Coffee masks

FROM COFFEE FILTER TO MEDICAL MASKS

As the COVID-19 pandemic is still present, more medical supplies are needed. The company Melitta that pioneered the paper coffee filter started making medical masks.

Melitta has a long history of coffee filters. The company also is the owner of Wolf PVG, which has produced air filters and vacuum-cleaner bags for many years, providing valuable knowledge and supply of the three-ply microfiber needed to make masks to a hospital standard.

The masks are shaped like coffee filters and are produced on the same machine as the filters found in the grocery store. Even though they physically resemble a standard coffee filter, the masks are made from a different material, making them unsuitable for coffee brewing. The material is a triple layer of melt-blown and spun-blown microfiber and has a Bacterial Filtration Efficiency certification of above 98 percent, a value similar to ordinary medical masks.

The company has made about 10 million masks over the first month, packing them in unmarked boxes, with separate rubber bands to hold the masks in place and assembly instructions. The first million medical masks went to Melitta workers and retirees and their families. Most of the second million has already been donated locally. If the government approves the product as medical, the company is planning to supply those most in need in their region, and eventually sell the masks to a bigger market. The company has not yet announced its price.

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