About Us
Who We Are
Our FDA 510(k) cleared ASTM Level 3 disposable surgical masks are manufactured in Tampa, Florida with US sourced materials. Our executive and management teams are both highly diverse, as is our ownership. Our ownership team consists of professionals with decades of experience in the medical, energy, construction and food/beverage industries.
Our state-of-the-art 10,000 sf manufacturing facility has been upgraded to house up to 8 automated machines that are each capable of producing 100 masks per minute. Our facility follows the strictest guidelines set by the CDC to protect our employees and their families in this pandemic environment.
American Surgical Mask Co is a socially responsible company. We have established our manufacturing facility on the campus of Tampa Hillsborough Action Plan Team (THAP), an entrepreneurial business incubator with over 50 minority-owned businesses. Our company prides itself on offering all of our employees a living wage. Our executive team is actively involved in mentoring and supporting local entrepreneurship, and regularly donates surgical masks to the local community. During the Super Bowl LV, our company donated nearly 200,000 masks to the city of Tampa to support a safe environment for all attendees.
AMMA (American Mask Manufacturers Association)
AMMA has been established to ensure the current and future health of a critical domestic mask-manufacturing base. AMMA’s focus is on the manufacture of masks that are fully compliant, meets FDA regulations, and are high-quality products for the US market. Our members represent US manufacturers of disposable surgical masks scattered across the country, all with one mission: To secure the health of our long-term domestic supply.
Please visit https://www.ammaunited.org/ for more information.
Our Team
Executive Team
Matthew Brandman
President & CEO
A serial entrepreneur with 20 years of expertise in all facets of real estate acquisitions, entitlements, development, construction, and sales, developing close to $250,000,000 worth of real estate in the past 10 years, while creating a self-contained supply chain including sourcing and purchasing activities.
Kalu Watanabe
Chief Strategic Officer
Kalu is a serial entrepreneur founding innovative new businesses, developing IP and innovating technologies. He has led recruiting, research, operating & strategic partnerships around the world. As an award-winning business plan writer, he has established strategic footprints for multiple start-up businesses.
Charles Young
Chief Financial Officer
Charles has over 25 years of experience in public accounting, private industry, and internal audit. His career started at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has since worked at Coca-Cola and Time Warner. Through his family-owned tax and accounting firm, he consulted with various publicly traded companies, private entities, and non-profits in the capacity of CFO, Director of Finance, and Chief Accountant.
Jacqueline Watanabe
Chief Compliance Officer
Jacqueline, a seasoned Florida licensed attorney & auditor with experience in cannabis regulations and National Organic Program regulatory compliance. She has focused on the areas of compliance, QA, QC, and adaptation of cultivation and production methods compliant in multiple states’ regulatory schemes.
Board Members
Lamar Dula
Board Member
Lamar is a prolific entrepreneur, innovator, problem solver, critical thinker and disrupter who is adept at identifying opportunities and executing on strategic & business objectives across the United States. His experience includes federal contracting procedures, distribution chains and procurement logistics.
Dr. Fungisai Nota
Board Member
Dr. Nota is a health economist and entrepreneur who focuses on assisting organizations in finding strategies to be fiscally sustainable. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics, Finance and International Business; Master of Science degree in Economics; Master’s degree in Public Health; and a Doctorate in Applied Economics.
Bill Macbride
Board Member
Bill MacBride is a savvy businessman with a varied range of professional experience. He is founder and managing partner of General Computer Services, a software consulting company that automates private and public court systems and probation companies all across the United States.
Operations Team
Corey Harpin
VP of Operations
Corey brings over 20 years of operational management experience to our team, with the last 17 coming in the manufacturing sector. Corey is an active practitioner of both Lean and Six Sigma, and holds a Green Belt through ASQ, as well as a CTLD through APICS.
Tara Jones
Plant Manager
Tara has over 18 years of manufacturing experience, with the last 10 years geared towards the management side of manufacturing. She has a degree in Criminology and will soon be looking to go back for her master’s in manufacturing engineering.
Aaron Watanabe
Sales Director
Aaron’s diversified background ranges from MMTC application consulting, to commercial property sales, to retail management. Utilizing their unique background, they have applied these skills and contacts to lead the sales charge for American Surgical Mask Co.
