The factory of the Kolmi-Hopen company which manufactures sanitary masks - surgical masks and protective masks - from polypropylene near Angers (Maine-et-Loire) indicates that it is crumbling under demands due to the epidemic of coronavirus, we learned from its director general. In this company which produces up to a million protections per day on its production lines, the masks parade by the kilometer.
Stored in boxes, medical protections then reach a vast storage location, and some will leave Monday for Asia, France and the rest of Europe. “In a normal period, we manufacture more than 150 million medical masks per year and more than 20 million protective masks per year. Today, with the demand that is exponential, we would have requests to make more than 500 million masks all combined, "said Gérald Heuliez, CEO of Kolmi-Hopen.
Chinese factories no longer export
This SME based in Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou, on the outskirts of Angers, is associated with the Canadian group Medicom and currently employs 102 people. She hopes to hire around 30 people in the coming days to meet international demand related to the coronavirus. According to Gérald Heuliez, China and Taiwan, which usually "must supply more than 80% of the world market" in protective masks and surgical masks, have stopped their exports to dedicate all of their mask production to local needs, explaining the current pressure on a factory like his.
The products requested are surgical masks, usually worn by surgeons to protect the operating field and protective masks, which are tighter on the face and usually used to protect against very fine particles, for example in an environment where the 'we are handling wood or flour,' he explained. Polypropylene fibers make up the mask, said Gérald Heuliez, explaining that 70% of the raw materials he uses come from France.
By the Web
Fennel rush because of a viral message on Whatsapp about the coronavirus
Society
A toll-free number for non-medical questions about coronavirus
- Protection
- coronavirus
- Economy
- Angers
- Health
- Factory