- The medical essentials manufactured will be supplied to central and state governments, medical distribution channels and hospitals
- India is fighting the COVID-19 outbreak
- Rashmi Group’s Rare Earth Limited manufactures circuit boards, chargers, batteries for mobile devices in India
Rashmi Rare Earth Limited (RREL), the electronics manufacturing unit of Rashmi Group, is going to initiate production of surgical masks to support the Indian government’s fight against the COVID-19 global pandemic. In its initial days, the company aims to produce 6,000 surgical masks per hour which can be ramped to 18,000 masks per hour within April by installing three production lines.
“In light of the current dearth of essential medical commodities to fight against COVID-19, we are doing our bit by setting up these facilities, keeping in mind the urgent requirement of the country. Utilising the already existing space, ready set up and available manpower at our facility in Noida, Uttar Pradesh we should be able to produce essential medical masks at an accelerated speed; owing to the top of the line machinery that we are putting in place. We are also ensuring that we follow the government directives and protocols to the ‘T’ and thus our process of production will also entail limited human interaction. RREL has adequate space, capital and all the necessary infrastructure and expertise to produce one million masks by June 2020,” said Sunil Kumar Patwari, CEO, Rashmi Rare Earth Limited.
Fully automatic and integrated surgical mask manufacturing unit
RREL informed that it will put to use a fully automatic and integrated surgical mask manufacturing unit, which would be India’s most advanced production line thus far. The production unit will mechanically manufacture the mask body molding with automatic nose bridge reinforcement and ear band welding, ensuring limited human contact. High production efficiency and good hardware configuration of the unit enables it to produce 1.2 lakh surgical mask per day.
In addition to manufacturing triple-layer surgical masks, RREL is also in the process to commence production of N-95 masks, along with thermopile and infrared temperature sensors. Thermopile infrared non-contact temperature measurement sensors are the need of the hour, as preliminary signs of COVID-19 include a high temperature and early detection through such devices can save lives. RREL will start production of N-95 masks and thermopile infrared temperature sensors by the end of April. Supporting the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the government, a major chunk of raw materials will be sourced domestically and some essentials might be imported.
“Indian authorities are undertaking all the required measures to remove any hindrances in the process of setting up medical equipment facilities necessary to fight against COVID-19. However, creating a special empowered committee for COVID-19 under Defence Regulation-1 to enable the government to provision itself without the usual multi-step procurement chain and certification. This can be used for production and stocking up of PPE items,” added Patwari.
