Producing the N95

3M’s Aberdeen plant has quadrupled mask production to keep up with demand

By Andrew Weeks

ABERDEEN, S.D. • Andy Rehder and his team at 3M’s Aberdeen plant were already keeping busy producing N95 respirators long before the pandemic.

A big client base for the company were industrial and health care professionals.

A shift started happening early last year when Rehder and his team heard about a new virus that was wreaking havoc in China. Not only did production of the masks see a dramatic increase, but now the primary clients were those in health care and government.

Since the pandemic was declared in March 2020, the production has quadrupled at the facility in an effort to keep government stockpiles and meet the demand of frontline workers in the fight against COVID-19.

To put a number on it, every month some 95 million N95 masks are manufactured at two plants in the Midwest. One of them is the Aberdeen facility, where Rehder is the plant manager. The other is in Nebraska.

Rehder and Dan Uhlir, the plant’s human resource manager, spoke with Prairie Business about the facility and its work during unprecedented times that, in turn, have called for unprecedented manufacturing numbers at the plant.

The plant, an expanded 160,000 square-foot facility, has 1,000 employees and a production schedule that runs 24/7. 3M, a science and technology company, produces other items well-known in business, such as Scotch tape and Post-It notes, but it is the N95 that keeps the Aberdeen plant hopping.

Rehder said the company works with FEMA and other agencies to prioritize supplies and refill government stockpiles, and because of the high demand to produce, the company over the past year has expanded the Aberdeen plant by 120,00 square feet and created more than 400 new jobs.

The N95 – Rehder said it is not a typical mask – is a high-scale respiratory protective device that seals around the nose and mouth and protects against at least 95% of airborne particles.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the respirator contains coating technologies unrelated to filtration to reduce and/ or kill microorganisms.

There are different styles of N95; some, for instance, are made specifically for the surgical arena. The respirators made in Aberdeen are shipped all over the world, and some of them – those more intended for general uses and the like – can be found at your local homegoods store.

“Medical respirators typically go directly to hospitals,” he said. “There are different grades of the respirators based upon where they are going. But if you need an N95 respirator generally, you can go to your local hardware store or purchase those at Walmart.”

Rehder said there have been some challenges over the past year, of course, but ones his team has met with bravado.

“I think the challenging part has been hiring a large number of people in a very quick order like, over 400 people last year,” he said. “Aberdeen is an area that has a relatively low unemployment rate, and so making sure that we can ramp up quickly – and we've been able to do that. I think the other thing is, we're bringing a lot of people into the plant. There's a lot of training going on, but we’re also making sure that we're taking care of the employees and doing the people relation side with that.

“It’s not just about jamming 400 people in and getting them to work; it's making sure they know the culture that they're joining and the type of team and work that is involved and that what they do matters and is making a difference in protecting people's lives, really, around the world.”

Even while the company makes the high-grade masks, it too has adjusted to the pandemic.

Uhlir said the safety and wellbeing of its employees are paramount, and the plant has initiated medical monitoring, frequent disinfecting of the facility and its workspace.

He also said the team has a personal interest in producing the masks: many of them are used by team members’ own family and friends at their respective jobs sites.

“We couldn't be more proud of our employees. They have all stepped up to help lead the fight against COVID here,” Uhlir said. “As Andy alluded to earlier, we're a 24/7 manufacturing plant here and the dedication and commitment of our employees has been just eye-watering.”

Uhlir said the current focus is to continue refilling government stockpiles of the N95 – “making sure that first responders and doctors and nurses have respirators” – but said the company then also wants to start re-servicing its other core business partners.

“We see this as a good year and we're happy that things are looking up from a pandemic standpoint. We’re looking forward to the future.”

Deadline is July 9, 2021