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Madison Company Committed to Making Masks as Long as People Need Them

Though many states, including Connecticut, are beginning to talk about the reopening process during the coronavirus outbreak, public health experts are warning that some restrictions—and the requirement to wear face coverings in public—are likely to last several more months.

In Madison, local industrial netting company Pucuda Leading Edge and its CEO John Rexroad are taking this same long view with their initiative Masks for Citizens, which since the onset of the pandemic has shipped out tens of thousands of comfortable, reusable masks across the country in an effort to provide protection for the average person.

“I don’t want people to have to go to already stretched-to-capacity assistance programs...to get a mask,” Rexroad said. “I’m here to inform people that masks are available.”

In place of manufacturing safety netting used on construction sites and in athletic facilities, back in March, Pucuda brought in new workers, materials, and infrastructure, including 24 new specialty sewing machines, and began pumping out tens of thousands of these washable cotton masks a day, selling at cost in order to meet a tremendous need.

Now, though demand is slowing, Rexroad said he is still entirely committed to ensuring the general populace has access to masks for as long as is necessary.

“What I keep saying is, you need a mask even if they say you don’t need to wear a mask. You can buy a mask that’s good for the [whole] pandemic. You stop wearing it, but you have it...If there’s an outbreak or you hear about a case in your community...you’re not going to go scurrying around for a mask when that happens,” Rexroad said.

Masks for Citizens was born out of Rexroad’s personal experience with the pandemic. His wife is at high risk due to having had a kidney transplant—which Rexroad donated himself—and he said he felt the strain of living with the reality and risks of the pandemic.

He described the experience of going to a grocery store after the state began shutting down, and comprehending the full scope and personal impact of the crisis.

“If you weren’t panicked and you weren’t fearful before you went shopping, you were fearful and panicked after you went shopping,” Rexroad said.

Rexroad said that businesses like his have a responsibility in these times of crisis to put their shoulders to the grindstone and solve these kinds of problems—in Pucuda’s case, making and distributing the kinds of masks that aren’t readily available or affordable.

Project Manager Randy Danowski said that Pucuda was able to recruit around 30 temporary workers through a connection of a current employee, and leveraged skills of other employees along with new equipment to quickly begin gearing up the entire company to make masks.

Because the demand has slowed, most of those 30 temporary workers are not currently working, according to Danowski, but Rexroad said that if there is any increase in demand, he is ready to bring them back “throttle up” to pump out more masks.

Earlier, Rexroad said he had sent out a handful of masks to every single one of Connecticut’s 169 municipal leaders, hoping to raise awareness of the project and possibly work with local governments to get masks to those in need.

That initiative received a muted response, according to Rexroad, which was frustrating, though he said he is still entirely willing to collaborate with local governments to get masks to people who can use them and is already donating masks to other government-run programs.

“I suggested I could come in and have a mask distribution day, where we could man an area where people could come in and safely get masks,” Rexroad said. “So there’s a lot of creative ways we can do it.”

The specific design and philosophy of the masks are meant to provide maximum flexibility, comfort, and reusability, Danowski said, with three layers of cotton and a multitude of ways to fasten them over your head.

Buying reusable masks also is a way to increase the waste and litter that goes along with the disposable versions, Danowski said, saying he was annoyed and saddened by how much disposable protective equipment can be seen discarded in the streets around town.

At $9 a unit and discounts for bulk orders, Rexroad said the masks are cheaper or comparable in price to similar models available from online retailers. Additionally, for every order placed, Masks for Citizens donates another mask to a homeless shelter, first responder, hospital, or other charity.

Rexroad said that he is not trying to make a profit off of the initiative, and has found ways to freely gift masks to people or organizations if there is any indication that price is a barrier, sending out orders free of charge to places as far away as Washington State.

“I’m not going to fail these people...I will be around for as long as people need me, and I will continue to retrofit the company to have as much mask production as I need,” Rexroad said.

For more information, visit masksforcitizens.com.