70% of the federal government’s PPE is currently procured from overseas, and organizations like CAPPEM and CAMMM are trying to change that.

Melt95 Inc. is a Bolton-based manufacturer of fabrics that recently finished its first trial run of meltblown fabrics, with the help of their dedicated meltblown non-woven fabric machines. Most manufacturers in Canada are using fabric machines that have been tweaked to be able to create meltblown fabrics, as opposed to dedicated meltblown non-woven machines. This can result in some issues and problems.

“We have heard of companies having difficulty achieving the ASTM Level 3 certification, and this was with a tweaked machine,” said Snesh Gupta, CEO of Melt95 Inc. “Our meltblown machines have had no trouble getting to ASTM Level 3 on the first try, which is an over 98% filtration rate.”

When asked about any plans for Melt95 to join CAMMM, the new Canadian Association of Mask Manufacturing, Snesh mentioned that their application was complete and had been submitted. Currently, CAPPEM (the Canadian Association of PPE Manufactuers), is working to lobby the government for mask regulation and domestic procurement plans.

70% of the federal government’s PPE is currently procured from overseas, and organizations like CAPPEM and CAMMM are trying to change that.

Currently, though CAMMM and CAPPEM are lobbying the government to purchase and procure more Canadian masks, most of these ‘Canadian’ masks are made with raw materials purchased from China and abroad. Creating a domestic supply chain of Canadian raw materials may enable mask manufacturers like to be more successful in their lobbying efforts.

Melt95 has also begun talks to explore PPE beyond meltblown fabrics and are exploring a spun-bound line of fabrics.

“The possibilities are endless with spun-bound,” says Sheila Caputo, Sales Director at Melt95. “We can create disposable drapes, sheets, dental trays, products for the retail and textile environments. The demand for spun-bound is huge as well. We’ve had retailers approach us to let us know they’re ready as soon as we are.”

When asked why we haven’t seen more spun-bound Canadian PPE yet, Snesh was clear in its challenges.

“Canada is not historically manufacturing-based. There’s no infrastructure for spun-bound fabrics. We’re looking for a 41 ft. high ceiling right now which is what we need for spun-bound fabrics, and we can’t find a factory in Ontario like that. Funding and capital investment is also another hurdle in this industry.”

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