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Caught in the crisis while putting the finishing touches on their new factory in Famalicão – a 23-million-euro investment –, Raclac, the largest supplier of disposable medical supplies, is now channelling their entire production line to aid Portuguese hospitals.
Besides the more than 2.3 million gloves a day that they will start manufacturing in the coming days, the CEO Pedro Miguel Costa (photo) says the company has hired more than 30 factories to manufacture other Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for health professionals, such as hooded suits and balaclavas.
“Right now we have the duty of protecting our own. Business comes second, we stopped exporting a month and a half ago”, Pedro Miguel Costa shared with T, adding that the only priority are the health professionals. Raclac is carrying out daily deliveries to several hospitals, abiding by a contract signed with the purchasing centre of the National Health System, which extends until the April 22nd.
In the scope of this commitment, the company has partnered up with 30 factories, a universe of more than two thousand workers, manufacturing all kinds of PPE that will be delivered to health professionals, not only those working in the public system, but also in private hospitals and nursing homes. Usually these items would be imported from the East, but they will be manufactured by our very own textile and clothing industry, on Raclac’s lead.
With the investment in new facilities completed, Raclac has become the world leader in manufacturing technology of disposable gloves, with a fully automated production system, in a controlled and inert environment, where all production is analysed and inspected at the end.
“We are the only factory in the world with this system”, proclaims gleefully Pedro Costa, also underlining the innovative packaging system, in a hermetic environment and recyclable. “The gloves are overlapped so that health professionals remove them by the wrist one-by-one, without any risk of contact or contamination”, explains the entrepreneur, who will manufacture 1.600 gloves per minute, working around the clock 24/7.