SCHWARZENBACH/SAALE - Nonwovens manufacturer Sandler has inaugurated its new production line which was installed earlier this year to produce filter media for face masks.
The new nonwovens line, which was first announced in April, enables the production of fabric for about 600 million mouth-nose-protection masks a year and had started production on schedule in mid-August. Among many investment initiatives announced in response to the bottlenecks caused by the pandemic, this line is the first of its kind to come on stream to establish German supply chains for medical protective masks. With a small celebration under hygiene conditions, the production line was formally inaugurated with Hubert Aiwanger, Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs, was personally on site together with other guests from politics and business.
CEO Dr. Christian Heinrich Sandler welcomed the about 50 guests, emphasizing that it was and continues to be a matter of course for the company to contribute to overcoming the pandemic. "The main reason for investing in a new production line was our goal to increase our production capacity for nonwovens for face masks as quickly as possible," he said. "On August 14th, as we promised our Federal Minister of Health Mr. Jens Spahn, we began putting the new line into operation. In September, we will commence 24/7 operation."
Dr. Sandler again thanked the representatives of federal, state and regional politics for the excellent, unbureaucratic cooperation; and the suppliers and partners for their commitment and partnership. He also thanked his Sandler team: "We have set up our own team for nonwovens for face masks in our company - for the assembly of the new production line, as well as for the development of new nonwovens for face masks, the cooperation with our partners and the sale of our products. Without these employees we would not have achieved our goal."
In his celebratory speech, Hubert Aiwanger, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs of the State of Bavaria, highlighted the importance of the new investment: "The supply shortages at the beginning of the corona crisis have shown how important the regional Bavarian production of protective equipment is," he said. "Sandler, being a domestic manufacturer of nonwovens for high-quality masks, is helping to combat the pandemic with innovative products. It is a stroke of luck for Bavaria that we have Sandler with us and I am delighted that the company continues to expand the site."
Jens Spahn, German Federal Minister of Health, sent a video message, congratulating and thanking the company for its commitment while Dr. Hans-Peter Friedrich, vice-president of the German Bundestag, Dr. Oliver Bär, Hof District Administrator, and Hans-Peter Baumann, Mayor of the town of Schwarzenbach/Saale, also took the opportunity to personally congratulate Sandler and to express their appreciation.
In May, Sandler AG, PIA Automation and Zettl Group, a key supplier of products for automotive interiors, had established the Mask-Alliance-Bavaria. Together, they set up an entire value chain for the manufacture of face masks in Bavaria. Management representatives of both partner companies were also guests at the inauguration of the new production line in Schwarzenbach.
