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Honeywell News
N95 Masks: Now Made in Rhode Island
Next stop – the Strategic National Stockpile to help combat the spread of Covid-19.
When the first N95 masks rolled off the production line this week, there was a brief acknowledgment amongst the team at Honeywell’s Smithfield, Rhode Island facility.
“Everyone was excited and eager to help with this cause,” said Conor Ryan, plant director. “We clapped at the accomplishment, then got back to making them.”
The manufacturing plant typically makes safety glasses and face shields has been configured to also produce the in-demand masks.
The setup usually takes about nine months, but was completed in five weeks to meet the urgent need of frontline workers during the coronavirus outbreak.
“Honeywell is proud of the role we are playing in providing critical equipment for the fight against the coronavirus, and I am especially pleased with how quickly we have started our new mask production line in Rhode Island,” said Darius Adamczyk, Honeywell chairman and chief executive officer.
The masks will be delivered to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the Strategic National Stockpile to support health, safety and emergency response workers.
In addition to the Rhode Island site, N95 manufacturing will start at an aerospace facility in Phoenix, Arizona in mid-May. Once both sites are fully operational, they will produce more than 20 million masks per month. The two new lines will create more than 1,000 jobs in the U.S.
To support the fight against COVID-19, we are increasing production of other personal protective equipment, including safety eyewear and face shields. We also make sensors used in ventilators and are providing testing services to ventilator manufacturers.
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