Respiratory mask facility opening in Montgomeryville

Dräger, an international medical and safety technology company, plans to open a production facility next month in Montgomeryville for the manufacture and distribution of N95 respiratory protection masks.

The 45,660-square-foot facility will support Dräger’s contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to produce N95 masks and also will produce National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved N95 masks to frontline workers.

“Respiratory protection technology has been at the heart of Dräger’s Technology for Life mission since our company’s inception in 1889,” Lothar Thielen, Dräger North America president and CEO, said. “In recent years, the demand for personal protective equipment has been substantial, and the emergence of COVID-19 greatly escalated the demand for quality safety equipment, including N95 masks. We are proud to be able to increase our production of essential life-saving equipment with our new U.S.-based facility that will produce U.S.-made masks for the brave women and men on the front lines of this unprecedented pandemic.”

The facility will operate around the clock with three employee shifts. The production of the masks has added approximately 50 highly skilled jobs.

The masks are designed to be comfortable and breathable, the company said, and are certified to the NIOSH standard for particle respiratory protection.