Maryland company makes masks for health care professionals during COVID-19 pandemic
ELKRIDGE, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - Hatch Exhibits is owned by Chris and Tracey McCormick.
Their company specializes in large, colorful displays for live events and trade shows. Their clients include Google, CNN and the Washington Capitals, to name a few — but the spread of the COVID-19 has brought their business to a halt, forcing them to furlough all 23 of their employees.
“It was tough. Really hard... really hard,” says McCormick.
The next morning, as he was making breakfast for his children, McCormick heard something on TV that gave him an idea.
“I heard Governor Cuomo’s press conference, and they were just saying how badly they were in need of personal protection equipment. And I was like, I got all this stuff around. I have fabric cutting equipment, computerized routing tables... How do we use that stuff?” asked McCormick.
Within two days, McCormick and some employees created a usable medical gown and face masks that can be used by health professionals.
He’s selling the face masks for about $10 a piece. He believes he can get them cheaper but price gouging is forcing costs to rise.
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Right now, McCormick says they sold about 20,000 masks with hundreds of thousands of orders along the way to hospitals healthcare providers around the country.
He hopes to bring back his entire staff to now work on the medical supplies.
He’s created a GoFundMe campaign for people to donate. All funds will go directly to making more face masks for healthcare providers.