Masks in short supply: While now this is hard to imagine anymore, mouth-nose masks were difficult to come by for several months at the beginning of the corona pandemic even though they were urgently needed. So, what could be done about this? For Schreiner Group, the solution was obvious: making masks in-house!

China and the United States—two countries in which Schreiner Group has international locations—were the first to require people to wear masks. Germany subsequently followed suit. Yet at times it was impossible to purchase masks in the marketplace, so Schreiner Group came up with the idea of manufacturing masks in-house. Led by Dr. Jens Vor der Brüggen from Research and Development (R+D), a concept for a mask production kit using existing materials followed by a protype were created practically overnight.

In the next stage, the masks had to be developed to production level and produced on Schreiner Group’s machines. Normally, these product planning processes take a lot longer. For the disposable mask project, the team of employees from various departments and business units needed only two to three days. As a result, 800 masks per day were made available in Oberschleissheim as early as at the end of April.

Although the project was originally intended strictly for covering internal requirements, word of it soon got around, prompting initial inquiries from other companies. In addition to them, a renowned research institute and a ministry of the Bavarian state government are now customers of the masks.

Looking back, Dr. Vor der Brüggen is delighted about this tremendous team achievement: “What made this project stand out above anything else was the outstanding team effort and huge commitment. Everyone chipped in and achieved a fantastic result.”