TEXTILES.ORG
Freudenberg Performance Materials has partnered with the Nonwovens Institute at North Carolina State University (NC State) to manufacture face masks for UNC system universities, N.C. government organizations and hospitals.
As the fight against coronavirus continues, the need for essential face coverings continues to rise. Together with the Nonwovens Institute at NC State, Freudenberg will begin production of earloop procedure and N95 masks. The two organizations are aligning their expertise and supply chains to bring PPE to universities and healthcare workers as quickly as possible.
Through this partnership, NC State is supplying the company with the necessary roll goods needed for production while Freudenberg provides the textile manufacturing expertise and work force needed to install, operate and maintain the four new production lines. Once fully operational the site will be able to produce more than one million masks a month.
“As the leader in the development of the next generation of nonwovens, we knew we could step in and help fill this critical need. By partnering with Freudenberg, we will ensure the reliable completion of millions of protective face coverings to battle the coronavirus using NWI’s novel filter media”, says Behnam Pourdeyhimi, executive director of the Nonwovens Institute.
The company is also in the process of installing six additional production lines to manufacture surgical and N95 masks. Not only will the lines help provide essential face coverings, but the addition of the lines has enabled Freudenberg to add 50 new positions within the company to operate the lines.
Freudenberg Performance Materials is supplier of technical textiles for a range of markets and applications such as apparel, automotive, building interiors, building materials, healthcare, energy, filter media, shoe and leather goods as well as specialties.