WHAT S BEEN HAPPENING

EXCITING NEWS FOR ROCHESTER & LYDALL PERFORMANCE MATERIALS

Thank you to Lydall Performance Materials, located on Chestnut Hill Road in Rochester, who has been awarded a $13.5 million contract with the Department of Defense to help increase production of N95 masks amid the coronavirus pandemic. The company will bring all of the production work from this contract to its Rochester site. At a recent celebration, Lydall President and CEO Sara Greenstein was on hand to speak about the company’s collaboration with business, local and federal government that worked together to expedite the project. She said it was crucial in order to meet the demands for meltblown filtration production, the fabric technology necessary for effective N95 masks, respirators, surgical masks and air filtration systems. Lydall had reached out to the Chamber in April. who then reached out to Mayor Caroline McCarley and Rochester Economic Development requesting contact be made to US Senator Jeanne Shaheen and state officials to make this happen. These efforts brought federal dollars to Lydall and with the cooperation of city, state and federal officials, this important project is on its way to helping so many. Senator Shaheen stated “this project shows how we get things done in New Hampshire at our best. We cooperate at the federal, state and local level to support the private sector and all of the work Lydall employees are doing.” Lydall will now construct a 47,000 sf facility to house two new production lines. This will enable production of 1.2 billion N95 masks per year to aid in domestic COVID-19 safety. “This is going to mean a lot not only for the city of Rochester, but for this country and the world.” Congratulations to Barbara Brulotte–winner of the Early Bird Raffle in the 2020 Chamber Raffle! The Chamber streamed the exciting Early Bird Raffle Drawing live. Matt Beaulieu of Service Credit Union drew the winning ticket and thanked the Early Bird Sponsor—Grondin Funeral Home, as well as the event underwriter D.F. Richard Energy and several other sponsors to date. The Chamber is excited to be having the Chamber Raffle livestreamed on its Facebook page, courtesy of Cremmen Creative on Friday, August 14, 2020. Be sure to tune in to see who will be the winner of the grand prize of a 2020 Harley Davidson FXLR Low Rider Motorcycle or $10,000!

Rochester Mayor Caroline McCarley praised the city Planning Department’s approval of the project and touted the economic and job opportunities the new production lines may bring in the future. Greenstein credited the employees at Rochester’s Lydall stating they have meltblown capability here and have the capacity. “This facility has the know-how ... and we have the engineers. As a result of this opportunity, and the need to move fast because of this pandemic, this location made total sense. Lydall in Rochester will be the largest site for meltblown filtration media production in the United States. “As a market leader in specialty filtration solutions for nearly 100 years, we are proud to bring the full extent of our deep manufacturing expertise, assets and people to bear in the production of personal protective equipment for our first responders, medical professionals, military personnel and the general public.” The first production line is estimated to be completed in December, and the second is estimated to be completed in May 2021. Lydall celebrated with a ground breaking ceremony that included Lydall CEO Sara Greenstein, Rochester Mayor Caroline McCarley,

U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Lydall employees.