Pöppelmann produces high-quality masks

Simple handling: The fleece material is pressed onto the star-shaped grid of the mask opening with a fixing ring. An elastic band ensures it stays in place on the head.

He gave the impetus for the development of the mask at Pöppelmann: Torsten Mairose from Pöppelmann FAMAC® here with one of the first mouth-nose coverings after the start of serial production.

Under the name FaireMasken, the Pöppelmann company Lohner Kunststoff is now launching affordable mouth-nose coverings. The high-quality masks can now be ordered from the company's webshop at www.fairemasken.de. Managing Director Matthias Lesch explains: "Pöppelmann acts quickly and pragmatically. That is our promise to our customers – and that is our self-imposed standard in these challenging times. Now, straightforward and at the same time meaningful solutions are needed. We are confident that our resource-efficient, cost-effective, and versatile masks belong to them."

The masks from Pöppelmann, suitable for long-term multiple use, are intended as mouth-nose coverings to help catch the droplets that can spread when coughing, sneezing, or speaking and to reduce their speed. They can be worn in situations where a provisional mouth protection seems sensible – for example, in collaboration with others, but also on buses and trains or while shopping. Pöppelmann explicitly points out that FaireMasken are currently neither certified nor medically tested.

Due to their design, Pöppelmann masks fit more closely to the face than, for example, an improvised cloth mask. Given the currently very limited supplies of filter materials, the company highlights another advantage: while other masks are often made entirely of fleece material, only a small piece is needed for each use of this mask. Additionally, the options for selecting the filter material are very flexible: depending on availability, the use of simple paper tissues is just as conceivable as higher-quality fleece materials.

Customers from the healthcare sector, aid organizations, and public administration receive the masks at special conditions (2.50 euros per mask, including fleece material plus shipping costs). "We find that only fair," explains Managing Director Matthias Lesch. "Because the employees in these system-critical areas are committed to our health in the current situation." Of course, the company itself is also happy to receive inquiries from industry, trade, and commerce. "We know from our own experience how important preventive measures are in everyday business," says Matthias Lesch. Companies can order at a cost-effective unit price of 3.50 euros (including fleece, plus shipping costs). For legal reasons, the masks cannot be sold to private individuals.

The Managing Director points out that a large demand is already emerging. "Our involved teams will do everything to process the inquiries promptly." The company was able to realize this product development in a very short time. "This was only possible through the enthusiasm and strong collaboration of the many involved colleagues. That is what makes Pöppelmann stand out, even in these times of crisis."

The idea arose in mid-March within the team of the Pöppelmann Division FAMAC® against the backdrop of the noticeably evident effects of the pandemic at that time. The wife of Pöppelmann colleague Torsten Mairose, who works in a medical practice, told him about the consequences of the glaring supply shortages. Coincidentally, shortly thereafter, a conversation took place with his colleague Mike Landwehr: the sales representative at Pöppelmann FAMAC® and specialist for medical technology and pharmaceuticals saw connections to an already existing customer project. The conversation marked the beginning of a company-wide and cross-departmental cooperation, involving committed participants from all divisions.

Highly motivated were also the business partners, whose support made the rapid implementation of the good idea possible: In the search for suitable material, Pöppelmann relied on the short and good communication with Dirk Olberding from Lohne: the Market Manager Consumer at KRAIBURG TPE GmbH & Co. KG, based in Waldkraiburg/Oberbayern, supplied Pöppelmann for the initial tests with a specially developed thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) for medical applications, so that the right raw material was quickly identified.

In the search for suitable fleece material, the long-standing good and partnership-based cooperation with Schreiner Group GmbH & Co. KG (Oberschleißheim) proved to be an excellent basis for an optimal solution. The Schreiner Group processes such fleeces themselves and supplies companies from the pharmaceutical, medical technology, and automotive sectors with functional labels and functional parts.

"With this product development in the fight against the pandemic, we want to use our know-how and technologies to help alleviate the massive shortage of masks in the short term," says Matthias Lesch – and adds: "Now, everyone is called upon to take responsibility and contribute. We are doing this together with many of our system-relevant customers, among others from the fields of diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, and food, by ensuring supply and rapidly expanding our capacities."

More information about FaireMasken can be found at www.fairemasken.de.
Institutions in healthcare, clinics, care facilities, authorities, aid organizations, as well as commercial enterprises can now order the mouth-nose coverings via webshop.