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Ad wall. What does it say?And they have good reason.
If you imagine that a local business making surgical face masks is working 24/7, guess again
For more than a decade, Mike Bowen, who runs America's number one maker of hospital surgical masks, predicted a pandemic and warned of the perils of offshore...www.dallasnews.com
Works fine for me. Too long. Need to read the whole thingAd wall. What does it say?And they have good reason.
If you imagine that a local business making surgical face masks is working 24/7, guess again
For more than a decade, Mike Bowen, who runs America's number one maker of hospital surgical masks, predicted a pandemic and warned of the perils of offshore...www.dallasnews.com
Ad wall. What does it say?And they have good reason.
If you imagine that a local business making surgical face masks is working 24/7, guess again
For more than a decade, Mike Bowen, who runs America's number one maker of hospital surgical masks, predicted a pandemic and warned of the perils of offshore...www.dallasnews.com
Here is some of it-Ad wall. What does it say?And they have good reason.
If you imagine that a local business making surgical face masks is working 24/7, guess again
For more than a decade, Mike Bowen, who runs America's number one maker of hospital surgical masks, predicted a pandemic and warned of the perils of offshore...www.dallasnews.com
No.Ad wall. What does it say?And they have good reason.
If you imagine that a local business making surgical face masks is working 24/7, guess again
For more than a decade, Mike Bowen, who runs America's number one maker of hospital surgical masks, predicted a pandemic and warned of the perils of offshore...www.dallasnews.com
Works fine for me.
If you have ad blocker you just need to allow the page.
No.Ad wall. What does it say?And they have good reason.
If you imagine that a local business making surgical face masks is working 24/7, guess again
For more than a decade, Mike Bowen, who runs America's number one maker of hospital surgical masks, predicted a pandemic and warned of the perils of offshore...www.dallasnews.com
Works fine for me.
If you have ad blocker you just need to allow the page.
Thanks so much, depotoo!Here is some of it-Ad wall. What does it say?And they have good reason.
If you imagine that a local business making surgical face masks is working 24/7, guess again
For more than a decade, Mike Bowen, who runs America's number one maker of hospital surgical masks, predicted a pandemic and warned of the perils of offshore...www.dallasnews.com
The common theme is that during an outbreak like this, everybody wants to be his customer. But as soon as an outbreak subsides, his customers dump him and run back to China. The reason? His masks may cost a dime each, but a made-in-China mask might go for two cents.
“Last time he geared up and went three shifts a day working his tail off,” the mayor recalled. “As soon as the issue died, he didn’t have any sales. He had to pay unemployment for all these people, and he had to gear down.”
As Bowen explained to Bannon, “I’ve been preaching this American-made story since 2007. Nobody listened. The whole mass market was only interested in price. I’ve been everywhere trying to get people to listen. I’ve talked to congressmen. I’ve talked to generals. I’ve written the president. I wrote President Obama five or six letters, and he sent me a presidential proclamation suitable for framing.”
Bowen wants a guaranteed contract, not a proclamation. It’s tough to win a bid to supply U.S. hospitals through their group purchase agreements that seek the cheapest price when your competitor pays low wages, ignores environmental concerns and is subsidized by a Communist government.
Last month, he got another proclamation but no contract to go with it. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, named Prestige Ameritech the “Senate Small Business of the Week.” The citation notes that the company “has ramped up their daily production to 600,000 masks.”
The company could do so much more.
The best intentions
The company is in a building originally used by Kimberly-Clark to make medical masks. But that company moved its operations to Mexico. When Prestige Ameritech opened in 2005, it was touted as a great day for the made-in-America movement.
By 2009, the company had grown strong enough to meet the demand caused by the H1N1 swine flu outbreak. Hospitals promised to stick with him afterward, but they broke their promise. The allure of cheaper Chinese masks was too great for hospital purchasing groups to ignore...
...
The company nearly went bankrupt. In 2012 the company took out a million-dollar loan.
Mayor Trevino recalls escorting Bowen around the Texas Capitol in Austin as Bowen made his case with state lawmakers for more government support.
“He was begging them to understand that we shouldn’t have all our masks made in China. He wanted a federal government contract that would keep him in steady business,” the mayor said, adding that Bowen wanted to help build a future stockpile for a pandemic that Bowen predicted would happen.
Trevino recalls Bowen saying, “If y’all don’t care about me in good times when everybody’s OK, how am I going to be there when you need me?”
And further down he mentions having to lay off 150 workers after H1N1.
No I'm getting sick of not running my ad blocker every place I go to read. I got it for a reason. But it's okay. Although the OP was unable to summarize his link, depotoo shared it with me.No.Ad wall. What does it say?And they have good reason.
If you imagine that a local business making surgical face masks is working 24/7, guess again
For more than a decade, Mike Bowen, who runs America's number one maker of hospital surgical masks, predicted a pandemic and warned of the perils of offshore...www.dallasnews.com
Works fine for me.
If you have ad blocker you just need to allow the page.
No you dont have ad blocker?
No I'm getting sick of not running my ad blocker every place I go to read. I got it for a reason. But it's okay. Although the OP was unable to summarize his link, depotoo shared it with me.No.Ad wall. What does it say?And they have good reason.
If you imagine that a local business making surgical face masks is working 24/7, guess again
For more than a decade, Mike Bowen, who runs America's number one maker of hospital surgical masks, predicted a pandemic and warned of the perils of offshore...www.dallasnews.com
Works fine for me.
If you have ad blocker you just need to allow the page.
No you dont have ad blocker?
Can't say I can blame the guy one little bit. He simply doesn't need any fair weather friends because they don't pay and they're not around when you need them. This nation is getting just it exactly what it deserves. We need more patriots and real businessmen and fewer MBAs, middlemen and beancounters with their infamous 90 day forward vision that caters only to idiotic analysts on wall street who chase only nickles and dimes for a day or two's profit.Here is some of it-Ad wall. What does it say?And they have good reason.
If you imagine that a local business making surgical face masks is working 24/7, guess again
For more than a decade, Mike Bowen, who runs America's number one maker of hospital surgical masks, predicted a pandemic and warned of the perils of offshore...www.dallasnews.com
The common theme is that during an outbreak like this, everybody wants to be his customer. But as soon as an outbreak subsides, his customers dump him and run back to China. The reason? His masks may cost a dime each, but a made-in-China mask might go for two cents.
“Last time he geared up and went three shifts a day working his tail off,” the mayor recalled. “As soon as the issue died, he didn’t have any sales. He had to pay unemployment for all these people, and he had to gear down.”
As Bowen explained to Bannon, “I’ve been preaching this American-made story since 2007. Nobody listened. The whole mass market was only interested in price. I’ve been everywhere trying to get people to listen. I’ve talked to congressmen. I’ve talked to generals. I’ve written the president. I wrote President Obama five or six letters, and he sent me a presidential proclamation suitable for framing.”
Bowen wants a guaranteed contract, not a proclamation. It’s tough to win a bid to supply U.S. hospitals through their group purchase agreements that seek the cheapest price when your competitor pays low wages, ignores environmental concerns and is subsidized by a Communist government.
Last month, he got another proclamation but no contract to go with it. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, named Prestige Ameritech the “Senate Small Business of the Week.” The citation notes that the company “has ramped up their daily production to 600,000 masks.”
The company could do so much more.
The best intentions
The company is in a building originally used by Kimberly-Clark to make medical masks. But that company moved its operations to Mexico. When Prestige Ameritech opened in 2005, it was touted as a great day for the made-in-America movement.
By 2009, the company had grown strong enough to meet the demand caused by the H1N1 swine flu outbreak. Hospitals promised to stick with him afterward, but they broke their promise. The allure of cheaper Chinese masks was too great for hospital purchasing groups to ignore...
...
The company nearly went bankrupt. In 2012 the company took out a million-dollar loan.
Mayor Trevino recalls escorting Bowen around the Texas Capitol in Austin as Bowen made his case with state lawmakers for more government support.
“He was begging them to understand that we shouldn’t have all our masks made in China. He wanted a federal government contract that would keep him in steady business,” the mayor said, adding that Bowen wanted to help build a future stockpile for a pandemic that Bowen predicted would happen.
Trevino recalls Bowen saying, “If y’all don’t care about me in good times when everybody’s OK, how am I going to be there when you need me?”
And further down he mentions having to lay off 150 workers after H1N1.
I'm in a mood. You're not helping.No I'm getting sick of not running my ad blocker every place I go to read. I got it for a reason. But it's okay. Although the OP was unable to summarize his link, depotoo shared it with me.No.Ad wall. What does it say?And they have good reason.
If you imagine that a local business making surgical face masks is working 24/7, guess again
For more than a decade, Mike Bowen, who runs America's number one maker of hospital surgical masks, predicted a pandemic and warned of the perils of offshore...www.dallasnews.com
Works fine for me.
If you have ad blocker you just need to allow the page.
No you dont have ad blocker?
Whats wrong with turning it off for a page you want to read?
But will people be able to afford the steep jump in Made in America products? Who eventually pays for .08 cents more per mask in a hospital? WE do. That is a 400% increase. And it would account for a lot more than a .10 cent face mask. I would love to see manufacturing come back. But I'm not so sure we can afford it. And we'll be able to buy a lot less. That affects the manufacturers too. I'm not sure we CAN go back. Have we painted ourselves into a corner?Can't say I can blame the guy one little bit. He simply doesn't need any fair weather friends because they don't pay and they're not around when you need them. This nation is getting just it exactly what it deserves. We need more patriots and real businessmen and fewer MBAs, middlemen and beancounters with their infamous 90 day forward vision that caters only to idiotic analysts on wall street who chase only nickles and dimes for a day or two's profit.Here is some of it-Ad wall. What does it say?And they have good reason.
If you imagine that a local business making surgical face masks is working 24/7, guess again
For more than a decade, Mike Bowen, who runs America's number one maker of hospital surgical masks, predicted a pandemic and warned of the perils of offshore...www.dallasnews.com
The common theme is that during an outbreak like this, everybody wants to be his customer. But as soon as an outbreak subsides, his customers dump him and run back to China. The reason? His masks may cost a dime each, but a made-in-China mask might go for two cents.
“Last time he geared up and went three shifts a day working his tail off,” the mayor recalled. “As soon as the issue died, he didn’t have any sales. He had to pay unemployment for all these people, and he had to gear down.”
As Bowen explained to Bannon, “I’ve been preaching this American-made story since 2007. Nobody listened. The whole mass market was only interested in price. I’ve been everywhere trying to get people to listen. I’ve talked to congressmen. I’ve talked to generals. I’ve written the president. I wrote President Obama five or six letters, and he sent me a presidential proclamation suitable for framing.”
Bowen wants a guaranteed contract, not a proclamation. It’s tough to win a bid to supply U.S. hospitals through their group purchase agreements that seek the cheapest price when your competitor pays low wages, ignores environmental concerns and is subsidized by a Communist government.
Last month, he got another proclamation but no contract to go with it. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, named Prestige Ameritech the “Senate Small Business of the Week.” The citation notes that the company “has ramped up their daily production to 600,000 masks.”
The company could do so much more.
The best intentions
The company is in a building originally used by Kimberly-Clark to make medical masks. But that company moved its operations to Mexico. When Prestige Ameritech opened in 2005, it was touted as a great day for the made-in-America movement.
By 2009, the company had grown strong enough to meet the demand caused by the H1N1 swine flu outbreak. Hospitals promised to stick with him afterward, but they broke their promise. The allure of cheaper Chinese masks was too great for hospital purchasing groups to ignore...
...
The company nearly went bankrupt. In 2012 the company took out a million-dollar loan.
Mayor Trevino recalls escorting Bowen around the Texas Capitol in Austin as Bowen made his case with state lawmakers for more government support.
“He was begging them to understand that we shouldn’t have all our masks made in China. He wanted a federal government contract that would keep him in steady business,” the mayor said, adding that Bowen wanted to help build a future stockpile for a pandemic that Bowen predicted would happen.
Trevino recalls Bowen saying, “If y’all don’t care about me in good times when everybody’s OK, how am I going to be there when you need me?”
And further down he mentions having to lay off 150 workers after H1N1.
But will people be able to afford the steep jump in Made in America products? Who eventually pays for .08 cents more per mask in a hospital? WE do. That is a 400% increase. And it would account for a lot more than a .10 cent face mask. I would love to see manufacturing come back. But I'm not so sure we can afford it. And we'll be able to buy a lot less. That affects the manufacturers too. I'm not sure we CAN go back. Have we painted ourselves into a corner?Can't say I can blame the guy one little bit. He simply doesn't need any fair weather friends because they don't pay and they're not around when you need them. This nation is getting just it exactly what it deserves. We need more patriots and real businessmen and fewer MBAs, middlemen and beancounters with their infamous 90 day forward vision that caters only to idiotic analysts on wall street who chase only nickles and dimes for a day or two's profit.Here is some of it-Ad wall. What does it say?And they have good reason.
If you imagine that a local business making surgical face masks is working 24/7, guess again
For more than a decade, Mike Bowen, who runs America's number one maker of hospital surgical masks, predicted a pandemic and warned of the perils of offshore...www.dallasnews.com
The common theme is that during an outbreak like this, everybody wants to be his customer. But as soon as an outbreak subsides, his customers dump him and run back to China. The reason? His masks may cost a dime each, but a made-in-China mask might go for two cents.
“Last time he geared up and went three shifts a day working his tail off,” the mayor recalled. “As soon as the issue died, he didn’t have any sales. He had to pay unemployment for all these people, and he had to gear down.”
As Bowen explained to Bannon, “I’ve been preaching this American-made story since 2007. Nobody listened. The whole mass market was only interested in price. I’ve been everywhere trying to get people to listen. I’ve talked to congressmen. I’ve talked to generals. I’ve written the president. I wrote President Obama five or six letters, and he sent me a presidential proclamation suitable for framing.”
Bowen wants a guaranteed contract, not a proclamation. It’s tough to win a bid to supply U.S. hospitals through their group purchase agreements that seek the cheapest price when your competitor pays low wages, ignores environmental concerns and is subsidized by a Communist government.
Last month, he got another proclamation but no contract to go with it. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, named Prestige Ameritech the “Senate Small Business of the Week.” The citation notes that the company “has ramped up their daily production to 600,000 masks.”
The company could do so much more.
The best intentions
The company is in a building originally used by Kimberly-Clark to make medical masks. But that company moved its operations to Mexico. When Prestige Ameritech opened in 2005, it was touted as a great day for the made-in-America movement.
By 2009, the company had grown strong enough to meet the demand caused by the H1N1 swine flu outbreak. Hospitals promised to stick with him afterward, but they broke their promise. The allure of cheaper Chinese masks was too great for hospital purchasing groups to ignore...
...
The company nearly went bankrupt. In 2012 the company took out a million-dollar loan.
Mayor Trevino recalls escorting Bowen around the Texas Capitol in Austin as Bowen made his case with state lawmakers for more government support.
“He was begging them to understand that we shouldn’t have all our masks made in China. He wanted a federal government contract that would keep him in steady business,” the mayor said, adding that Bowen wanted to help build a future stockpile for a pandemic that Bowen predicted would happen.
Trevino recalls Bowen saying, “If y’all don’t care about me in good times when everybody’s OK, how am I going to be there when you need me?”
And further down he mentions having to lay off 150 workers after H1N1.
Do you honestly not get the drift of my argument? I used that as a small example. Think everything you want to buy costs three or four times what it does today. I would hope it's not that bad, but in the case of face masks, that is what the manufacturer is saying the difference is.But will people be able to afford the steep jump in Made in America products? Who eventually pays for .08 cents more per mask in a hospital? WE do. That is a 400% increase. And it would account for a lot more than a .10 cent face mask. I would love to see manufacturing come back. But I'm not so sure we can afford it. And we'll be able to buy a lot less. That affects the manufacturers too. I'm not sure we CAN go back. Have we painted ourselves into a corner?Can't say I can blame the guy one little bit. He simply doesn't need any fair weather friends because they don't pay and they're not around when you need them. This nation is getting just it exactly what it deserves. We need more patriots and real businessmen and fewer MBAs, middlemen and beancounters with their infamous 90 day forward vision that caters only to idiotic analysts on wall street who chase only nickles and dimes for a day or two's profit.Here is some of it-Ad wall. What does it say?And they have good reason.
If you imagine that a local business making surgical face masks is working 24/7, guess again
For more than a decade, Mike Bowen, who runs America's number one maker of hospital surgical masks, predicted a pandemic and warned of the perils of offshore...www.dallasnews.com
The common theme is that during an outbreak like this, everybody wants to be his customer. But as soon as an outbreak subsides, his customers dump him and run back to China. The reason? His masks may cost a dime each, but a made-in-China mask might go for two cents.
“Last time he geared up and went three shifts a day working his tail off,” the mayor recalled. “As soon as the issue died, he didn’t have any sales. He had to pay unemployment for all these people, and he had to gear down.”
As Bowen explained to Bannon, “I’ve been preaching this American-made story since 2007. Nobody listened. The whole mass market was only interested in price. I’ve been everywhere trying to get people to listen. I’ve talked to congressmen. I’ve talked to generals. I’ve written the president. I wrote President Obama five or six letters, and he sent me a presidential proclamation suitable for framing.”
Bowen wants a guaranteed contract, not a proclamation. It’s tough to win a bid to supply U.S. hospitals through their group purchase agreements that seek the cheapest price when your competitor pays low wages, ignores environmental concerns and is subsidized by a Communist government.
Last month, he got another proclamation but no contract to go with it. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, named Prestige Ameritech the “Senate Small Business of the Week.” The citation notes that the company “has ramped up their daily production to 600,000 masks.”
The company could do so much more.
The best intentions
The company is in a building originally used by Kimberly-Clark to make medical masks. But that company moved its operations to Mexico. When Prestige Ameritech opened in 2005, it was touted as a great day for the made-in-America movement.
By 2009, the company had grown strong enough to meet the demand caused by the H1N1 swine flu outbreak. Hospitals promised to stick with him afterward, but they broke their promise. The allure of cheaper Chinese masks was too great for hospital purchasing groups to ignore...
...
The company nearly went bankrupt. In 2012 the company took out a million-dollar loan.
Mayor Trevino recalls escorting Bowen around the Texas Capitol in Austin as Bowen made his case with state lawmakers for more government support.
“He was begging them to understand that we shouldn’t have all our masks made in China. He wanted a federal government contract that would keep him in steady business,” the mayor said, adding that Bowen wanted to help build a future stockpile for a pandemic that Bowen predicted would happen.
Trevino recalls Bowen saying, “If y’all don’t care about me in good times when everybody’s OK, how am I going to be there when you need me?”
And further down he mentions having to lay off 150 workers after H1N1.
You're worried about a $.08 increase in mask prices?
Have you any idea what the hospital will charge you for an over the counter Tylenol
Do you honestly not get the drift of my argument? I used that as a small example. Think everything you want to buy costs three or four times what it does today. I would hope it's not that bad, but in the case of face masks, that is what the manufacturer is saying the difference is.But will people be able to afford the steep jump in Made in America products? Who eventually pays for .08 cents more per mask in a hospital? WE do. That is a 400% increase. And it would account for a lot more than a .10 cent face mask. I would love to see manufacturing come back. But I'm not so sure we can afford it. And we'll be able to buy a lot less. That affects the manufacturers too. I'm not sure we CAN go back. Have we painted ourselves into a corner?Can't say I can blame the guy one little bit. He simply doesn't need any fair weather friends because they don't pay and they're not around when you need them. This nation is getting just it exactly what it deserves. We need more patriots and real businessmen and fewer MBAs, middlemen and beancounters with their infamous 90 day forward vision that caters only to idiotic analysts on wall street who chase only nickles and dimes for a day or two's profit.Here is some of it-Ad wall. What does it say?And they have good reason.
If you imagine that a local business making surgical face masks is working 24/7, guess again
For more than a decade, Mike Bowen, who runs America's number one maker of hospital surgical masks, predicted a pandemic and warned of the perils of offshore...www.dallasnews.com
The common theme is that during an outbreak like this, everybody wants to be his customer. But as soon as an outbreak subsides, his customers dump him and run back to China. The reason? His masks may cost a dime each, but a made-in-China mask might go for two cents.
“Last time he geared up and went three shifts a day working his tail off,” the mayor recalled. “As soon as the issue died, he didn’t have any sales. He had to pay unemployment for all these people, and he had to gear down.”
As Bowen explained to Bannon, “I’ve been preaching this American-made story since 2007. Nobody listened. The whole mass market was only interested in price. I’ve been everywhere trying to get people to listen. I’ve talked to congressmen. I’ve talked to generals. I’ve written the president. I wrote President Obama five or six letters, and he sent me a presidential proclamation suitable for framing.”
Bowen wants a guaranteed contract, not a proclamation. It’s tough to win a bid to supply U.S. hospitals through their group purchase agreements that seek the cheapest price when your competitor pays low wages, ignores environmental concerns and is subsidized by a Communist government.
Last month, he got another proclamation but no contract to go with it. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, named Prestige Ameritech the “Senate Small Business of the Week.” The citation notes that the company “has ramped up their daily production to 600,000 masks.”
The company could do so much more.
The best intentions
The company is in a building originally used by Kimberly-Clark to make medical masks. But that company moved its operations to Mexico. When Prestige Ameritech opened in 2005, it was touted as a great day for the made-in-America movement.
By 2009, the company had grown strong enough to meet the demand caused by the H1N1 swine flu outbreak. Hospitals promised to stick with him afterward, but they broke their promise. The allure of cheaper Chinese masks was too great for hospital purchasing groups to ignore...
...
The company nearly went bankrupt. In 2012 the company took out a million-dollar loan.
Mayor Trevino recalls escorting Bowen around the Texas Capitol in Austin as Bowen made his case with state lawmakers for more government support.
“He was begging them to understand that we shouldn’t have all our masks made in China. He wanted a federal government contract that would keep him in steady business,” the mayor said, adding that Bowen wanted to help build a future stockpile for a pandemic that Bowen predicted would happen.
Trevino recalls Bowen saying, “If y’all don’t care about me in good times when everybody’s OK, how am I going to be there when you need me?”
And further down he mentions having to lay off 150 workers after H1N1.
You're worried about a $.08 increase in mask prices?
Have you any idea what the hospital will charge you for an over the counter Tylenol
But will people be able to afford the steep jump in Made in America products? Who eventually pays for .08 cents more per mask in a hospital? WE do. That is a 400% increase. And it would account for a lot more than a .10 cent face mask. I would love to see manufacturing come back. But I'm not so sure we can afford it. And we'll be able to buy a lot less. That affects the manufacturers too. I'm not sure we CAN go back. Have we painted ourselves into a corner?Can't say I can blame the guy one little bit. He simply doesn't need any fair weather friends because they don't pay and they're not around when you need them. This nation is getting just it exactly what it deserves. We need more patriots and real businessmen and fewer MBAs, middlemen and beancounters with their infamous 90 day forward vision that caters only to idiotic analysts on wall street who chase only nickles and dimes for a day or two's profit.Here is some of it-Ad wall. What does it say?And they have good reason.
If you imagine that a local business making surgical face masks is working 24/7, guess again
For more than a decade, Mike Bowen, who runs America's number one maker of hospital surgical masks, predicted a pandemic and warned of the perils of offshore...www.dallasnews.com
The common theme is that during an outbreak like this, everybody wants to be his customer. But as soon as an outbreak subsides, his customers dump him and run back to China. The reason? His masks may cost a dime each, but a made-in-China mask might go for two cents.
“Last time he geared up and went three shifts a day working his tail off,” the mayor recalled. “As soon as the issue died, he didn’t have any sales. He had to pay unemployment for all these people, and he had to gear down.”
As Bowen explained to Bannon, “I’ve been preaching this American-made story since 2007. Nobody listened. The whole mass market was only interested in price. I’ve been everywhere trying to get people to listen. I’ve talked to congressmen. I’ve talked to generals. I’ve written the president. I wrote President Obama five or six letters, and he sent me a presidential proclamation suitable for framing.”
Bowen wants a guaranteed contract, not a proclamation. It’s tough to win a bid to supply U.S. hospitals through their group purchase agreements that seek the cheapest price when your competitor pays low wages, ignores environmental concerns and is subsidized by a Communist government.
Last month, he got another proclamation but no contract to go with it. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, named Prestige Ameritech the “Senate Small Business of the Week.” The citation notes that the company “has ramped up their daily production to 600,000 masks.”
The company could do so much more.
The best intentions
The company is in a building originally used by Kimberly-Clark to make medical masks. But that company moved its operations to Mexico. When Prestige Ameritech opened in 2005, it was touted as a great day for the made-in-America movement.
By 2009, the company had grown strong enough to meet the demand caused by the H1N1 swine flu outbreak. Hospitals promised to stick with him afterward, but they broke their promise. The allure of cheaper Chinese masks was too great for hospital purchasing groups to ignore...
...
The company nearly went bankrupt. In 2012 the company took out a million-dollar loan.
Mayor Trevino recalls escorting Bowen around the Texas Capitol in Austin as Bowen made his case with state lawmakers for more government support.
“He was begging them to understand that we shouldn’t have all our masks made in China. He wanted a federal government contract that would keep him in steady business,” the mayor said, adding that Bowen wanted to help build a future stockpile for a pandemic that Bowen predicted would happen.
Trevino recalls Bowen saying, “If y’all don’t care about me in good times when everybody’s OK, how am I going to be there when you need me?”
And further down he mentions having to lay off 150 workers after H1N1.
If the example in the OP's article is any indication, you might pay 3 or 4 times as much. That's not a "little." I agree though that the amount of consumerism has grown almost as large and fast as the Virus. My son in New York state spent 500 dollars to get a bouncy hut and a pony and all sorts of garbage for my granddaughter's 5th birthday--and that was 13 years ago. He said that's what all her friends have. They had to keep up. It's insane. A 13x9 cake with candles and icecream and as many friends as a mother could manage to have in the house at the same time, presents, a few games, take a lot of pictures, say bye and give 'em a muffin liner full of M&M's to take home. That was a kid's birthday party in the 60's and 70's.But will people be able to afford the steep jump in Made in America products? Who eventually pays for .08 cents more per mask in a hospital? WE do. That is a 400% increase. And it would account for a lot more than a .10 cent face mask. I would love to see manufacturing come back. But I'm not so sure we can afford it. And we'll be able to buy a lot less. That affects the manufacturers too. I'm not sure we CAN go back. Have we painted ourselves into a corner?Can't say I can blame the guy one little bit. He simply doesn't need any fair weather friends because they don't pay and they're not around when you need them. This nation is getting just it exactly what it deserves. We need more patriots and real businessmen and fewer MBAs, middlemen and beancounters with their infamous 90 day forward vision that caters only to idiotic analysts on wall street who chase only nickles and dimes for a day or two's profit.Here is some of it-Ad wall. What does it say?And they have good reason.
If you imagine that a local business making surgical face masks is working 24/7, guess again
For more than a decade, Mike Bowen, who runs America's number one maker of hospital surgical masks, predicted a pandemic and warned of the perils of offshore...www.dallasnews.com
The common theme is that during an outbreak like this, everybody wants to be his customer. But as soon as an outbreak subsides, his customers dump him and run back to China. The reason? His masks may cost a dime each, but a made-in-China mask might go for two cents.
“Last time he geared up and went three shifts a day working his tail off,” the mayor recalled. “As soon as the issue died, he didn’t have any sales. He had to pay unemployment for all these people, and he had to gear down.”
As Bowen explained to Bannon, “I’ve been preaching this American-made story since 2007. Nobody listened. The whole mass market was only interested in price. I’ve been everywhere trying to get people to listen. I’ve talked to congressmen. I’ve talked to generals. I’ve written the president. I wrote President Obama five or six letters, and he sent me a presidential proclamation suitable for framing.”
Bowen wants a guaranteed contract, not a proclamation. It’s tough to win a bid to supply U.S. hospitals through their group purchase agreements that seek the cheapest price when your competitor pays low wages, ignores environmental concerns and is subsidized by a Communist government.
Last month, he got another proclamation but no contract to go with it. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, named Prestige Ameritech the “Senate Small Business of the Week.” The citation notes that the company “has ramped up their daily production to 600,000 masks.”
The company could do so much more.
The best intentions
The company is in a building originally used by Kimberly-Clark to make medical masks. But that company moved its operations to Mexico. When Prestige Ameritech opened in 2005, it was touted as a great day for the made-in-America movement.
By 2009, the company had grown strong enough to meet the demand caused by the H1N1 swine flu outbreak. Hospitals promised to stick with him afterward, but they broke their promise. The allure of cheaper Chinese masks was too great for hospital purchasing groups to ignore...
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The company nearly went bankrupt. In 2012 the company took out a million-dollar loan.
Mayor Trevino recalls escorting Bowen around the Texas Capitol in Austin as Bowen made his case with state lawmakers for more government support.
“He was begging them to understand that we shouldn’t have all our masks made in China. He wanted a federal government contract that would keep him in steady business,” the mayor said, adding that Bowen wanted to help build a future stockpile for a pandemic that Bowen predicted would happen.
Trevino recalls Bowen saying, “If y’all don’t care about me in good times when everybody’s OK, how am I going to be there when you need me?”
And further down he mentions having to lay off 150 workers after H1N1.
For the morons that need to be told, the real question is how can we not afford it?
The entire notion of a service economy was idiotic and wacky from the onset. My analogy was the burger flipper at McDonald's selling burgers to the burger flipper at Burger King. It doest take a rocket scientist to figure out that that sort of foolishness can't last for long before you get shit like the 2008 crash.
What happened is we allowed the labor unions to interfere with business's efforts to capitalize, then the environmental whackos jumped on too and soon government goons always looking for votes from know nothing morons jumped in to add to the misery. Business was forced to run to environments where they could compete in a global freemarket enterprise and survive to provide those quarterly nickel dime profits to keep the asshole analysts on wall street happy. Today those chickens are all coming home to roost as they always do and we must pay the piper or else.
Maybe if we paid a little more for quality American made goods instead of pissing it away on essentials like another stupid tattoo, or idiotic overpriced foreign made team wear, we could afford to support our own dumb asses and have a future for ourselves and our kids.
