Troisdorf, March 23, 2020 | The German machinery and plant manufacturer
Reifenhäuser Reicofil has temporarily converted two of its test plants due to
the corona pandemic: The lines installed in the nonwovens technology
center, which are otherwise exclusively used for research and development
as well as customer trials, have been producing meltblown material for the
production of urgently needed face masks for one week. This is the
company's response to the current emergency in the supply of medical
protective material.
Dr. Bernd Kunze, CEO of Reifenhäuser Reicofil, explains the decision as
follows: "We have considered what contribution we can make in this crisis.
This is of course mainly the fast delivery of meltblown lines to build up
additional capacities. We have drastically reduced our delivery times here.
But we also wanted to provide support at shorter notice. Until the currently
lacking capacities are built up, we are therefore stepping in with the test
plants in our pilot plant station. Not using this capacity now would be
irresponsible in our view.”
Until further notice, the meltblown lines will be operated in 4-shift operation
24/7. The daily output is sufficient for up to one million face masks. Trial
operations will be almost completely suspended during this period. For
Michael Maas, who is responsible for the test plant, this is not a problem:
"Due to the corona pandemic, the customer visits and tests that were
actually planned have increasingly been cancelled, so that plant capacities
1/2
and personnel capacities have been freed up anyway. Switching the plant
from test to production operation therefore makes double sense".
The meltblown material from the nonwoven technology center is already
sold out for the next five weeks. As no German or European producer for
further processing could be found so far, the nonwoven fabric is going to a
Vietnamese manufacturer of face masks. However, Reifenhäuser continues
to look for opportunities to strengthen the local supply during this crisis.
The company is in close contact with associations, authorities and other
companies.
Kunze explains that material for other medical protective clothing could also
be produced at short notice: "We assume that protective suits, hoods, etc.
will also become scarce. We are happy to offer our help here as well. One of
our pilot lines can produce the corresponding material, an SMS nonwoven, in
the highest quality at short notice. In the medium term, however, we should
also expand the real production capacities in Germany or Europe with new
plants here as well".
If you are a German or European company looking for meltblown
material for the production of face masks or SMS nonwovens for other
medical protective clothing, please contact Reifenhäuser Reicofil:
schutzvlies@reifenhauser.com
Reifenhäuser Reicofil GmbH & Co. KG
Reifenhäuser Reicofil, a German plant and machine manufacturer, is the leading global provider
of complete Spunbond, Meltblown, and Composite line. The company has been in business
successfully for over 30 years and has installed more than 260 production lines worldwide. It is
a member of the family-owned Reifenhäuser Group which specializes in plants and components
for plastics extrusion and has a work force of 1600 employees. The CEO of Reifenhäuser
Reicofil is Dr. Bernd Kunze. www.reifenhauser.com, www.reicofil.com
Tanja Kühn-Söndgen
Public Relations
PRESS RELEASE
T +49 2241 23510-480
