After hydroalcoholic gel and masks, plexiglass is fast becoming the new essential element to face the coronavirus crisis, especially in shops, offices and transport. But the demand for these transparent walls to protect themselves is so strong that there is a shortage, as specialized companies will soon run out of stocks.
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"Everyone wants their protection for May 11," confirms Victor Marquès, director of the company "Avenir Plastique", in Val-de-Marne. He did not stop during confinement and even worked much more with new orders, each time for tailor-made and for new trades. "For example, it was a hairdressing salon where we had to make plexiglass protections between the seats. We did a few hospitals in Paris, given that we had to create protections at the counter level. asked to make plates to hang them on the ceiling to try to make a separation between the bartender and the customers ", he details at the microphone of Europe 1.
"We work day by day"
But this plexiglass rush prevented this company from responding to all orders, and the thin, transparent walls became thicker and sometimes opaque, due to lack of stock. "The more it goes, the thicker the walls, because there are no more thin layers", explains Victor Marquès. And warn: "By the weekend, even for us, it will be impossible to create protections. We are working day by day for now."
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And this shortage is national. One of the biggest French suppliers confides to have sold in a month what it usually sells in a year and assures that the next orders of raw materials will not be delivered for several weeks.