Workpress Aviation (WPA), among the Czech Republic’s leading aircraft component suppliers, has successfully pivoted into manufacturing lightweight, highly protective FFP3 respirators designed to meet the needs of key workers including doctors and nurses.
Leveraging its experience of delivering fast make or prototype parts at pace for the aviation sector, WPA was able to take its face masks from conception to production at scale in just two months, and has already supplied thousands of respirators to key workers across Europe.
Jiří Heckel, WPA’s CEO, said, “Over the years, we’ve supported the likes of Airbus and Boeing, often supplying aircraft parts in as little a time as 24 hours – when the industry average probably lies between two to three weeks for new or broken parts. We wanted to use the skill and speed of our engineering team and our experience manufacturing under pressure to produce high-quality face masks at this time of urgent need.”
Designed with a view to minimising condensation and maximising breathability, WPA’s respirators are fitted with filters which offer over 99.995% protection against particle penetration – exceeding the FFP3 classification, the highest level of protection a disposable mask can offer. The respirator is equipped with fully sterilisable filters, which give it a long useful life, whilst the food grade TPE material that the body of the mask is made from can last up to decades.
Heckel commented, “The main difference between our core aviation business and the new production is the level of automation and serialisation. We’re producing the fixtures and moulding forms for the masks in-house and have been able to shift part of our workforce to mask assembly to support the production ramp-up. We’re glad to be able to help keep people on the front lines safe as they rise to this extraordinary occasion.”
The product has been welcomed by the Czech Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the business is in close contact with Motol Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in Central Europe, to establish how it can best support its needs.
The company expects to be in a position to produce 25,000 sets a day come August. Having already successfully registered with the tender for the European reserve of emergency medical equipment (RescEU), the business looks forward to further helping meet the needs of key workers in the UK both on the basis of demand and strategic reserves.
The mask is tested in accordance with EN140, with the filters approved according to EN143 to P3 standard.
