Unmasking the face mask hype

IT’S true that there is increasing demand for face masks since some governments have made it mandatory for it to be worn by people when they are in public places. But it must also be remembered that face mask is a product that is easy to produce and fetches low margins.

SCGM Bhd, a producer of face mask, gave an insight into how fast face masks can be produced and brought to the market.

Towards this end, the company announced on Thursday that it has obtained approval from the authorities to export to Singapore 50% of the face masks it produced.

To meet the increasing demand, a subsidiary of SCGM will purchase two machines from China at a cost of RM350,000. Both machines are expected to arrive and will be installed this month.

Another company. Notion Vtec Bhd, also announced on Thursday that its face masks, except for the N95 respirator, was registered with the US Food and Drug Administration for use by the general public and healthcare personnel.

Notion Vtec stated that it was pursuing the registration of the N95 face mask with the local authorities. The company was also seeking a certification from the Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia for all its face masks.

If the approvals are obtained, Notion Vtec feels that the production and sales of face mask can be a long-term business for the company, including exports to Muslim countries.

Making a face mask is a low margin business, involves low technology and presents a low barrier to entry business. The announcement by SCGM merely confirms the fact that face mask can be easily produced.

Since SCGM is getting the machines to produce the face masks from China, there must be many producers from China who are also in the business. Hence, can Malaysian companies compete over the longer term at the international platform?

Also, there is nothing to stop small companies locally to set up face mask production facilities since the entry cost is small and the machines can be imported from China.