Pictured is a prototype of Curtis Wazny's modified face mask which offers increased safety. As a bonus, he says orders can be customized with a logo on the top piece. (Supplied)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

UPDATE

Central Alberta face shields garner interest from the U.S. and Newfoundland

Apr 5, 2020 | 7:00 PM

A central Alberta business owner has garnered fairly widespread attention since unveiling face shields he can manufacture from his laser design facility in Penhold.

rdnewsNOW first told you about Curtis Wazny’s face shields on March 26.

His initial design has changed somewhat, and though that means a couple thousand less can be made daily, Wazny says they can still make about 1000 in 24 hours. The product has been submitted to the federal government through its buy and sell program.

Wazny is yet to hear from the Government of Canada, but does have orders from several places.

He is currently making up 25 for the Penhold Fire Department, 500 each for an Edmonton nursing school and for AltaGas, and 100 to send to optometrists in Newfoundland.

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“I also had an American procurement company call me and ask me if I was able to deliver 100,000 masks in two weeks, which I told them is next to impossible,” he shares. “So I said no because of that, but also for other reasons. I do believe all countries on Earth right now should be working together to help combat this.”

Hence the new slogan Wazny has slapped on each mask: “Canada: Unified is who we are.”

Wazny is also now in the supplier database for the Province of Saskatchewan, and has received interest from Safeway/Sobey’s to potentially get them to frontline workers across the country.

Additionally, Wazny is looking to work with extended care homes to ensure they have ample supply.

“Now with the threat of the U.S. possibly holding back supplies, that could essentially make it much more difficult to find the gear, and this is far from over,” he admits. “We need to get this moving now so that we are stockpiled if this ends up going into the summer months. The time for waiting to see what happens has come and gone. It’s time now to act.”

As for the modifications, the masks now provide a better fit and increased safety. If scratched, the front piece can even be replaced. And they remain shippable by the hundreds, which he says is an advantage his have over shields which are 3D printed.

“I’m happy that I didn’t just sit back and not use my head to figure out what I could do to help,” the Red Deer resident adds. “Am I proud? Yes. But more importantly, no matter what else I do, I will be able to say I contributed something to help fight this.”

RELATED: Red Deer man applies to make face shields for COVID-19 pandemic