B.C.'s Vitacore Industries Announces Production Facility And PPE Recycling Project In Saskatchewan

Leading PPE manufacturer plans a factory in the province and expands Canada's first recycling program for single use masks and respirators to Saskatoon City Hospital and others.

VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 16, 2021 /CNW/ - Vitacore Industries Inc. has announced it will be opening a full-scale production facility in Saskatchewan for the manufacturing of medical equipment and PPE in 2022. This information was shared by the Honourable Jim Reiter, minister of SaskBuilds and Procurement, when he introduced Mikhail Moore, president of Vitacore, and John Sprague, director of operations, at the Saskatchewan Legislature this afternoon.

The company will also expand its end-to-end recycling program for single use masks and respirators to the region in a pilot program with the Saskatchewan Health Authority. The first of its kind in Canada, Vitacore's recycling program aims to reduce the pollution in Canada's landfills and create a more sustainable future. The pilot program will begin at Saskatoon City Hospital on January 15, 2022. This follows the program's launch in February 2021 within the Vancouver Coastal Health region, collecting nearly 3 million masks and respirators to-date.

Vitacore is the first and only Canadian company producing N95 respirators to receive Health Canada Authorization and certification by CSA Group and European CE (FFP3) for their CAN95 and CAN99 respirators; the CAN99 achieved 99-100% filtration efficiency in national and international assessments. These certifications demonstrate that Vitacore's CAN99 respirators follow the safety standards required for medical use.

Vitacore was created in British Columbia, by Canadian innovators to support Canadian healthcare professionals during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2020, Vitacore became the first Canadian company to receive Health Canada authorization to produce N95 equivalent respirators, the CAN95, on home soil. Helmed by local business leaders, the privately-held company has quickly grown to a team of 90 employees including engineers and medical professionals at its state of the art facility in Burnaby, B.C. with 6 million medical-grade masks and respirators coming off production lines per month.

"We are thrilled to be working with the Government of Saskatchewan to continue bringing the highest quality masks and respirators to Canadian frontline workers," said Mikhail Moore, president of Vitacore. "As the pandemic remains part of our lives, Vitacore is invested in driving Canadian innovation as one of the top medical respirator manufacturers in the world. With its labour force and space, Saskatchewan was an easy choice for our second facility - we thank the Honourable ministers Merriman and Reiter and look forward to sharing more details of the developments in coming months."

As Canada's leader in medical grade respirators, Vitacore is quickly forging partnerships with some of the country's leading organizations and health care providers including Vancouver Coastal Health.

For more information on Vitacore and its PPE products visit vitacore.ca. For interview requests and assets, please see the media contact below.

About Vitacore Industries Inc.
Vitacore Industries is driven by innovation to provide Canadian healthcare professionals and families with critical personal protective equipment. With the first Canadian made N95 equivalent respirator (CAN95) to receive Health Canada authorization for production in Canada and now the CAN99, Vitacore is creating the new standard for PPE with a mission to protect frontline workers and an aim to use a Canadian supply chain and sustainably produced materials. Visit vitacore.ca to learn more.

SOURCE Vitacore Industries Inc.

Media Contact: Daniel Ma, Citizen Relations (on behalf of Vitacore), [email protected]