The Coronavirus emergency has brought many sectors of Italian entrepreneurship to the field.
The textile supply chain is converting its production lines to meet the need to produce disposable masks and gowns worn by doctors and nurses in all hospitals.
Among those who immediately took action on this front is Miroglio. The textile group of Alba responded to the appeal of the president of the Piedmont Region and, from the moment when the prototypes were deemed suitable by the Turin crisis unit, it started the production of 600 thousand masks in two weeks.
Artemisia, a textile company from Castel Goffredo, in the province of Mantua, also went to work without waiting for the official certification of the Higher Institute of Health.
At the beginning I was reluctant, because I knew I could not quickly produce a product that could be certified as a medical device. But then Bergamo Hospital told us: anything is better than using the cut sheets. And then we started to produce
This is what Stefano Bottura, owner of the company, who usually deals with external and technical underwear, tells Il Sole 24 Ore. At the moment, it is producing 10 thousand masks a day and developing some certifiable prototypes such as Dpi.
Santini, a Bergamo-based company specializing in technical clothing for cycling, has done the same, now making 4 thousand masks a day.
While the companies are taking action, Confindustria Moda launches an appeal for the supply of water-repellent non-woven fabric (TNT) necessary for the production of masks, gowns and shoes. Among the realities that have applied, there is also the Social Tailoring of the Textile Museum of Chieri, in Turin, which says it is ready to make masks and gowns for free.
