CIT Group provided financing for Aria Designs to help it procure millions of advanced N95 surgical masks that will protect medical professionals battling the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aria Designs, a North Carolina-based furniture manufacturer and importer, is using its global supply chain and manufacturers to supply the protective masks. To help finance the order, Aria Designs turned to CIT, which has worked with Aria to finance its furniture transactions.
“We explained the situation and CIT immediately said: ‘Let’s go. How can we help?’” recalled Jeff Arditti, CEO of Aria Designs in Lenoir, said. “That gave us the confidence to go forward. CIT made it possible.”
To date, Aria Designs has collected orders for more than five million masks from hospitals, medical practices and emergency services across North Carolina. The first masks are expected to arrive in the coming days, with millions more to follow by airfreight in the days and weeks ahead.
“Supporting clients is central to how we do business,” Mike Hudgens, Southeast regional manager for CIT’s commercial services group, said. “When we learned of this opportunity to help our client and join the fight against COVID-19, we jumped right in.”
About 150 people are employed by CIT in Charlotte, NC, with the large majority of them associated with the commercial services group supporting companies that sell furniture, apparel, housewares, electronics, toys and hardware.
“Financing that gets protective masks flowing to the healthcare professionals who need them most is another example of how CIT’s expertise empowers businesses to make good things happen,” Hudgens said. “We’re proud to have played a key role in financing the delivery of surgical masks that will help stop the spread of the coronavirus from patient to healthcare provider.”
For Aria Designs, the quick pivot to importing surgical masks has also allowed it to keep more of its workforce employed during the retail shutdown.
“It’s our privilege to support the healthcare community in the midst of this unprecedented emergency,” Arditti said. “We’re grateful for CIT’s financial expertise in making this possible.”
