Prestige Ameritech
{{Short description|American manufacturer of surgical masks and respirators}}
{{Infobox company
| industry = Manufacturing
| founded = 2005
| founder = Dan Reese
Mike Bowen
| hq_location_city = North Richland Hills, Texas
| products = Surgical masks
Respirators
| website = {{URL|prestigeameritech.com/home}}
}}Prestige Ameritech is an American manufacturer of surgical masks and respirators based in North Richland Hills, Texas. The company produced over a million surgical masks per day during the height of the 2009 swine flu pandemic{{cite news |last1=Lavandera |first1=Ed |title=Flu has sole U.S. surgical mask producer scrambling |url=https://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/30/swine.flu.masks/ |accessdate=10 May 2020 |work=CNN |date=30 April 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507215245/https://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/30/swine.flu.masks/ |archivedate=7 May 2009}} and rose to prominence again during the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite news |last1=Davis |first1=Aaron C. |title=In the early days of the pandemic, the U.S. government turned down an offer to manufacture millions of N95 masks in America |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/in-the-early-days-of-the-pandemic-the-us-government-turned-down-an-offer-to-manufacture-millions-of-n95-masks-in-america/2020/05/09/f76a821e-908a-11ea-a9c0-73b93422d691_story.html |accessdate=10 May 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=9 May 2020}}
History
Prestige Ameritech was founded in 2005 by Dan Reese and Mike Bowen.{{Cite news |last=Davis |first=Aaron C. |date=2020-05-11 |title=In the early days of the pandemic, the U.S. government turned down an offer to manufacture millions of N95 masks in America |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/in-the-early-days-of-the-pandemic-the-us-government-turned-down-an-offer-to-manufacture-millions-of-n95-masks-in-america/2020/05/09/f76a821e-908a-11ea-a9c0-73b93422d691_story.html |access-date=2024-08-15 |work=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}
According to a whistleblower complaint by Rick Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), Prestige Ameritech offered to provide masks in January 2020 but was rebuffed by the Trump administration.{{cite news |last1=Lerner |first1=Sharon |title=Whistleblower Details How Trump's Bureaucrats Refused to Secure N95 Masks as Pandemic Loomed |url=https://theintercept.com/2020/05/07/coronavirus-whistleblower-hhs-n95-ppe/ |accessdate=10 May 2020 |work=The Intercept |date=7 May 2020}} Executive Vice President Michael Bowen noted that in the event of a "dire situation", his company could increase production by 1.7 million N95 masks per week by reactivating four N95 manufacturing lines in "like-new" condition at significant cost, but would require a major financial commitment from the government. White House economic adviser Peter Navarro said that "the company was just extremely difficult to work and communicate with."{{cite news |last1=Beggin |first1=Riley |title=Trump administration reportedly refused a January offer for millions of US-made N95 masks |url=https://www.vox.com/covid-19-coronavirus-us-response-trump/2020/5/10/21253689/covid-19-masks-trump-white-house-prestige-ameritech |accessdate=15 May 2020 |work=Vox |date=10 May 2020}}
Ultimately FEMA took over mask acquisition for the government in March, during which Prestige submitted a bid. Bowen went on former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon's "War Room" podcast to press his case,{{cite news |last1=Allen |first1=Jonathan |last2=McCausland |first2=Phil |last3=Farivar |first3=Cyrus |title=Want a mask contract or some ventilators? A White House connection helps |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/political-influence-skews-trump-s-coronavirus-response-n1191236 |accessdate=10 May 2020 |work=NBC News |date=24 April 2020}} and on April 7 Prestige won a $9.5 million FEMA contract to produce a million N95 masks per month over a period of one year at 79 cents apiece, a pace that did not require the company to restart its idle manufacturing lines. This deal was criticized as evidence of favoritism by the Trump administration, as this was only the second time in FEMA's history that a contract was awarded due to direct intervention by the president.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.prestigeameritech.com/ Official website]
- [https://www.kmblegal.com/sites/default/files/NEW%20R.%20Bright%20OSC%20Complaint_Redacted.pdf Whistleblower complaint by Rick Bright] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221210624/https://www.kmblegal.com/sites/default/files/NEW%20R.%20Bright%20OSC%20Complaint_Redacted.pdf |date=2021-12-21 }}
Category:Health care companies based in Texas