Miami, FL: Merlola Industries was created after the COVID-19 pandemic exposed how unprepared America was to handle the demand of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as well as other necessary, everyday products. Merlola believes that the reason America faced extreme shortages while other countries were able to quickly supply their citizens with the necessary products is because America is no longer manufacturing many of the materials and products that it needs to sustain itself. Instead, it relies on outsourcing overseas. Merlola states that, “The main problem with outsourcing in times of crisis is that the supplying countries will hoard those supplies to care for their own people first, causing shortages for the demander.” The move to outsourcing overseas has also increased manufacturing unemployment within the U.S., riddled the market with poorly made products that don’t meet quality standards, and it has taken away America’s power to control prices. Merlola’s solution is to bring manufacturing back to the USA and create more jobs in the process, “By manufacturing products and raw materials domestically, we no longer have to rely on the grace of other countries.”
China is currently the leading manufacturer of the specialized filter material used in the production of masks and other PPE. This material is made by melting and blowing polypropylene to create meltblown and non-woven fabric. Few manufacturers in America have the machines necessary to create this product and many of the ones that do won’t have polypropylene available to them for several months. Merlola Industries, on the other hand, has U.S. sourced polypropylene readily available and creates meltblown domestically rather than outsourcing it from China.
Merlola states that, “What many people don’t know is that the majority of masks produced in China are manufactured in non-sterile factories where masks are made by hand by exploited workers, often in unsafe working conditions.” Unlike the United States, many other countries don’t enforce the same quality standards for their products which can result in serious lack of quality control. The only way to ensure that high standards are met through every step of manufacturing, facilities are clean, and workers are treated fairly is by controlling the supply chain. Merlola Industries factories are FDA approved and are ISO 900 compliant with full control of the supply chain to ensure American quality standards are always met, to ensure all raw materials are sourced within the U.S., to control the timeline of logistics, and to maintain products at a fair price. Despite Merlola’s higher standards for quality control, pricing of the final product is competitive to that of China, making one of the primary incentives for outsourcing obsolete. Merlola has made it their mission to, “bring the production of meltblown and non-woven materials to the United States so our country is always prepared for the demands of the consumer, more manufacturing jobs become available again, and quality and reliable products become the standard.”
About Merlola Industries: Merlola Industries is a leading, U.S.-based provider and manufacturer of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). It manufactures out of the Atlanta area with main offices located in Miami, FL. Merlola Industries is on a mission to bring the manufacturing of PPE and meltblown material back to the United States and, most importantly, maintain complete control of the supply chain.
