Our equipment has now been debugged and we have begun producing masks, said Pan Xingchen, general manager of Quzhou-based Zhejiang Xichen Medical Technology Co Ltd, in an interview with local media on Feb 11.

Xichen used to be a producer of medical disinfection supplies and other medical devices.

Pan revealed that the main reason the company shifted to medical mask production is because masks are currently in extremely high demand.

"Over the past few days, I kept watching news about urgent shortages in protective equipment, especially masks," said Pan, adding that on Feb 2, she decided to transform Xichen from a medical device producer into a mask supplier.

Because Xichen already produced medical materials and has 2,000 square meters of dust-free purification workshops, it is easy for it to make the switch to mask production.

Five days later, Xichen invested 350,000 yuan ($50,000) into new production equipment, finding suppliers of non-oven fabrics, and employing professional textile workers.

"Thanks to the highly efficient services of the local market regulatory authority, we were able to receive our business certificate in just 24 hours," said Pan.

The first medical mask samples made by Xichen were sent to a local testing agency in the afternoon of Feb 11 and will be put into mass production after passing the tests, according to Pan.

Pan added that the company is expecting to produce 20,000 to 30,000 medical masks per day.

She also noted that Xichen plans to donate its first medical masks to areas in urgent need of medical supplies.

Textile workers are busy making medical masks in a dust-free purification workshop belonging to Quzhou-based Zhejiang Xichen Medical Technology Co. [Photo/WeChat account: quzhoufb]