VersaFlex, headquartered in North Ridgeville, Ohio, added the manufacturing of masks and face shields to its toolbox during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company, which specializes in customizable, high-quality thermal bags and cases, adapted its operation to provide these increasingly necessary and highly innovative products for its restaurant clients.

However, these are no ordinary masks.  Thanks to a gasket-style layer that flips up at the top of the mask and covers the nose and cheek bones, air is forced out of the sides of the mask rather than straight up. This makes them more convenient for people who wear glasses—ensuring their specs don’t get foggy—as well as easier to talk in and wear for long periods of time. 

VersaFlex focuses on American-made, high-quality products, including washable pizza bags that come with a five-year warranty and keep pizzas hot and dry. Customers’ only complaint? “They last too long,” jokes VersaFlex owner Larry Nolan.

“It takes just as much labor to make a crap bag as it takes to make a quality one, [so you] just might as well make a quality one,” Nolan says. “Same with pizza—it takes just as long to make a bad pizza than it takes to make a good one, period. Make a good one, it pays off.”

Nolan applies this same philosophy to all of his products, including his variety of masks. As new coronavirus variants are becoming more contagious and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention studies the efficacy of double-layering masks, the quality and proper wearing of masks is increasingly important. 

VersaFlex’s masks are not only designed for more comfortable longtime wear, its three-layer design provides all the protection necessary. Their innovation has paid off as they are in process of getting patented by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Masks, much like social distancing, contactless delivery and carryout, are staples of current daily life for pizzeria owners, operators and employees and a standard piece of equipment for any and all industries still in business today. VersaFlex’s customization capabilities also provide an added branding advantage. They can be customized with your restaurant’s logo and worn by your employees or sold to your customers. Nolan has already created designs for different corporate brands, various branches of the U.S. military, the local postal union as well as various local high schools, including his own alma mater.

Learn more about VersaFlex by visiting their Etsy site at etsy.com/market/versaflex, or contact Larry Nolan at versaflex@gmail.com.