US’ largest manufacturer of cotton swabs, US Cotton LLC has bagged a $6.5 million contract from the Biden Administration to increase domestic production capability for polyester tipped swabs for home testing kits and mass testing applications to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ohio-based company will increase its production capacity from 92 million polyester swab tips per month to approximately 371 million polyester swab tips per month by May 2022 to support domestic COVID-19 testing. The DOD contract award was funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to support the domestic industry base expansion for critical medical resources. John Nims, President, US Cotton says, the swabs are designed to make it easier for people at home to self-administer coronavirus tests and will also be used for mass testing applications, which is critically important.

Kim Glas, President and CEO, NCTO, adds., the contract presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to onshore these critical supply chain and advance long-term solutions.