Covid-19] Ergosanté offers fabric masks to its clients and health professionals.

A creator of ergonomic solutions for workstations, the SME Ergosanté launched the manufacture of fabric masks in Anduze in the Gard department on 16 March. On request, the SME delivers them free of charge to its customers, partners and healthcare professionals. The SME has also maintained the release of its back prevention exoskeleton, intended in particular for hyper-stressed logistics professions. 

Based in Anduze (Gard) and specializing in ergonomic chairs and exoskeletons*, the 80-strong SME Ergosanté has laid off most of its production and sales teams, while the support and research and development departments are teleworking.

"It seemed necessary to me to put our activity on hold, because I don't want to expose our often fragile employees(Ergosanté is an adapted company, editor's note) to the significant risks represented by this virus." To go beyond this, Samuel Corgne, founder of the company in 2013, has also taken an initiative with the help of "six diehard seamstresses. To participate in the collective effort of prevention and protection, we have dedicated our textile manufacturing unit to the manufacture of protective masks, we have all the material on site." These are not standardised masks, simply wool-based masks, "to protect others in case of suspicion. We offer them to our customers, to carers who request them, via the nearest Ergosanté branch.

A production rate of 400 to 500 masks per day has been set up in Anduze since 16 March. The director of Ergosanté thinks he can keep it up "for at least two months". Each order is limited to 10 masks. "We have received orders from all over France," says Samuel Corgne.

After achieving a turnover of 7 million euros in 2019, Ergosanté took part in the "Great Exhibition of Made in France" at the Elysée Palace in mid-January 2020 and inaugurated a 400 m² extension (500,000 euros) in February 2020. "We were in good shape, we're going to take a big hit, but we're not giving up and we're doing what we can to help", notes the manager. The Gard-based SME nevertheless launched its new product on 17 March, the Hapo exoskeleton for back prevention (it relieves the lumbar area by shifting the weight onto the thighs). "The launch was not postponed, to meet the demand of customers in the logistics sector, whose operators will be extremely busy in the coming weeks.

Another textile manufacturer in the neighbouring department of Lozère, the Tuffery jeans workshop in Florac, has also started to manufacture non-standard masks, made of fabric, which are available free of charge in its workshop.

source: L'Usine Nouvelle

Link: https: //www.usinenouvelle.com/article/covid-19-ergosante-offre-des-masques-en-tissu-a-ses-clients-et-aux-professionnels-de-sante.N942451