Local business shifts focus to supply frontline workers with face masks

Restaurant supplier MCK Equipment didn’t like the look of what COVID-19 was doing to economies across the world.

Supplying industrial kitchens with everything from pots and pans to salt shakers and anything in between, MCK Equipment shifted away from its most trustworthy sellers roughly a month ago as restaurants and businesses across Saskatchewan began closing.

Now they’re stocked with face masks, and they want them in the hands of the right people.

“Our vision is to help the frontline workers as much as we can,” MCK salesman Rob Jackson said. “We’ve allocated 5,000 masks. Anyone that’s a frontline worker, we want to bless them with some masks.”

Jackson said his owners spent dozens of hours on the phone talking to multiple suppliers to make the frontline drive happen.

The week started with 5,000 face masks slated for frontline workers. By Wednesday afternoon there were just a few boxes at the north industrial business.

“I believe that by tomorrow afternoon we’ll be done, we won’t have any left,” Jackson said. “Now the good news is that the owner of our company is in the process of getting more masks, and when they arrive we’re going to do the same thing again.”

The shift in supplying personal protective equipment for frontline workers was part of the company’s call to action to help supply the country with dwindling protective supplies.

Earlier this week, the chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam defended the values of wearing a mask during the pandemic to slow the spread of COVID-19, creating an uptick in demand.

A month ago, Jackson would have never imagined a mask becoming a common sight in public. His sights were set on hand sanitizer and gloves, something the company is also fully stocked with.

“We’re just very fortunate to even have any,” Jackson said. “I know many other suppliers are scrambling right now.”

While the masks, hand sanitizer and gloves are available for purchase from the public, getting help where it’s needed most was the initial motivator in becoming a temporary supplier of basic protective equipment for healthcare professionals and frontline emergency workers.

“We want to make sure we get the masks into the hands of the people that use them on a regular basis,” Jackson said.