Honeywell added a face mask production operation at its Phoenix Engines campus in Arizona, the company informed. This location is one of Honeywell’s largest facilities and has been dedicated to the design and manufacturing of aircraft propulsion engines and auxiliary power units since 1950. The company said it will continue to manufacture this equipment, as well as produce Personal Protection Equipment (PPE).
“We have moved quickly to expand our production capacity for N95 masks globally, and are pleased to announce our second new U.S. manufacturing line to supply the Strategic National Stockpile,” said Darius Adamczyk, Honeywell Chairman and CEO, at a press conference at the White House. “We at Honeywell are an industrial technology company and one of the industries we’re in is protecting the industrial worker. We’re repurposing the equipment to serve the health care worker.”
The company said the Phoenix expansion, coupled with previously announced new production in Rhode Island, will allow Honeywell to produce more than 20 million N95 disposable masks monthly to combat COVID-19 in the U.S.
Hiring is already underway for an estimated 500 or more new jobs in Arizona, which will bring the total between both operations to 1,000. The production will send masks to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
An N95 mask is a respirator that protects the individual who is wearing it with 95% efficiency. An N95 mask is specifically built with materials that filter out particles in the air.
Source: Border-Now Issue 64