Welspun India is foraying into health and hygiene segment as it responds to the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, a top company official said. Under the Welspun Health vertical, the company is offering a range of hygiene products for medical professionals as well as personal care products such as masks, wipes, medical gowns, disposable linen, coveralls, hand sanitising wipes, surface disinfectant wipes among others. The company is repurposing its decade old technical textiles unit for its new venture. Technical textiles include textiles for automotive applications, medical textiles, agrotextiles and protective clothing, among others.
“Our essential services were working (during the lockdown) because we repurposed our factory for mask production.” “We have a plant for technical textile. As the need arose we started making masks and distributed it in communities, development forum and villages. We gradually made this into a kind of business,” Welspun India Ltd CEO and Joint Managing Director Dipali Goenka said.
She further said, “we got to work as COVID-19-struck with a sense of purpose of looking at how can we repurpose our businesses, so the advanced textiles was born.” Under Welspun Health, the company plans to produce 2.5 lakh masks per day, including 3 ply surgical mask, reusable mask and N95 respirator. The company said it is also in advanced stage of offering customisation and branding options to large and discerning buyers.
The coveralls made with pre-approved fabric medium, are in government approved laboratories and are undergoing secondary product certification and approvals under ASTM 1670 standards. Additionally, the company said it has developed nine certified varieties of blood penetration barrier medium for making coverall Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs). It is also making washable medical gowns made from soft lightweight fabric for protection.
On the plans ahead, Goenka said, “we have always been completely vertically integrated and that is what we plan to do We already have a technical textiles factory running for a decade now We plan to completely integrate here. We will innovate. We have a lab which is in-house.”