BEIJING: Because the coronavirus pandemic that originated in a central Chinese language metropolis has gone world, 1000’s of factories in China have nimbly turned to a brand new and really worthwhile market — face masks for export.
On the peak of China’s outbreak in early February, Guan Xunze’s firm created a brand new masks manufacturing facility in simply eleven days.
The manufacturing facility, with 5 manufacturing strains in northeastern China, made the much-needed N95 face masks which had been in big demand as an infection numbers surged.
As circumstances within the nation have dwindled, the 34-year-old — who was beforehand in prescription drugs — is now cashing in on new markets and exporting masks to Italy, the place the demise toll has overtaken that of China.
Within the first two months of the yr, a staggering 8,950 new producers began producing masks in China, based on enterprise information platform Tianyancha — racing to fill the large hole in demand.
However after the virus epicentre of Hubei province was positioned on lockdown and the preliminary frenzy started to die down in China, virus outbreaks emerged in new hotspots elsewhere on the planet.
Globally greater than 400,000 have been contaminated with the lethal coronavirus, and demand for protecting gear remains to be hovering as nations throughout the globe battle the outbreak.
“A mask machine is a real cash printer,” stated Shi Xinghui, gross sales supervisor of an N95 masks machine firm in Dongguan metropolis, southeastern Guangdong province.
“The revenue of a masks now’s not less than a number of cents in comparison with lower than one previously.
“Printing 60,000 or 70,000 masks a day is equivalent to printing money.” Qi Guangtu has put greater than 50 million yuan ($7 million) into his manufacturing facility producing mask-making machines within the southern industrial hub of Dongguan.
It has been in 24-hour steady manufacturing since Jan 25 — two days after the dramatic lockdown of Wuhan, the place the virus first emerged.
“Cost recovery is certainly not a problem,” he stated, including that 70 units of apparatus have been offered for greater than 500,000 yuan ($71,000) every. He has greater than 200 further orders in hand, price over 100 million yuan ($14 million).
“The machines pay for themselves in 15 days, ” stated Qi, saying the funding is price it for his shoppers. Producer You Lixin had by no means set foot in a masks manufacturing facility earlier than.
Printed in Daybreak, March 28th, 2020
