Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, has started up new production lines for meltblown nonwoven fabric and medical face masks at its site in Gronau, Germany to mitigate the spread of COVID‑19.

Mondi Gronau has over 50 years of experience in the production and processing of films, nonwovens and elastic components for hygiene products. Last year Mondi announced it would start up production lines to produce both the important base material, melt-blown nonwoven fabric, as well as the medical face mask themselves. With the new lines, Mondi is building up a local value chain in Germany to address the needs of the pandemic. The fully integrated production with two highly automated high-speed machines allows the output of 700 high‑quality medical face masks per minute. This is approximately seven times higher than the standard face mask production line and will produce at least one million medical grade masks a day.

The masks are certified as a medical product by the German Johner Institute as well as meeting the German standards OEKO‑TEX and Dermatest. With this production, Mondi Gronau will be directly addressing the needs of the German health sector including hospitals, pharmacies and specialised medical retailers.

“We identified the shortage in meltblown nonwoven fabric in Germany early on in the pandemic last year and reacted swiftly to set up the production of high‑quality medical face masks. With our high‑speed production set-up and certifications in place, Mondi Gronau is ideally positioned to supply high‑quality medical masks that offer reliable protection and high comfort from the moment they are put on to when they are taken off,” says Jürgen Schneider, Managing Director Mondi Gronau.