Wiesbaden (Germany) (AFP)

The coronavirus epidemic is driving the factory of Claus Müller, owner of a plexiglass specialist in Wiesbaden, west of Frankfurt, at full speed. But he refuses to rejoice.

"Our turnover has doubled this month compared to usual and if the reason was not so sad, we could be happy," said AFP Mr. Müller, boss of Plexiglas Riesner, a Family SME established here for 114 years.

In the large manufacturing hall, where the two German shepherds of the family roam, the employees cut the large acrylic plates under the deafening noise of the machines to meet the order book. In the next office, the phone keeps ringing.

In fact, customers rushed to the transparent protective walls, simple but effective weapons against the spread of the virus transmitted mainly by droplets of saliva. Their employees are thus protected in situations where the recommended safety distance of two meters is difficult or impossible to respect.

"Our main customers are pharmacies, hospitals, but also administrations or the city of Wiesbaden, doctors and of course shops that cannot close," says Müller.

At Rewe supermarket chains in Germany, Carrefour in France and Walmart in the United States, more and more customers are now passing in front of boxes protected by glass. The German discount chain Aldi has just placed a large order with Plexiglas Riesner.

Material often used to speak of any acrylic glass without distinction, that of better quality preferably used is Plexiglas with a large P, the trademark registered by the German group Röhm.

"The demands really started coming in at the end of February," adds Müller. "The problem is that everyone needs it quickly and we only have a certain production capacity."

- Limited stocks -

The shutdown of large swathes of the world economy and the closing of factories in Germany, as elsewhere in Europe, to fight against the spread of Covid-19, could moreover cause problems to deliver orders.

"The stock is sufficient for one or two weeks and our suppliers have already warned us that there will not be any deliveries in April," says Müller.

"It seems to me that the whole market in Germany is paralyzed," added the sixty-something man.

However, the company will be able to take care of orders for certain long-standing customers in April, once the peak in activity has passed.

The cash inflows in recent weeks mean that "the pressure is gone" and the business will "survive for a while", says the boss, without detailing the figures.

"Unlike other companies, we are not going to go bankrupt," he said. But he is worried about a friend managing a snack bar particularly affected by the confinement and closure of non-essential businesses imposed in Germany.

The global acrylic glass market is expected to grow from $ 5.3 billion in 2019 to $ 7.1 billion by 2024, according to 360 Market Updates.

- 'Security' -

The Plexiglas Riesner company owes its name to the founder of a small family glazing shop, Karl Riesner. It was his son who turned to plexiglass in 1957, which was cheaper and easier to use.

In 2004, Mr. Müller took over the factory via an official website which lists the companies in the "Mittelstand" - a dense network of small and medium-sized enterprises considered to be the key to German success - in search of successors.

"I checked the figures and I knew I could run it," recalls this trained architect.

After the coronavirus crisis, demand for plexiglass in supermarkets will drop and many protective walls will certainly be removed once the danger has passed, Müller expects.

It could be otherwise in pharmacies or at the reception of medical offices.

"We feel more secure", "it also protects our customers if we were infected without symptoms", says Iris Erdelmeier, pharmacist.

His clients appreciate the walls and have suggested that they be preserved.

© 2020 AFP