Mondi, global leader in packaging and paper, is set to build new production lines in its plant in Gronau, Germany, to produce melt blown nonwoven fabric and surgical face masks. This is part of Mondi’s efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and respond to increased demand by health authorities, businesses and consumers for face masks.
Mondi Gronau has a proven track record of producing and handling films, laminates, nonwovens and elastic ear laminates for hygiene products. This knowledge will be applied to the entire value chain of face mask production.
“We are well positioned for the increased production of face masks and melt blown nonwoven fabric in Gronau. Our people have the needed know-how and expertise on working with these materials and the technology required. The in-house production capability of all substantial components positions us to build up a long-term competitive local supply. Once up and running, we will be able to produce more than one million face masks per day.” said Jürgen Schneider, Managing Director, Mondi Personal Care Components (PCC).
The production lines will produce melt blown nonwoven fabric and surgical masks. Given the shortage of melt blown fabric in the market place, Mondi´s plant in Gronau will offer approximately 50% of its production to other face mask manufacturers in Europe.
Technical details:
- Melt blown nonwoven fabric provides a better filtering function than cotton
- The single threads of nonwoven fabric are twenty times thinner than a human hair
- Surgical face masks type IIR have to meet the following requirements:
1. Bacterial Filtration Efficiency: 98%
2. Breathing Resistance: < 60.0 Pa/cm2
3. Splash Resistance: ≥ 16 kPA
About Mondi
Mondi is a global leader in packaging and paper, contributing to a better world by making innovative, packaging and paper solutions that are sustainable by design. Our business is fully integrated across the value chain – from managing forests and producing pulp, paper and plastic films, to developing and manufacturing effective industrial and consumer packaging solutions. Sustainability is at the centre of our strategy and intrinsic in the way we do business. We lead the industry with our customer- centric approach, EcoSolutions, where we ask the right questions to find the most sustainable solution. In 2019, Mondi had revenues of €7.27 billion and underlying EBITDA of €1.66 billion.
Mondi has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (MNDI), and a secondary listing on the JSE Limited (MNP). Mondi is a FTSE 100 constituent, and has been included in the FTSE4Good Index Series since 2008 and the FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment Index Series since 2007.
