COLLINGWOOD, ONT. -- A Collingwood manufacturer has created the first recyclable face mask and plans to do a lot of hiring to keep production moving.
Since April, Trebor Rx imported about 10 million masks to Canada. Now the company is gearing up to make about 800,000 masks a day, making it one of the country's largest manufacturers.
Chief executive officer George Irwin and his spouse, Brenda Elliott, president of the company, said they wanted to help during the pandemic after becoming infected with COVID-19 themselves.
Both had mild symptoms but said they couldn't find masks anywhere.
"We couldn't go and buy them at any drug store. You couldn't find them," Elliott said.
Irwin said the Pro Plus reusable, resizable mask would last for 300 hours or 30 days and protects both the wearer and others.
"This has a filter that is a two-way, so it filters incoming and outgoing air," Irwin said while wearing the unique covering.
The company also plans to make three-ply surgical masks, and with that much product expected daily, it's hiring.
The manufacturer currently employs 16 workers and hopes to have between 80 to 100 by the New Year, which is good news for the economy and better news for the province.
"We don't have to depend on anybody else outsourcing PPE for our frontline workers," Elliot said.
Trebor Rx hopes to start shipping masks later this week or early next week and has big plans to head to a new facility in the coming months.
