Woodbridge Inoac Technical Products ramps up sites for face mask production

Woodbridge Inoac Technical Products (WITP), a 50/50 joint venture partnership between Woodbridge and Inoac Corp., is converting its manufacturing facilities in Kitchener and Woodbridge, Ont., as well as Chattanooga, Tenn., 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.

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.