The Origins of the Nimbly Mask

When the apparel industry ground to a halt due the Covid 19 virus, the team here at Nimbly, focused all of our energy on the Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) market. With all that we had learned knitting on-demand apparel for Direct To Consumer (DTC) brands such as Ministry of Supply we knew that we could use computer-driven manufacturing to rethink mask production with our on-demand knitting platform. 

While there were plenty of people making simple cut and sew cloth masks, the team felt the real opportunity was making masks that had N95 equivalent filtration capabilities. We used our Shima Seiki Whole Garment knitting machine to create a prototype mask with a pouch for a filter and produced five rapid iterations with doctors at UCLA affiliated hospitals. The computerized 3D knitting enabled the team to create a curved structure in the mask so it fit over your mouth and nose comfortably while maintaining a snug and safe fit.  Each time, we reprogrammed the design to get to a perfect fit, good comfort and full protection. After multiple rounds of testing, we converted the programming for the mask to run on the most common automatic knitting machine, the Stoll 7.2 in order to scale production. 

Teaming up with Ministry of Supply

We completed the first mask production for our existing customer, Ministry of Supply at a partner factory in LA. These 1,500 masks went to the Harvard Vanguard Hospital and Mount Sinai in NY. In fact they were so popular, Ministry of Supply ordered 5,000 more. We continued to iterate and improve the mask creating multiple versions including one that incorporates XSTATIC , an anti-bacterial yarn with embedded silver ions. 

The work for Ministry didn’t go unnoticed. The requests for masks from brands all over began to pour in, and we knew we had to work fast in order to scale production to meet the needs of potentially millions of masks.

We quickly began to build out the supply chain for yarn, filters, and machine capacity. Because of the extra high demand for PPE, the raw material market was in complete disarray. In less than a week however, we locked up all the raw materials we needed.  This was no simple feat given the current market. The cotton yarn came from one company. The XSTATIC silver ion yarn came from a different company. They both had to be shipped to a third company that twists them together so they could be knitted properly. 

The metal nose bridge was a bit of serendipity combined with detective work. One of our Nimbly team members wondered if the heavy twist tie that holds her coffee bag closed would work? She searched and found the company that made the twist tie and when she contacted them, discovered that their main product was mask nose bridges. Problem solved. And then there were the filters… 

A Mask isn’t a Mask Without a Filter

A better mask that truly eliminated the Coronavirus needed a design that incorporated a filter. The filter needed to be N95 (BFE 95 and PFE 95) compliant meltblown polypropylene with the proper testing paperwork. Every time we found a supply, it disappeared. We finally located and locked in a substantial supply of filter material from two different American suppliers. One more problem solved. With the reserved material we will be able to cut several million filters a week. This is vital, as each washable mask comes with either multiple disposable filters or a washable filter.

Concurrently, we arranged for US production in LA at the same factory that made the masks for the Ministry of Supply order. The factory can produce 250,000 masks a month as of May 1. That solved the near-term demand but still was not enough volume. We then structured a deal with a partner factory in Sri Lanka that has the capacity to knit more than 1 million masks a month

The story continues to evolve as more people see the mask and try it for themselves, and the pandemic progresses. But the very aptly named Nimbly team showed how you can use the right technology, industry knowledge and willingness to think differently to go from units of 1 to units of 1 million in a few short weeks.