India’s Welspun Group is switching capacities at its textiles plant in Gujarat’s Anjar to manufacture disinfectant wipes and masks to meet the demand-supply gap for personal protection equipment (PPE). It plans to manufacture a few hundred thousand masks and wipes in the coming weeks for workers on duty during the COVID-19 pandemic, said its chairman BK Goenka.

The Anjar plant, which manufactures home textile products, largely for exports, has technical textiles capabilities for products like disposable wipes, wound care, diaper, drapes and gowns.

As the company has been manufacturing smart non-woven products and medium for diverse applications around safety clothing, filtration, personal hygiene and cosmetic segments, making face masks and disinfectant wipes for combating the crisis is a natural extension for it, Goenka told a top business daily.

The current lockdown, however, does pose challenges for sourcing key ingredients and managing workforce, he added.