Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
UA Media Relations
Harris Barnard
+1.831.440.1176
press@uaudio.com
Universal Audio Custom Shop Now Manufacturing PPE for Local Medical Community
— UA to provide 1000 masks to Kaiser Permanente in Scotts Valley and Watsonville to support medical workers in the fight against COVID-19 —
SCOTTS VALLEY, CA • May 13, 2020 — Universal Audio (UA), a leading manufacturer of professional audio recording hardware and software, is proud to play a small part in the fight against COVID-19 by manufacturing masks for the Kaiser Permanente medical communities in Santa Cruz and Watsonville, California.
The UA Custom Shop is known worldwide for its highly skilled employees who hand-wire classic analog recording equipment — products known as the industry standard for over 50 years. When all Universal Audio offices closed on March 16th as part of the Bay Area’s shelter in place order, all manufacturing of UA analog hardware ceased.
UA Custom Shop employees have since transferred their efficient assembly skills to the important task of making cloth masks from their homes. To date, over 1000 masks have been created, and with the shelter in place order continuing, there are no signs of slowing down.
“We are proud to share the enormous talent, craftsmanship, and dedication of our Custom Shop workers with the community in these unprecedented times,” said Bill Putnam, CEO of Universal Audio. “Though we look forward to the day when we can get back to building world-class analog gear, we hope these efforts will make a difference in the lives of our local medical community.”
The UA-manufactured masks, which all share designs expressing UA’s connection to music and creativity, will be donated to the Kaiser Permanente Scotts Valley and Watsonville medical offices and distributed to their staff.
About Universal Audio Inc.
Founded in 1958 by recording pioneer Bill Putnam Sr., and refounded in 1999 by Bill Putnam Jr., Universal Audio is best known for its classic, hand-built analog hardware, award-winning line of Apollo audio interfaces, and advanced UAD Digital Signal Processing technology for recording, mixing, and mastering audio. Headquartered in Scotts Valley, California, with offices in Los Angeles, Colorado, and Amsterdam, UA is focused on merging the best of vintage analog and modern digital technology. With its rich recording heritage, UA has been “Setting the tone since 1958." www.uaudio.com
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