Helping companies assemble face masks and other personal protective equipment has been just a part of Sonitek’s business in Milford, but it’s suddenly an important one in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic.

“In order to make a face mask, you need an ultrasonic welder,” said Tom Bishop, sales manager for Sonitek and son of the founder of the family-owned business.

Face-mask manufacturers “build large automated systems, and our components go in those systems to join N95 face masks,” he said.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., honored the company this week as his “Monday Manufacturer.”

“Sonitek is another example of Connecticut companies stepping up in a major way in the fight against COVID-19,” Murphy said in a statement.

“Their products are used to make the very critical N95 masks and PPE that our frontline workers need to protect our communities and save lives. I want to applaud them for their three decades of service to Connecticut manufacturing and their efforts to train the next generation of manufacturers in our state.”

A video on the company’s website, sonitek.com, shows how their welders help manufacture masks.

The company will also be assisting in manufacturing ventilators.

Tom Bishop’s father, Robert, founded the company, which began operating in January 1990. They started in one unit, grew to four and now have their own 12,000-square-foot building on Research Drive, and, with about 50 employees, they’ve about filled that building, Tom Bishop said.

The pandemic has them working overtime to fill needs, but the demand for some other products has slowed, too: “99 percent of our business is not face masks and ventilators,” Bishop said.

The company has three main divisions, ultrasonic welders, heat staking machines and air presses. Heat staking assembles plastic parts to other materials (like the logo on a steering wheel, Bishop said, keeping the logo from flying at the driver if the air bag deploys); air presses assemble parts without heat.

They supply to a variety of industries, including automotive, medical and food.