrun,” says Challen.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers Sunday seized 136 boxes of counterfeit medical masks at O’Hare International Airport after they noticed the masks were giving off a “chemical smell” and their boxes had grammatical errors, officials said.

The phony masks arrived from Colombia in South America and were similar to 3M N95 masks with a 3M trademark, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection news release.

Officers seized 65,280 masks. If the masks had been real, because of supply and demand, they would have had a domestic value of over $401,000, according to the release. All the masks were destined for a company in Virginia, according to the release.

Experts say that, when properly ventilated, outdoor structures can be a reduced-risk dining option.

Ventilation and contactless service help reduce the risk of dining out in indoor structures, like these domes at Rising Tide. Photo courtesy of Rising Tide Brewing Co.

The outdoor dining structures, like tents, shacks and plastic domes, that have popped up at restaurants and breweries during the pandemic have been mocked on social media and criticized as hypocritical: So it’s OK to eat inside, as long as it’s outside, their skeptics question.

But the structures, when used properly, can be safer than eating inside a restaurant, experts say. The amount of risk varies depending on the setup and the practices of the businesses and diners themselves.

“There is no restaurant dining experience that is completely safe right now,” said Dr. Michele Polacsek, who responded to questions via email with input from fellow University of New England public health professor Jennifer Gunderman.

Aside from avoiding eateries altogether, dining outside in the open air is best, they said. But domes, wooden shacks, tents and greenhouses can be reduced-risk options – the safest being properly maintained structures that hold only one party, which consists only of people who live together.

“They keep people safe who are in their bubble system. I think they are a great option; they provide people a safer way of eating out. They just need to be managed in a way that prevents exposure (to) the subsequent parties,” said Christine G. Crocker, executive director of the Maine Indoor Air Quality Council.

Crocker said the smaller, single-party structures can be adequately ventilated by allowing stale air out and fresh air in for 15 minutes between parties. Contactless service, in which customers place and receive orders without the server entering the structure, also reduces risk, Polacsek said.

That’s how it’s done at Rising Tide Brewing Co. in Portland, which has domes for individual parties. Reservations are spaced out by 15 minutes to give “5 minutes for the (dome) to air out after the party leaves, (about) 5 minutes for our staff to sanitize, (about) 5 minutes for it to air out again before the next party,” said Kailey Partin, Rising Tide’s director of branding and hospitality.

Servers do not enter the domes but instead place all food and drink on a barrel that is located outside the entrance to the structure.

For structures that hold multiple parties, the risk varies from restaurant to restaurant depending on many factors, including the size of the structure and the number of people in it, the distance between tables and whether patrons wear masks when speaking with the server, said Polacsek. But, in general, “the more space, ventilation/filtering and fewer people – the better,” she said.

An open door or window or a mechanical fan in the doorway all help airflow circulate in and out, Crocker said. Restaurants also should use air filtration devices within the structure that constantly filter out potentially contaminated air, as well as a high-efficiency particulate air – or HEPA – filter, which brings in clean air. Crocker said the latter is what she sees missing the most from restaurants.

In addition to ventilation and filtration, the personal practices of diners and restaurant staff, including physical distancing, proper mask wearing, hand washing and personal hygiene, all factor into the safety of any dining situation, and limiting contact between servers and guests helps reduce the risk.

One recommended practice – widely adopted by restaurants early in the pandemic but which hasn’t proved to significantly improve safety – is the sanitization of surfaces, like tables and chairs, but Polacsek said it’s still encouraged as a “better-safe-than-sorry practice at this point.”

If you are dining with people you don’t live with, without masks and not socially distant in structures that aren’t well ventilated, the risk of transmitting COVID-19 is no lower than dining inside, because once you add four walls and a roof “any outdoor space becomes an indoor space,” making ventilation less than ideal, and static air is what helps transmit the virus, Crocker said.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö has established a viable partnership with Italian filter producer Virgis SpA for the distribution of an innovative HEPA filtration solution produced by Webasto. The innovative solution makes indoor environments safer against Covid-19 as well as other viral and bacterial organisms.

The launch of the high-efficiency particulate air filter (HEPA) devices HFT300 and HFT600 in Europe in 2020 has rapidly met the demand for increased protection in vehicles and buildings. The main purpose of these filter devices is to protect the passengers and the operators in emergency vehicles, school buses and public transportation vehicles. The first units were primarily installed in ambulances in Germany and the U.S., as well as in public buses in the Netherlands and school buses in the U.S. The promotion of this innovative solution for private sectors such as offices, restaurants and museums has also started.

The spread of Covid-19 and the consequent increase in the global demand for protective materials required many companies to rapidly adapt, leverage their expertise and innovate. Ahlstrom-Munksjö used its long-term experience and leadership in the manufacture of filters to develop a suitable media for HEPA H14, manufactured in a compact cartridge that represents the core of the Webasto device.

The new HFT 300 and HFT 600 devices combine two main features to reduce viral loads in ambient air. They offer an extremely high virus removal efficiency thanks to HEPA H14 filters, and also generate very high air volume flow for the rapid and complete filtration of the air every single minute.

The HFT 300 and HFT 600 devices are specifically designed to filter the air, removing 99.995% of particulates corresponding to SARS/Covid-19 virus sizes (0.1 micrometers) and effectively reducing the risk of infection. Ultra-compact and light, these devices can be installed in less than 30 minutes.

The device complies with the International HEPA Filter standards WHO / CDC / ECDC and is compliant with European Medical Device Directive CE 47/2007.

Bondex will expand its manufacturing capacity to increase its needlepunch nonwovens output and capabilities thanks to a new investment at its headquarters in Trenton, SC. The new line will be supplied by the DiloGroup in Germany and designed to meet the growing demands of the filtration, PPE and other industrial markets. In addition to needlepunch nonwovens, the company makes hydroentangled and thermal bonded nonwovens for a wide range of applications.

“As a proud member of Andrew Industries Limited, a privately owned U.K. multi-national manufacturing company, our mission is to bring value to our customers through superior service, innovation and product quality,” says company president Brian Little.

Bondex has been producing technical nonwovens with carded thermal bond technology since 1997, serving markets including reprographics, electrical insulation, filtration, medical and home care. In 2017, Bondex launched its hydroentangled technology, specifically designed to produce heavier weight nonwovens for industrial filtration and other specialty products. Bondex’s Hydrolox® family of filtration media offers the industrial filtration market a new range of performance, which meets the changing needs of today’s industry.

This new line, which is expected to be fully commercial in the fourth quarter of 2021, is designed to run a variety of fiber types, fineness and staple lengths in a large weight range. Its components include fiber opening and blending, carding, cross lapping, drafting, needling and finishing and is meant to be a workhorse producer of needled felts for roll goods up to 90 inches wide in both fiber-supported and scrim-supported products. Innovative solutions are adapted to this efficient and economical production system with an emphasis on the uniformity of fiber distribution as well as material savings effects. Individual customer requirements and applications can be met through this complete in-house nonwoven production process. All components of the line were installed by Dilo as a general contractor and engineered and assembled to suit the high standards of Bondex in order to provide a state-of-the-art, economical production line for high quality nonwoven products, according to the company.

“This investment now gives Bondex manufacturing capabilities of three types of technical nonwoven fabrics including thermal flat and point bond, hydroentangled and needled,” says Ted Andrew, chairman of Andrew Industries. “ In addition to these three nonwovens manufacturing technologies Bondex has peripheral equipment for chemical impregnation, heat setting, calendaring, singeing, laminating and slitting as well as extensive laboratory equipment used for quality control and product development activities.”

Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, has started up new production lines for meltblown nonwoven fabric and medical face masks at its site in Gronau, Germany to mitigate the spread of COVID‑19.

Mondi Gronau has over 50 years of experience in the production and processing of films, nonwovens and elastic components for hygiene products. Last year Mondi announced it would start up production lines to produce both the important base material, melt-blown nonwoven fabric, as well as the medical face mask themselves. With the new lines, Mondi is building up a local value chain in Germany to address the needs of the pandemic. The fully integrated production with two highly automated high-speed machines allows the output of 700 high‑quality medical face masks per minute. This is approximately seven times higher than the standard face mask production line and will produce at least one million medical grade masks a day.

The masks are certified as a medical product by the German Johner Institute as well as meeting the German standards OEKO‑TEX and Dermatest. With this production, Mondi Gronau will be directly addressing the needs of the German health sector including hospitals, pharmacies and specialized medical retailers.

“We identified the shortage in meltblown nonwoven fabric in Germany early on in the pandemic last year and reacted swiftly to set up the production of high‑quality medical face masks. With our high‑speed production set-up and certifications in place, Mondi Gronau is ideally positioned to supply high‑quality medical masks that offer reliable protection and high comfort from the moment they are put on to when they are taken off,” says Jürgen Schneider, Managing Director Mondi Gronau.

HomTex, an Alabama-based, minority-certified textile manufacturer announced that it received FDA Emergency Use Authorization for its Level 1 Surgical masks, greenlighting their entry into the U.S. government and medical personal protective equipment (PPE) markets. HomTex manufactures three-ply disposable masks and reusable cloth masks, which it supplies to the U.S. Capitol, and soon will produce NIOSH N-95 masks in a new plant in Selma, AL. HomTex is now positioned to have the largest capacity in the U.S. to produce 100% made-in-America masks with facilities in Cullman and Mobile, AL; Tennessee; South Carolina; and North Carolina.

Jerry Wooten, CEO of HomTex, says, “When I say made in America, I mean every component sourced in the U.S. and made in the U.S. We believe that ramping up domestic manufacturing of PPE products is a national imperative from a safety, economic, and national security perspective, and HomTex is proud to meet that challenge.”

While hospitals and governments have been struggling to provide safe PPE for Americans, defective and fraudulent masks, often made in China, have flooded the U.S. market. According to the Associated Press, federal law enforcement has seized 10 million counterfeit N95 masks alone, and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol announced in June 2020 that it seized 750,000 counterfeit face masks in 86 incidents. Due to emergency procurement rules put in place during the pandemic, China and other bad actors have access to the U.S. market that otherwise would be banned. By selling defective and counterfeit masks at rock-bottom prices, fraudsters are exploiting U.S. buyers with unsafe PPE and undermining U.S.-made manufacturing.

According to Wooten, “It’s time for purchasers of critical PPE – particularly federal, state, and local governments – to wake up to the fact that Chinese and foreign-made masks are cheaper, but likely defective, counterfeit, and plain-old dangerous. It’s important to buy safe, genuine, and approved PPE from a trusted made-in-America manufacturer. We are proud to be a strategic provider to the Architect of the U.S. Capitol which supplies masks to the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Capitol, and the U.S. Senate.”

“We are immensely proud of all HomTex is doing to produce PPE,” says Katie Boyd Britt, president of the Business Council of Alabama. “Receiving this critical authorization from the FDA allows them to expand their PPE offerings and to keep Americans safe. We are thrilled to be a trusted partner as they expand their operations in Selma.”

HomTex has the capacity to produce 700 million surgical three-ply masks and 20 million NIOSH N95 masks annually. HomTex will open an additional manufacturing facility in Selma, AL, in the Fall of 2021 that will create 300 jobs for the most economically disadvantaged region of Alabama.

Shawmut Corporation, together with its primary N95 mask production investor, The Fallon Company, has launched a NIOSH-approved Protex N95 mask with the patent-pending Protex ADC all-day-comfort system for prolonged use. Production lines are now operating, with a goal of creating up to 10 million masks per month by year-end to meet continued demand for domestically produced PPE. The company also announced a multi-year distribution contract for its N95 masks with Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. representing one of many early orders for the ProtexN95 particulate respirator.

Shawmut’s new domestic N95 manufacturing operation is based at the company’s West Bridgewater, MA headquarters and was created through a purpose-driven partnership with The Fallon Company and supported by a grant from Massachusetts’s Manufacturing Emergency Response Team (MERT), a program created to support in-state manufacturing of critical PPE items, including N95 masks, protective gowns, hand sanitizer, and ventilators. The new manufacturing facility, which went from concept to production in six months, is expected to create as many as 300 new jobs in Massachusetts.

“As we continue to navigate the pandemic, ensuring a robust local supply of masks and other personal protective equipment will be critical to our ability to defeat the virus and work toward recovery,” says Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker. “Our administration was proud to stand up the MERT Program to help manufacturers pivot their operations to produce key materials in response to COVID-19, and we look forward to continuing to work with innovative companies like Shawmut Corporation and The Fallon Company to keep residents safe and strengthen our economy.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has put an incredible strain on the country’s healthcare system, and the overreliance on overseas PPE has led to continued shortages and massive counterfeiting of these critical products,” says majority investor Joseph Fallon, CEO of The Fallon Company. “We partnered with Shawmut to rapidly bring our vision for Made-in-America PPE to reality and make sure we are never again in a position where we have to worry if we will have enough high-quality, domestically-produced PPE to keep people safe and healthy.”

Shawmut’s CEO James Wyner remarks, “Shawmut’s 100+ years of experience in advanced materials manufacturing makes us a natural fit as a long-term domestic PPE manufacturer. It’s an honor to play a role in helping solve the country’s N95 mask shortage. We put our materials innovation expertise to use to create an industry-leading N95 mask that offers superior quality and safety as well as all-day comfort. And because we are manufacturing our masks here in the US, we can continually monitor quality, ship to market faster, and deliver our customers a better product at a competitive price.”

As part of its US-made Protex N95 initiative, Shawmut retrofitted nearly 70,000 square feet of industrial space to accommodate production. Its N95 facilities include:

●       A multi-million-dollar investment of new equipment from Germany’s Reifenhäuser Reicofil, the world's most advanced meltblown filter media production system, to produce its proprietary filter media in-house. 
●       A fully automated and flexible molded-cup-mask production system which, despite being the most challenging type of N95 mask to manufacture, has proved to be critical in providing a unique combination of a secure fit and lasting comfort to broaden usage of the Protex N95 particulate respirator. 
●       An onsite materials testing lab and state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment that allows the team to test its products in-house and will help foster rapid development of future mask products. 

“This is another example of how we are cross-collaborating with other industries to help keep our population safe,” says Lisa Witte, president, Fisher Scientific channel, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “We are ready to get these N95 respirators into the hands of those who need them most.”

Hudson Valley Mask Company (HVMC) announced the launch of its line of Double Filter Face Masks that emphasize increased comfort and filtration through a blend of high-quality Italian nonwoven fabrics and American raw materials. Headquartered in New York, Hudson Valley Mask Company began production shortly before the CDC released its February 10 report stating that wearing two masks and proper fit can reduce exposure to Covid-19 by 90% and 95% respectively.

“Our team wanted to make a difference in fighting the pandemic, and our ability to produce at least 1 million masks each month made shifting to PPE production the logical choice,” says Hudson Valley Mask Company & Ziel founder and CEO Marleen Vogelaar. “In partnership with the State of NY, our production will address the current shortage while striving to increase comfort and effectiveness.”

Through independent testing, the fabric used in HVMC masks has shown an average bacterial filtration efficiency of over 99% while offering breathability. This powerful filtration is driven by a unique design that combines two-layer filtration in four layers that incorporate meltblown and spunbond fabrics.

HVMC’s meltblown fabric is produced in Italy using a patented process that delivers a highly reliable filtration not seen in other meltblown fabrics. Spunbond fabric — used for the outermost and innermost layers of the mask — is made using bonded filaments, resulting in a strong, water-resistant, and silky-soft finish.

HVMC’s process results in:

· Safety and consistency as verified through independent testing and certifications

“We are proud to have supported Ziel and other New York State manufacturers in pivoting to produce critical Covid-19-related equipment,” adds Empire State Development Acting Commissioner, and president & CEO-designate Eric Gertler. "Ziel’s newly installed N95 production line at the Hudson Valley Mask Company will help all New Yorkers, by creating jobs and lifesaving supplies right here at home.”

Using HVMC facilities in New York, the state will be earmarked to receive at least 30% of production. HVMC’s non-medical, double-filter face masks are available in boxes of 10, which retail for $22.50.