South DFW News

On a normal day at Texas Pocket Springs in Keene, employees make "a patented belted pocket spring module," that can be used in bedding and furniture. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, that all changed.

The spring modules are enclosed in the same kind of non-woven polypropylene fabric that is used to make surgical gowns. With personal protection equipment (PPE) being in short supply, the company that makes the non-woven polypropylene fabric stopped shipping to Texas Pocket Springs so it could divert those materials to the medical community, according to the Cleburne Times-Review.

Martin Wolfson, owner of Texas Pocket Springs, said he decided to use the rest of the fabric materials he had left to produce face masks.

“I was watching all the news about shortages of these masks, so I said to myself, ‘We use the exact type of polypropylene fabric in our manufacturing process of making pocket springs,’” Wolfson told the newspaper. “What if we modify machinery to make these masks and give them to our local first responders?”

Wolfson, with the help of Lonnie Johnson, chief engineer at Texas Pocket Springs, created machinery to manufacture up to 500 face masks per day and Wolfson believes that number will soon go up to 1,000 masks produced per day.

Donating the face masks to first responders is a priority for Wolfson. He's already made donations to the Cleburne police and fire departments.

“I just felt that these first responders are putting themselves on the front line,” Wolfson told the newspaper. “We’ve got to get them the best equipment to be able to do their jobs without getting sick or taking it home it their children.”

The masks being produced at Texas Pocket Springs are not certified hospital-grade, but Wolfson said he is working on becoming a certified health care product manufacturer, according to the newspaper.

Keene Fire Chief Dan Warner said if Wolfson's masks are certified by the state, they would offer additional protection for first responders.

“Our paramedics are wearing N95 masks, which are in very short supply,” Warner said. “The mask that Mr. Wolfson is producing, should they be approved by the state, would greatly decrease the risk to our first responders.”

Keene Economic Development Director Molly Martin is reaching out to multiple agencies in the state to help Wolfson get more materials to make his masks, according to the Cleburne Times-Review.

“I am currently trying to get in contact with Gov. Greg Abbott’s office to see if we can get another shipment of material shipped to Texas Pocket Springs so Mr. Wolfson can continue to produce more masks,” Martin said. “Mr. Wolfson has dedicated the material he has left in stock to make 20,000-30,000 surgical masks.”