Milliken pivots to produce more PPE

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Milliken & Co. is pivoting some of its production capacity to manufacture personal protective equipment for the health care industry amid the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The Spartanburg-based global company’s new advanced medical fabrics and barriers are available already and complement Milliken’s BioSmart antimicrobial technology used in scrubs, lab coats and hospital privacy curtains, harnessing the power of bleach to kill up to 99.9% of common bacteria on contact, according to a news release.  

Milliken is manufacturing critical barrier protection fabrics to be used in gowns and headcovers for health care professionals, the news release said. Milliken also is researching and developing materials for incorporation into N95-grade masks. These new innovations complement the company’s existing range of products that can be used for temporary shelters for transitory field hospitals. 

“We have focused our development and manufacturing processes to help fight the battle against COVID-19,” Halsey M. Cook, Milliken & Co. president and CEO, said in the news release. “We began by engineering our existing textiles into medical-grade fabrics for PPE, and we will continue to seek critical solutions as we navigate this uncharted territory as a company, a nation and a world.”

These new advanced medical textiles and barriers are made in the United States, the release said.

“Our team of scientists and developers is fully engaged, uncovering solutions to address critical medical and protective needs for those fighting on the front lines of this pandemic,” Chad McAllister, president of the textile division, said in the release.