Little Rapids Corporation, a leading manufacturer of products for the healthcare, beauty, packaging, and specialty paper markets, has purchased two state-of-the art, high speed machines to manufacture ASTM Level 1, 2 and 3 face masks for the healthcare and beauty markets. The two machines will give Little Rapids the capability to manufacture 40 million masks annually.  

"We are proud to be part of the effort to bring Personal Protective Equipment manufacturing back to the United States. Our Graham Professional division is uniquely positioned to offer masks as part of its overall PPE product range,” says Kirk Ryan, president and CEO of Little Rapids. 

Mask production will allow Little Rapids to help alleviate shortages that have affected hospitals and other public and private agencies across the U.S. in the face of the global pandemic.

“The first machine arrived in our facility this week, and we are ramping up production immediately. It’s very exciting to be able to bring these masks to the market to fulfill the large demand backlog, and to keep jobs at our factory in Green Bay,” says Jeremy Roemer, vice president and general manager of the Graham Professional division at Little Rapids.

Little Rapids Corporation was founded by Charles Egan in 1947 and remains a family-owned business. The company’s core product lines serve the healthcare and beauty market segments, flexographic printing for a variety of packaging markets, and tissue, MG paper, and wet crepe paper for the specialty paper market. The company employs over 450 associates in its Green Bay and Shawano, Wisconsin locations. In addition, the company supports the community in the region via the Little Rapids Corporation – Egan Family Foundation, a private foundation established by the Egan family in 1986 with the mission to fund charities in communities where Little Rapids Corporation has facilities.