Milliken expands domestic production of medical fabric

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Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Milliken has distributed more than 10 million yards of reusable fabrics used to manufacture medical gowns and has announced a “significant” investment to ramp up continued domestic production.

Milliken’s Perimeter brand fabrics are used in Level 1 and 2 gowns for critical medical environments like trauma centers. The fabric also is marketed for use in the dental, education and hospitality sectors, especially as personal protective equipment is in wider use. Gowns made from the fabric can be washed and reused at least 25 times, according to a news release.

"An increasing number of industries and service providers are looking for American-made PPE solutions to protect their employees and customers,” Chad McAllister, president of Milliken’s Textile Division and executive vice president of Milliken & Co, said in the release. “This demand highlights the critical need we noted earlier this year, specifically for the U.S. to have a stable PPE supply chain. Our goal at Milliken is to be part of the solution, so we're proactively taking steps to help avoid another shortage of critical PPE."

Acknowledging the possibility of another wave of COVID-19 during the fall and winter, Milliken has readjusted priorities to prepare for the surge.

“Scaling up U.S. manufacturing of reusable protective fabrics protects the country's PPE pipeline, which in turn protects more medical professionals," McAllister said. "These brave people have continued to care for us tirelessly, and we are committed to doing all we can to help keep them safe.”