ABERDEEN, S.D. (aberdeennews.com) – Production of N95 respirators is at maximum levels in the wake of the global COVID-19 outbreak, according to 3M Chairman and CEO Mike Roman.
That ramp-up has doubled the company’s global output to 1.1 billion respirators per year. That’s 100 million per month with 35 percent of those coming from United States factories, according to a news release from Roman. More than 90 percent of those are designated for the healthcare industry with the rest used in critical industries which include energy, food and pharmaceutical companies.
With the spread of COVID-19, the company expects to increase capacity to 2 billion respirators within the next 12 months by accelerating its investments. 3M also has factories in Europe, Asia and Latin America.