For Immediate Release
September 16, 2020
Minden, Ontario– In a time of uncertainty for all Canadian businesses from border to border, March of 2020 was met with the arrival of an unprecedented economic shut-down nation-wide. For some, this meant scaling down day-to-day operations. For others, it sadly meant the termination of their businesses. For others yet it opened a window of opportunity to answer the call of action and supply their community, province and country with Medical PPE (personal protective equipment). Tekrider, a manufacturer of high quality PPE gear for the power sport industry since 1996, easily pivoted their manufacturing process in order to supply medical grade PPE gowns and caps as well as non-medical masks.
On March 15th Tekrider, like so many other businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic were forced to stop producing their primary product, the TekVest. However, Steve Brand (owner and co-founder since 1996) saw the opportunity to pivot his production line, double the size of his team, and fill the need for medical grade PPE. Within 2 months on May 19th 2020, an unusually quick time, the Province of Ontario had provided Tekrider with an MDEL (Medical Devices Establishment Licence). This unique license certifies that any manufactured medical PPE meets the necessary safety requirements laid out by Health Canada.
“We received our MDEL in less than 2 months; it was amazing how quickly we were able to start producing these gowns and masks,” said Brand when commenting on their venture into the Medical PPE market, “I’m very impressed with our team by their flexibility and capability to change gears and produce this high quality level 2 gear; our high standard of quality from the PPE TekVest lineup has been carried onto these new products.” Level 2 materials define medical grade material that can be used in medium to high risk fields of contamination.
Since May 19th, Tekrider has proudly been supporting the Province of Ontario by developing and distributing medical PPE for local and regional hospitals, fire departments, EMS, and the Province itself. Now that the Province’s economy has begun to reopen and regulate, they are able to produce their TekVest after months of halted production alongside their newfound medical PPE product line. However, they are excited about the future of keeping their community and province safe, prepared, and properly equipped with the necessary tools to flatten the curve. Contact Owen Duhaime for further information; [email protected]
