Woodbridge INOAC Technical Products Responds to the Global Need to Produce Face Masks

TROY, Mich. & MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Canada, April 9, 2020 – Woodbridge INOAC Technical Products (WITP), a 50/50 joint venture partnership between Woodbridge and INOAC Corp., today announced its response to the imperative call for medical supplies. WITP is in the process of converting its manufacturing facilities in Chattanooga, Tenn., Kitchener, Ontario and Woodbridge, Ontario to make face masks. WITP will be ramping up these sites to produce more than one million face masks per week to help increase access to protective gear for healthcare workers and others battling the spread of COVID-19 at hospitals and other facilities. WITP is exploring options to increase production in support of Mexico.

In Canada, the face mask is a Class 1 medical device as approved by Health Canada. In the U.S., the face mask is available under FDA product classification QKR. The Province of Ontario has placed an initial order of 15 million face masks. In the U.S., the face masks will be made available to local hospitals and other industries. Throughout the development process, WITP has been in direct contact with the Canadian and Ontario governments as well as U.S. Federal and State officials, task forces, several major hospital systems and other municipalities and organizations.

“These are challenging times that are impacting us all,” said Mike Simpson, President and General Manager, Woodbridge INOAC Technical Products. “We are extremely grateful to the medical personnel at the frontlines who are fighting the pandemic, and we are honored to do our part and to produce face masks that are needed. I also want to thank all our dedicated teammates who are working urgently to make this possible.”

To start production of the face masks, WITP is closely following public health guidance and will enforce government and local guidelines for sanitation and social distancing on-site at all facilities to protect teammates. In addition, WITP is also working on other initiatives to support the global COVID-19 pandemic such as face shields and hospital beds.

To develop and manufacture the face masks, WITP localized the INOAC Japan design by working in close collaboration, support and partnership with the Japan INOAC technical team. WITP also partnered with the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA), Hematite, Inc., McMaster University, Magna International, Inc., TS Tech Americas, Inc. and Toyota Boshoku Canada.

About Woodbridge
Woodbridge is a privately-owned company offering innovative material technologies for applications in automotive, commercial, recreational, packaging, healthcare and building products. In addition to its manufacturing operations, Woodbridge offers a full complement of services including: chemical research and development, product and process engineering, tooling, technical support and accredited laboratory testing. Woodbridge operates more than 50 facilities across 10 countries—employing over 7,500 teammates and serving more than 600 customers worldwide. To learn more, visit woodbridgegroup.com.

About INOAC Corp.
INOAC is a privately held Japanese Corporation with over 140 facilities operating in 14 countries in Japan, China, Southeast Asia and North America. As a pioneer in polyurethane technologies starting in the 1950’s, INOAC has been an innovator in material technologies in polyurethanes, plastics, elastomers and advanced materials for over six decades for a wide range of industries and applications. For more information, visit www.inoac.co.jp/en/.

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