Apart from the newly-adopted measures of social distancing or the general practice of regularly washing one's hands, masks and disinfectants are essential for reducing the spreading of the disease. Companies that decide to adapt towards the production of said goods will therefore now be supported.
The corona pandemic has made it clear that most countries were not adequately equipped to tackle a health crisis of such dimensions. In some shocking cases in Luxembourg, people broke into cars owned by "Soins à domiciles" to get their hands on the scarce materials. This in return has sparked an initiative among private citizens to produce masks themselves and thus support the fight against Covid-19. However, the quantities needed far exceed the production potential private people possess.
Lex Delles, minister for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, has now announced measures to support the larger production of sanitary tools by Luxembourgish companies. The financial compensation will be bound to new technical equipment the businesses have acquired for a larger-scale production.
Many companies are already experiencing a recession due to the corona outbreak. The distillery "Difrulux", situated right in the centre of Mullerthal, is currently making only 5% of their usual returns. Since the 17th March, they have joined the movement of distilleries that now produce disinfectants instead of spirits.
Company owner Gérard Leuchter explained how they only had to make minor adjustments and invest in limited additional equipment to reorient production. Difrulux has therefore not yet requested the government's support.
After everything has been put into place, the company will be able to generate around 1,500 l of disinfectant on a daily basis. The product will then be distributed among pharmacies, hospitals, and essential businesses, as for example the post or the police.
The distillery has already produced 12,000 l of disinfectant to this day, but demand is still high and new orders are coming in, according to Leuchter. Thanks to this reorientation, the company has been able to reemploy some of their people. Difrulux usually has 10-15 people working in their facilites, a number that dropped to 2-3 since the beginning of the outbreak, but has now increased to 5-6 again with the reorientation of the business model.
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