Local business uses resources to create PPE masks

JACKSON, Tenn. — TheCo is helping decrease the high demand for PPE masks, using their very own resources.

The process begins with filament and then it is fed into a 3D printer. It takes about 45 minutes each to create.

TheCo’s operations manager, Dan Drogosh, gave a deeper look into how the masks are made.

“So what we have here is kind of the interface that you use to talk to these printers, and so as you see here, these are the two things that printer is currently printing,” Drogosh said.

“So as it gets melted, it’s able to be squeezed out and extruded into the shape of the object that you designed, in this case it’s the masked file,” Drogosh said.

“It’s currently printing two brackets of the face shields, so the part that kind of wraps around your forehead,” Drogosh said.

Along the journey of PPE mask making, theCo came up with a quirky trick to make sure the plastic sticks to the plate.

“Just your typical dollar store hair spray,” Drogosh said.

Leaders of theCo decided to not only donate these mask to people in the medical field, but to barber shops and hair salons as well.

“That these aren’t officially certified PPE devices, and so the second we start selling them, it’s going to open us up to some liabilities,” Drogosh said.

On Monday they made a quick delivery. Barbers quickly put them to use.

“Basically anyone who sees themselves having to see the public on a daily basis, they might consider trying to find some,” Drogosh said.

The clear coverings of the PPE masks were also donated by Hub City Blueprint.