Arlington Mask Manufacturer Faces Financial Challenges As COVID-19 Pandemic Response Evolves

Arlington TX

04 June, 2022

12:42 PM

Description

By Chongyang Zhang, Fort Worth Report June 2, 2022 Arlington-based mask manufacturer United States Mask couldn't keep up with the demand for its N95 masks in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two years later, the company, started in Fort Worth, is struggling with sales as COVID-19 cases declined and pandemic policies changed. The biggest blow came when the Biden administration started distributing free N95 masks in pharmacies and community health centers across the nation. "We always knew we would be competing with cheap overseas imports," said John Bielamowicz, co-founder of the company. "What we did not expect was to compete with free." United States Mask has plans to start selling other personal protective equipment and safety products to stay afloat. Bielamowicz says companies like his need more help from the federal government. Since March, the company has been lobbying members of Congress to come up with a plan that would support mid-sized mask manufacturers. Bielamowicz and his co-founder, David Baillargeon, launched the company because they saw a need to produce N95 masks for Americans and first responders at a time when there was a shortage. They did it out of patriotic duty, without government aid, Bielamowicz said, so they deserve, at the minimum, to compete on a level playing field. To read the full article, click here. Fort Worth Report is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that produces factual, in-depth journalism about city and county government, schools, healthcare, business, and arts and culture in Tarrant County. Always free to read; subscribe to newsletters, read coverage or support our newsroom at fortworthreport.org.