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> I do believe these masks are also made in the US, but this situation highlights exactly why a country having its own major manufacturing base is not just an e

by ardy42 7y ago

> I do believe these masks are also made in the US, but this situation highlights exactly why a country having its own major manufacturing base is not just an economic need but rather also a national security need. The US needs to invest in itself immediately to rebuild its lost manufacturing base. 3M and Prestige Ameritech are the only companies with the ability to manufacturing N95 masks in the US from US sourced materials. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/shortages-confusion-and-poor-communication-complicate-coronavirus-preparations/2020/02/25/d9e56396-575d-11ea-9b35-def5a027d470_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/shortages-confusion-an... https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/02/15/coronavirus-mask-shortage-texas-manufacturing/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/02/15/coronavir... Totally agree with you on manufacturing. It's super important to have this kind of domestic manufacturing capability, because trade links break down in a crisis like this. The US is short on supply and can't import more (other countries are banning exports to conserve supply for domestic needs). If all the manufacturing capability had been outsourced, US healthcare workers would be in even worse shape.

mehrdadn 7y ago
> 3M and Prestige Ameritech are the only companies with the ability to manufacturing N95 masks in the US from US sourced materials. I'm confused about your italics. Why does it matter where the source materials you give them comes from? i.e. Why would other manufacturers in the US be only able to manufacture masks from non-US-sourced-materials, but fail on US-sourced materials? Is there something defective with US-sourced materials that if you gave them to US-based manufacturers, their machines would break or something?
- afiori 7y ago
  It could be a matter of having the whole process happen in the US. In the sense that those 2 companies are the only one that have sufficient domestic supply chain for production, while all other companies need to rely on import.
  - mehrdadn 7y ago
    But if that's the case then you could get source materials from one of these companies and give them to another manufacturer who normally ships from overseas, right? Like I'm saying in that case the issue seems to be lack of sufficient source materials in the US, not US manufacturing capability?
    - ardy42 7y ago
      But in any case, the supply chains of companies that use overseas materials have been disrupted. With effort, they could probably switch to using materials from a domestic manufacturer, but those manufacturers may not have the capacity to satisfy the increased demand. Per the OP, it seems like the limiting factor in production is melt-blown fabric.

by ardy42 7y ago

mehrdadn 7y ago

> 3M and Prestige Ameritech are the only companies with the ability to manufacturing N95 masks in the US from US sourced materials. I'm confused about your italics. Why does it matter where the source materials you give them comes from? i.e. Why would other manufacturers in the US be only able to manufacture masks from non-US-sourced-materials, but fail on US-sourced materials? Is there something defective with US-sourced materials that if you gave them to US-based manufacturers, their machines would break or something?

afiori 7y ago
It could be a matter of having the whole process happen in the US. In the sense that those 2 companies are the only one that have sufficient domestic supply chain for production, while all other companies need to rely on import.
- mehrdadn 7y ago
  But if that's the case then you could get source materials from one of these companies and give them to another manufacturer who normally ships from overseas, right? Like I'm saying in that case the issue seems to be lack of sufficient source materials in the US, not US manufacturing capability?
  - ardy42 7y ago
    But in any case, the supply chains of companies that use overseas materials have been disrupted. With effort, they could probably switch to using materials from a domestic manufacturer, but those manufacturers may not have the capacity to satisfy the increased demand. Per the OP, it seems like the limiting factor in production is melt-blown fabric.