Wisconsin-Based American Flag Manufacturer Shifts to Making Medical Masks

A Wisconsin-based manufacturer is pivoting from making American flags to producing masks for medical workers.

“We put a lot of work into it this weekend to make the prototypes and now it’s just training the staff,” Eder Flag CEO Jody Goglio told WISN.

Eder Flag is the largest manufacturer of American flags and flagpoles in the U.S., according to its website.

“They’re moving a little bit slower, but that’s because we want to make sure whatever the final product is, it’s quality product. That’s most important for us.”

The employee-owned company hopes its seamstresses will be able to produce tens of thousands of masks per week.

Eder is partnering with Monterey Mills, which is supplying the materials.

“My guess is (hospitals will) use it as an entry-level position when they’re dealing with new patients,” Monterey Mills President Dan Sinykin told the news station.

“The strong advantage we have with our product is it’s machine washable, dryable and reusable. So they can use it for a patient, throw it in a bin, get it sanitized, cleaned, then they can reuse it later,” Sinykin said.

Meanwhile, a California-based sportwear company is also shifting its focus to meet the needs of medical personnel.

“I have to do something. I have a big factory. I can do something,” Abdul Rashid, chief operating officer of AST Sportswear told ABC 7.

The company reconfigured manufacturing almost overnight.

“We actually ordered 30 more machines just to make these masks. Our workers are all here, we’re trying to not lay anybody off,” sales manager Nadir Zulfiqar said.

The company has 500 employees now sewing face masks.

Kyle Olson is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @KyleOlson4.