In the current context of high demand for medical equipment and protective materials in sufficient quantities, originating from the Ministry of Health as well as from the private sector, a high number of companies that are not specialised in the medical sector have stepped forward.
They have offered concrete solutions, in particular for the immediate production of such materials or for adapting their existing production tools.
Luxinnovation has taken on the coordination of these private sector initiatives. The agency’s sector managers and SME advisers are thus deploying their networks in order to help the companies find public or private partners needed to get organised with the production of personal protective and medical equipment.
To date, we have identified 95 companies that can really participate in this initiative.
This mainly concerns industrial quantities of individual protection products that meet the standards and requirements in force, such as surgical and respiratory masks, protective suits and aprons, protective visors and disinfectant solutions.
“To date, we have identified 95 companies that can really participate in this initiative,” explains Sasha Baillie, CEO of Luxinnovation. “They are active in sectors as varied as industrial manufacturing, plastics, logistics, chemicals and cosmetics. So it’s very broad.”
Collaborative process
Testing phases are currently underway, and the first concrete production initiatives could follow in the coming days.
Luxinnovation supports, for example, the on-going 3D printing and logistical management of protective masks, while the Luxembourg industry is also exploring the possibility of implementing an injection moulding process.
Such equipment is essential not only for the health sector, but also for all businesses that need to continue to operate (food production, transport, retail, skilled crafts, etc.).
This initiative is a necessary response to an urgent need.
“This initiative is a necessary response to an urgent need,” says Sasha Baillie, CEO of Luxinnovation. “The production capacities that we can call on obviously do not cover all the needs, but it is essential to mobilise a maximum of skills and to activate such collaborations and solidarity between companies and people across our country.”
Luxinnovation’s initiative is part of the actions of the crisis unit implemented under the supervision of the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Economy and its Directorate General for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. The unit is also supported by the professional federations.