Our Story

We formed Critica ^PPE early in the COVID-19 pandemic when we recognized the desperate shortfall in supplying the high-quality needs of medical workers and first responders for N95 masks, gowns and gloves.  Driven by the profit motive and a keen desire to help our fellow citizens, Critica ^PPE began work on solutions to the widespread shortages of PPE supplies.

We recognized early on that fixing the fragile global supply chain associated with the COVID-19 crisis would not be simple. To address the supply chain, we would need to break our reliance upon foreign manufacturing and shift away from our overreliance on global transport.  The USA would need to take steps as a nation to resolve these shortage-induced problems as quickly as possible.

The desperate PPE shortages we experienced early on arose from ‘just in time delivery' and global supply chains. These did not occur overnight, nor did they happen by chance.  This lack of supply for essential PPE was compounded by the overutilization of global supply chains to reduce costs.

The global COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that ensued did not create this situation but certainly made it more visible by exacerbating the systems’ weaknesses and underscoring business approaches based on outsourcing, offshoring, and globe-spanning supply lines.

Critica ^PPE decided to build more resilient, secure, and sustainable supply chains to source our domestic needs for critical PPE supplies. If, as a nation, we could re-orient and re-invest in American manufacturing and supply chains, a big part of the supply shortfall would be alleviated.  We learned a lot during that period and came to appreciate that American ingenuity, creativity, and good old-fashioned grit are very real.

We reached out to domestic manufacturers early in the pandemic and they responded heroically, by innovating and investing heavily in producing scarce PPE supplies like masks and gloves in abundance.  As we turn our attention now to reopening America new challenges have emerged for businesses, schools, colleges, and universities.

For schools, in particular, the pressure to re-open for safe in-person learning is difficult. Significant risks remain. compounded by widespread re-entry anxiety. Health officials, scientists, and policy experts tell us that COVID-19, in the form of regional and seasonal variants is not going away anytime soon. And the next one may be even worse if we do not take the necessary steps.

The most recent CDC guidance describes how businesses, schools, and institutions can safely reopen.  But doing so must recognize the risks and adopt best practice mitigation strategies using tools like temperature kiosks and UV-C sanitizers. Armed with the right products and best practices, school districts of varying sizes can safely re-open safely and remain open.

Risk remains. Re-entry anxiety is very real. And solutions are few.

As part of our efforts in support of businesses, schools, and institutions, Critica ^PPE has assembled a comprehensive line of American Made products and tools. Whether the need is to detect, mitigate or prevent the transmission of viral pathogens, we have the products, devices, technologies, and knowledge to utilize them effectively for multi-layered mitigation.

You need to know the latest technology and tools that are available, what they involve and how they can be best used in your environment. This is where Critica ^PPE can help your business, school, college, or university back to something that increasingly resembles normal.