Dräger, a leading player in the fields of medical and safety technology, will expand capacity for mask production and will set up production in the UK to deliver respiratory masks to the British government.

In connection with the Covid-19 pandemic, Dräger said it has received an order from the British government to deliver respiratory protection masks (FFP3). The delivery of the order will start this year and will stretch until the end of 2021. The expected net sales are roughly €100 million ($116.5 million). For this purpose a mask production facility will be set up in the UK, in the Blyth area of Northumberland, the company said in a statement.

This is in addition to the existing production network in Sweden and South Africa and the recently decided new production sites in France and the US. The investment in the expansion of production capacities across all five sites will require a mid-double-digit million euro amount in the current financial year, it revealed.

Rainer Klug, Chief Officer of Safety Division at Dräger, said: “We are very pleased about the major order from the British government. It gives us the opportunity to expand our international production network for FFP masks.”

“With this additional production unit, Dräger will increase volumes quickly and flexibly. Our international production network enables us to react very quickly and specifically to national or local requirements on the one hand, and to cover international requirements in a closely networked and flexible manner on the other. Dräger thus operates a highly responsive manufacturing system for certified FFP respiratory protection masks, with a product design originating from our own development in Germany,” he added.

The company is seeing a significant increase in worldwide demand for its critical care ventilators, accessories, and personal protective equipment, and is expanding its production capacities.

“The global spread of coronavirus is a concern for us at Dräger too. Our primary aim is to maintain business operations and fulfill our social obligations to provide for the public.”

“We are doing everything we can to maintain the global supply of products and services to our customers, even in these challenging circumstances. Please appreciate that in this exceptional situation our procedures may have to be modified to some extent, and response times may become longer,” it said.

In June, the company announced that it has decided to expand its production capacities for light respiratory protection in Europe. To this end, the company will expand existing production sites in Sweden and Germany and build a completely new factory in France.

Klug said: “We assume that demand for light breathing protection will be higher than before the pandemic in the long term. Our goal is to ensure a stable supply of high quality FFP-masks in Europe.”

In order to establish a stable European production network for protective equipment, Dräger has decided on the following measures: 

It will significantly expand the existing production site for FFP-masks in Sweden.

In future, more than twice as many FFP-masks will be produced here per year as before – a number in the mid double-digit million range. Additionally, Dräger creates further capacity for powered air-purifying respirators for light respiratory protection in Germany.

The company will also set up a new production site in France. In future, FFP2- and FFP3 masks will be produced here for the whole of Europe. Investments in new machinery will require a low double-digit million euro amount in fiscal 2020.

Klug said: “We are pleased about the very close and constructive cooperation with the French government. The good exchange and the common goal of providing people with high-quality respiratory protection made it easier for us to decide on an additional location in Alsace.”

Dräger has had a development and production site for respiratory protection technology for firefighters and industry for over 50 years.