AirBoss stock jumps to a five-year high on news of $121M COVID respirator contract

PHOTO: AIRBOSS

NEWMARKET, Ont. — Shares of AirBoss of America Corp. shot up to a five-year high after the Ontario company said it was awarded a contract worth up to US$121 million to supply as many as 50,000 air purifying respirators to the US government.

The shares hit an intraday high of $24.71 early July 27 and were up $3.65 or 18.5% in later morning trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The contract was awarded by the US Department for Health and Human Services to AirBoss Defense Group, a subsidiary that makes personal protective equipment in Acton-Vale, Que., Landover, Md., Auburn Hills, Mich., Scotland Neck, NC and Charleston, SC.

AirBoss says the contract includes 3 million filters and related accessories, in addition to the respirators, that will be delivered to the US Strategic National Stockpile.

The FlexAir PAPR system is a compact, lightweight powered air purifying respirator system with an onboard lithium-ion battery installed in the waist-mounted blower unit with a lightweight breathing hose to the wearer’s head cover. The company said the design provides protection against particulates, aerosols and biohazards such as COVID-19, using two high efficiency filters at a time.

The contract for US Health and Human Services follows a US$96 million contract in March for 10,000 air-purifying respirators for the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The US Department of Veteran Affairs has also ordered US$2.55 million worth of 60,000 additional filters and 20,000 protective hoods supplied under the FEMA contract to establish a contingency stockpile of consumables for the fight against COVID-19.

AirBoss of America Corp., based in Newmarket, Ont., is a group of businesses supplying custom compounded rubber, survivability solutions and anti-vibration components.

– With files from PLANT magazine