An Army veteran and CEO of an apparel company is using his operation to make face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic but said he also needs help from the government.
The United States is currently facing a shortage of medical supplies as the coronavirus continues to spread across the country, infecting nearly 70,000 people. The White House has asked the “great American industry” to assist in any way it can.
Tyler Merritt, the CEO of Nine Line Apparel in Georgia, has answered that call but said on Fox & Friends Wednesday that he also needs support from the government on “testing procedures, [and] FDA guidelines.”
“The independent tests that are being done are showing incredible results with integrating 2020 technology into a system that is reliant on these 1950s-style masks,” he said, adding that 3M creates the needed N95 masks, but the company’s manufacturing is primarily in China.
“The commodity, the specific material that we used for that — that mask, it used to cost $6,000 a ton, it’s now being treated as a commodity, almost $600,000 a ton,” Merritt said.
He said there are two machines in New Hampshire and North Carolina that “need to be running full speed” to help produce “the most critical masks.”
“I’m an engineer. I’m also a former Army officer. I’m also a member of the special operations community. I’m also a son of a person who will die if he contracts this. I’m also the son of a nurse. I’m also the father of children who could potentially die,” Merritt said. “So this is not about money, this is about coming together, cutting through the red tape. This is also about identifying those horrible, massive conglomerates that are hoarding materials.”
