RED DEER -- A Red Deer man hopes to start producing face shields for doctors and nurses after applying with the federal government.
Curtis Wazny, owner of Laser’s Edge Design in Penhold, applied on the government's website and is awaiting approval. If he is approved, he will start mass-producing disposable plastic face shields.
Wazny said he got the idea to apply after he noticed many hospitals reported being low on supplies.
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“It looked like it was becoming more apparent that there were most hospitals around the country starting to run out of medical supplies," he said. “I applied right away as soon as I saw it.”
Wazny owns a computer-controlled laser that he said can manufacture the face shields quickly. The plastic he's planning to use is the same material used for plastic sheets seen in overhead projectors.
“They can cut a sheet really quick,” said Wazny. “I could probably produce two of these masks in about a minute.”
Wazny said COVID-19 has affected his business negatively like so many others, causing him to lose contracts.
But he doesn’t care to make much of a profit off the face shields. He wants to help because his mother is an ER nurse, and he understands the importance of personal protective equipment.
“My main objective here is to try to at least contribute.”
If he gets the approval, he predicts that he could produce up to 5,000 face shields a day.
