Hygiene Austria LP GmbH, recently founded by Lenzing AG and Palmers Textil AG, has commenced manufacturing FFP2 masks and mouth-nose protective masks for children.
For the first time, Austrian Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz personally took a closer look at production operations within the context of a visit to the facility this morning. The Austrian Chancellor visited the successful Austrian company Hygiene Austria together with Federal Minister of Labor, Family and Youth Christine Aschbacher.
“I am extremely pleased that, since the founding of Hygiene Austria, we can now ensure the supply of mouth-nose protective masks, not only for adults but also for children. This is a further and important contribution towards curbing the COVID-19-pandemic and to the safety of all people in Austria”, said Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
“The coronavirus has shown us how important it is to have companies in Austria and Europe which are capable of producing protective equipment. We will have to have a discussion on a European level about how we will manage to become self-sufficient in key industries in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors”, Kurz adds.
Lenzing and Palmers Textil joined forces to establish Hygiene Austria, in which Lenzing holds a 50.1% stake and Palmers Textil 49.9%. Over the past few weeks, Lenzing and Palmers Textil have invested several million Euros in a modern production infrastructure at the Wiener Neudorf location and secured the corresponding raw materials for mouth-nose protective masks and FFP2 masks. “Due to the great demand for mouth-nose protective masks, we just expanded the product portfolio to encompass colourful masks for children,” Stefan Doboczky, CEO of Lenzing AG, announced during the tour of the manufacturing plant. These masks are particularly important for children in the light of their current return to school.
Christine Aschbacher, Minister of Labor, Family and Youth, welcomed this news and the general entrepreneurial spirit while visiting the production facility. “The fact that a company creates 100 new jobs in the middle of the crisis is a special achievement, for which I would like to sincerely thank the companies Lenzing AG and Palmers Textil AG,” Ms. Aschbacher stated.
“We are getting numerous inquiries from companies all over the world which either want to cooperate with us or be supplied by us. This positive feedback confirms our intention to further expand our line of hygienic products in the future together with Lenzing AG based on innovative ideas,” Tino Wieser, Member of the Board of Palmers Textil AG, confidently explained.
