Governor Cooper Visits Bright View Technologies, Highlights Efforts To Supply PPE | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    RALEIGH: Today, Governor Roy Cooper visited Bright View Technologies in Durham, an optical film manufacturer that began producing personal protective equipment (PPE) when the pandemic hit. Governor Cooper toured the facility and saw face shield construction and assembly.

    "I am proud of the North Carolina companies, like Bright View, that saw a need for personal protective equipment and got to work making more supplies," said Governor Cooper. "This is the type of North Carolina innovation and cooperation that we need to get through this pandemic."

    Since the start of the pandemic, the state has distributed over 19 million face coverings, 12 million procedure masks, one million face shields and other PPE supplies. The state has worked in partnership with many North Carolina-based companies and others to get PPE supplies to those who need it.

    "At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we leveraged our expertise in manufacturing optical components to retool our factory within days in order to provide critical PPE to the state of North Carolina. We used crowdsourcing to add to our labor pool for the assembly of the face shields and provided employment for over 30 NC residents who had been impacted by COVID-19. To date, Bright View has manufactured over 750,000 face shields with the majority going to North Carolina state and socal agencies," said Bright View Technologies President Jennifer Aspell. "I am very proud of leading an organization that quickly adapted to a challenging environment and made a vital contribution to our community during this crisis."

    To allow for proper distancing and safety protocols, coverage of this event was pooled in coordination with the North Carolina Press Association.

    Video footage of this event is available for media use HERE and HERE.

    Still photos are available for media use HERE, credit to Robert Willett of the News & Observer.

• Contact: Ford Porter
•     govpress@nc.gov