New Balance said it will be making medical-grade face masks at its U.S. plants as hospitals continue to face shortages of safety equipment amid the spread of the coronavirus.

The company said it is retooling its factories, starting with its facility in Lawrence, MA, to make the masks.

New Balance said in a statement on its website, “The global COVID-19 health crisis has called on individuals and organizations to bring their expertise and resources to solve new and extraordinary challenges. New Balance has engaged its skilled and innovative U.S. manufacturing workforce to develop face masks to address the significant demand for these supplies.

‘We are producing prototypes for face masks in our Lawrence, [Mass.] manufacturing facility and hope to scale production using our other New England factories soon. We are coordinating our efforts with government officials and local medical institutions as well as other U.S. consortiums and testing facilities.”
Photo courtesy New Balance