News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The community’s need for masks led a local company to design and manufacture a new $1 washable face mask.
Cassemco of Cookeville manufactures foam and plastics, operating here since 1975. Cassemco Plant Manager Jimmy Mansell said the idea came as community partners struggled to find materials for medical grade masks.
“We turned our efforts to what else we could do to be a responsible community partner,” Mansell said. “One of our vendors, which is a U.S. source, offered some material, so we started brainstorming, and we developed, as a team, a design.”
Mansell said they have the capacity to make over a million face masks each week on top of their normal production.
The masks are a foam substance similar to foam hats used for high school events or a foam filter for an air filtration system. Mansell said the mask are reusable and washable for up to 20 washes by hand. Although they are not medically rated, they have been tested to ensure the user’s protection.
“They don’t have a dust filtration-type rating,” Mansell said. “They are made to cover your nose and mouth to keep you from being exposed.”
The masks will be produced indefinitely, Mansell said, as long as the public demand for protection remains.
“We made a commitment to be a good community partner,” Mansell said. “We’ve sacrificed profits and things to get volume out into the market to keep our community safe.”
Mansell said many businesses like Cassemco have made sacrifices to help during the pandemic.
“We appreciate all the volunteer efforts that many companies in the Upper Cumberland have done,” Mansell said. “Not just locally, but state-wide and nation-wide to help control the spread of coronavirus.”
The masks are on sale through etsy.com. https://www.etsy.com/shop/cassemco
