Surgical mask factories have sprung up like mushrooms during the crisis. Here alone, they are at Blanc Mesnil in Seine-Saint-Denis, in Meudon in Hauts-de-Seine and soon also in Lieusaint in Seine-et-Marne.
And if these factories slowed down somewhat, at the time of deconfinement, with difficulty selling their masks to French and Ile-de-France residents in search of fresh air and freedom, the rebound of the epidemic and the protective measures that have since accompanied it. a few weeks, gave a boost to the industry. The mask becomes mandatory outdoors in many neighborhoods, city centers of the capital and the Île-de-France in particular. The mask is mandatory in openspace in the office from September 1st too.
In Bondy, in Seine-Saint-Denis, Franck Boubli, co-founder of the “French Mask” factory, is therefore not worried about the future. “France has further doubled its production capacity, from 20 million to 40 million and hopes to reach 100 million by the end of the year”, calculates the entrepreneur.
“No problem finding clients”, thus entrusts the one who has been selling for three weeks now to private companies to provide the mask to their employees, to EHPAD groups also and soon “directly to individuals “. The “French mask” would thus be the first company to offer online sales, at unbeatable prices promises Franck Boubli. “€ 19.90 for the box of 50 masks”.
A “100% Île-de-France” mask
Everything is produced locally, the company boasts. “Everything is done in our Bondy factory, from fitting, to manufacturing, cutting, and putting on the rubber bands.” A local and controlled supply, a reduction of the carbon footprint, says the company brochure.
And the jobs are local, also insists the entrepreneur. “We only hire people from the department” of Seine-Saint-Denis. Forty jobs created so far and “We plan to double our production capacity by 2021 and therefore the workforce that goes with it. We need a minimum of six employees per production machine. The more machines we have, the more employees we will have “, concludes Franck Boubli.
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