BROOKLYN, N.Y. — September 27, 2021 — On September 25, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), Isabella Casillas Guzman, and Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) visited Brooklyn Navy Yard’s American PAPR LLC, a personal protective equipment (PPE) manufacturer that produces powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) for healthcare workers and industrial workers. The visit kicked off an all-day tour of small businesses and manufacturers in New York’s 7th Congressional District.
“Having been a small business owner myself and having grown up in a family of medical professionals, I understand how important small businesses like veteran-led American PAPR are for frontline healthcare workers near and far as we continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic,” Administrator Guzman said. “American PAPR and its 17-state supply chain serve as an example as to how small businesses can create good jobs locally, build Made in America supply chains and grow our economy.”
Representing more than 30 million small businesses in the United States, Guzman was sworn in as the 27th Administrator of the SBA on March 17, 2021. Guzman is committed to helping small business owners and entrepreneurs start, grow, and maintain resilient businesses. Previously, Guzman served as the Director of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate, where she was a voice on behalf of small businesses and startups in the fifth largest economy in the world.
“We’re grateful for the opportunity to showcase our facility to Administrator Guzman and provide a glimpse of our start-to-finish PPE assembly and manufacturing process,” said CEO Giles Kyser. We’re also incredibly thankful to Rep. Velazquez for recommending our facility as part of the SBA’s small business tour in the 7th Congressional District. Small businesses are the core of our nation and we welcome all leaders both locally and in Washington who are committed to strengthening our economy.”
American PAPR launched in response to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to protect America’s healthcare heroes on the front lines. The fully NIOSH-approved FELIX-200 PAPR is engineered and designed to provide the highest level of respiratory protection against viral diseases with its integral face shield and loose-fitting face mask that doesn’t require fit testing. In 2020, their original PAPR, the FELIX-100, was deployed to medical facilities in dire need across the country in response to the initial surge. American PAPR’s seventeen-state supply chain enables the manufacturer to produce hundreds of PAPRs weekly.
Posted September 27, 2021
Source: American PAPR LLC
