From coffee filter to safety mask, in a hurry

BERLIN — As the wave of coronavirus infections broke over Europe in March, causing reserves of medical supplies to disappear, German authorities made a nationwide appeal: More safety masks were urgently needed.

At Melitta, the company that pioneered the paper coffee filter, inspiration was close at hand.

“The ergonomics of the thing, the fact that the filter fits exactly over mouth, nose and chin is so unbe- lievable that you might call it a gift from heaven,” said Katharina Roehrig, a man- aging director at Melitta, which is based in a small city in northwestern Germany.

Melitta has a 112-year history with coffee filters that began in the kitchen of the woman who invented them, Melitta Bentz. The company also owns Wolf PVG, which has produced air filters and vacuum cleaner bags for decades, providing valu- able knowledge and a supply of the three-ply microfi- ber needed to make masks to a hospital standard.

“Facing this particular challenge, we realized that we could produce the needed quantities at an insane speed,” said Roehrig — in other words, as many as 1 million masks a day. “That is what differentiates us from the competition.”

As Germany scrambles to find enough face masks to reopen the economy and public life while keeping the coronavirus at bay, a number of serious and not-so-serious businesses have jumped into the fray with masks.

They have tried to produce and sell the bizarre (masks made from bras), the unexpected (the Playmobil mask), the hip (an upcycled cotton mask by a Berlin designer) and the customizable (why not advertise while protecting yourself ?).

But as Chancellor Angela Merkel has frequently acknowledged, the crucial problem is ensuring that Germans have a sufficient number of quality masks.

“The pandemic teaches us that it is not good if protective equipment is sourced exclusively from distant coun- tries,” Merkel told Parliament.

“Masks that cost a few cents can become a strategic factor in a pandemic.” The minister of economy, Peter Altmaier, estimated that the country needs up to 12 billion masks a year.

“It’s been a long time since the textile materials sector has gotten so much attention,” said Dr. David Schmel- zeisen, a textile engineer who runs need-mask.com, which connects suppliers with customers.

The essential ingredient in many medical-grade masks — what separates them from simple homemade versions — is a filter made of nonwoven superthin fibers, formed in a process known as melt-blown extrusion. Since the pan- demic, demand for so-called melt-blown fiber has skyrocketed.

For Melitta, melt-blown fiber is readily available: It makes its own, mainly for use in vacuum cleaner bags. A truck drives big rolls of it from the vacuum and filter factory in Spenge 30 miles to Minden, where Melitta has been based since its founding in 1908. (Melitta also makes coffee filters in the United States, but not face masks.)

The coffee-filter-shaped masks are produced on the same machine as the filters found in grocery store aisles. The material, a triple layer of melt-blown and spun-blown microfiber, has a Bacterial Filtration Efficiency certifi- cation of above 98%, a value comparable to simple medical masks.

The company has now produced about 10 million masks over the first month, packing them in unmarked boxes, with separate rubber bands to hold the masks in place and assembly instructions.

Once the mask is approved by the government as a medical product, the company plans to supply those most in need in their region and eventually sell the product to a broader market.