Watch Carole Meekins' report at the top of this article.
MILWAUKEE — The arrival of COVID meant steady business for the sanitary wipe industry. The demand lessened with the arrival of vaccines, and as COVID cases declined.
But a local CEO whose company makes sanitary wipes says the new variant is once again having an impact on his business.
"Obviously during COVID, almost all wipe manufacturers including ourselves were running five shifts. That means we never shut down for lunch, never shut down for breaks. We were running 24-7, 365 - we did that for 16 and a half months," explained Mike Kryshak, owner of Rebel Converting.
Kryshak says that ended after the number of COVID cases and hospitalizations declined.
"Since the demand has slowed down, all wet types industry has seen a tremendous slowdown," said Kryshak.
But Kryshak sees a change as COVID cases rise with the highly contagious BA5 variant.