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Canada's Medicom establishing subsidiary for filter material for masks

30 Jun '21

3 min read

Pic: PR Newswire/CNW Group/AMD Medicom Inc

Quebec-based Medicom Group, a leading manufacturer of surgical and respiratory masks, is establishing a new manufacturing subsidiary - Meltech Innovation Canada - to produce and innovate the inner filter material used in production of surgical, pediatric and N95-type respiratory masks. Canadian government will invest up to $28.99 million on the new plant.

As a result of this and other local initiatives, Canada will no longer be the only OECD-country that does not have domestic production of this critical meltblown polypropylene filter.

The new plant will be located in the greater Montreal area and will create at least 21 new jobs and 16 new co-op positions for university students. Given the highly strategic nature of the project, the Government of Canada has committed to investing up to $28.99 million through the Strategic Innovation Fund, towards the nearly $39 million investment required.

"Our top priority is protecting the safety and security of Canadians. We are investing to ensure we can produce critical PPE here in Canada. Today's investment in Meltech is an important step toward improving Canada's resilience and pandemic preparedness. This investment will ensure that Canadian frontline healthcare workers continue to have a reliable supply of the critical PPE they need, while creating good jobs here in Montreal," stated François-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science and industry.

"This is a great day for medical autonomy in Quebec and Canada. Establishing this new plant that will produce the raw material required for surgical and respiratory masks will help to ensure that Canada never again experiences the PPE shortages we did in March 2020 when the global supply chain was under extreme strain. Thanks to this partnership with the Government of Canada, Meltech will initially produce the filter material needed to manufacture the equivalent of tens of millions masks right here in Canada, with more capacity planned," stated Ronald Reuben, CEO and founder of Medicom.

From the first shovel of earth to production, the future Meltech plant will be designed to mitigate impact on the environment. Connected to this plant, Medicom will establish a new research and development centre to drive innovation in personal protective equipment (PPE).

"The new PPE R and D centre, based in Quebec, will be unique in Canada. Combining our own expertise developed over the past thirty years in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia with various industrial and academic partners, we are aiming to become a world leader in medical innovation. We are even more pleased to be doing this from our home base in Quebec," said Guillaume Laverdure, chief operating officer of Medicom.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SV)