Draegerwerk builds U.S. plant to fill respirator mask order (updated)

Draegerwerk AG & Co KGaA

31/03/2020 15:53

* Says in talks with other govts over similar projects
    * To produce "high double-digit" million number of masks for
U.S. 
    * Dedicated factory set to go on stream in September

 (Adds CEO quote)
    FRANKFURT, March 31 (Reuters) - German medical equipment
maker Draegerwerk  DRWG_p.DE  said it would build a factory on
the U.S. east coast within months to fill a government order for
N95 respirator masks and that it was in talks with other
governments over similar projects.   
    The company said in a statement on Tuesday it agreed to
deliver a "high double-digit" million amount of the masks - a
key piece of protective equipment for healthcare workers
battling the coronavirus pandemic - to the U.S. Department of
Health over the next 18 months.
    The dedicated U.S. production facility for the masks that
meet FFP2 filtration standards should start production in
September, it added.
    "Global production capacity of high-quality FFP masks has
been fully exhausted. To meet demand anyway we will build a
local plant exclusively for the U.S.," said executive board
member Rainer Klug.
    "Such an approach would also be possible in other countries,
particularly in Europe. We are currently discussing such orders
with several countries," he added.
    Draegerwerk this month won a German government order for
10,000 ventilators for intensive respiratory care, equal to a
typical year's production. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2B65X3

 (Reporting by Ludwig Burger; editing by Thomas Seythal)
 ((ludwig.burger@thomsonreuters.com; +49 69 7565 1311; Reuters
Messaging: ludwig.burger.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))