The blues of "made in France" masks.Two years after being relaunched with great fanfare, the tricolor mask industry is experiencing a serious setback.To meet the exponential demand at a time when the virus was spreading on French territory, entrepreneurs had embarked on the adventure, motivated by a proactive discourse from the State.In 2021, there were around thirty producers, capable of producing up to 100 million masks per week.But, since the lifting of the obligation to wear a mask last March, sales have plummeted."Demand fell almost day by day", when Jean Castex announced the end of the wearing of compulsory masks, recalls Charlotte Zweibaum, quality manager and partner at KB Medica.The company based in Sartrouville, in the Yvelines, only has one or two machines in permanent operation, compared to ten machines at the height of the pandemic.The workforce has been divided by four since the beginning of the year, falling to less than ten people."It's hard to say how the next few months will go," she said.In their premises, the partners of the Ile-de-France company resumed their first activity, that of event equipment rental, which had been brought to a halt by the pandemic.For masks, it relies on the same leg: in addition to individuals, which it targets through online sales, the company designs personalized masks for companies and organizations."But our model disappears if there is no longer any need for masks", explains Charlotte Zweibaum, who believes that the sector should eventually concentrate around a few companies.Also in the Yvelines, Emmanuel Nizard has seen his volumes drastically decrease in recent months.“Today we achieve 5% of the turnover that we did during the health crisis”, notes the entrepreneur, at the head of the “Masque français” in Vélizy-Villacoublay."We have two choices: either we close everything, or we try to keep a minimum of sail", and it is the second option "that we are trying to hold at the moment", he continues.The company tried unsuccessfully to supply hospitals, but failed to keep up with Chinese imports.Franprotec, in the North, has bet on more efficient machines in Germany and Italy, capable of producing large series of masks, to reduce its production costs and its selling price at the end of the chain."We are very clearly disappointed with the position of the State, which has promised a lot of things, but we have never seen the color of it", deplores its leader, Pierre Winter, who regrets the slightest public orders.Once again, the latter points the finger at the massive Asian imports."We have set up a modern and efficient tool and created jobs", but the State must "bang its fist on the table" so that they last over time, he testifies.The young northern boss, however, remains optimistic, believing that there is room for all French manufacturers.To buy its machines, the company has invested six million euros since the spring of 2020 in its factory in Tourcoing.A heavy investment, but essential to be able to fight on (almost) equal terms with China.In Brittany, these investments got the better of the "Coop of the masks".Created under the status of a cooperative society of collective interest (SCIC, which associates communities, employees, associations, citizens and companies), the Coop of the masks was placed in receivership only thirteen months after the launch of production.In addition to the drop in demand, the cash flow was weighed down by an investment of 3.5 million euros for a machine for manufacturing meltblown, the filter paper at the heart of the mask, because it was never put into production due to lack of of buyers.The meltblown, the other sinews of war.Without it, no mask – the classic surgical mask consists of a layer of this filtering fabric surrounded by two layers of "spundbond", with larger fibers and which serves as a support.At the start of the pandemic, there was only one producer left in France: the government then launched a call for expressions of interest (AMI) for industrialists to encourage the reconstruction of a French sector.Ten projects, including the Mask Coop, had been selected and subsidized up to 30% of their investment.Meltblo France, in Franche-Comté, is one of these ten winners.“I had already thought about it before the health crisis. I was looking for investors, but nobody would be interested, I was laughed at,” recalls its president Nicolas Burny.Four million euros were invested in the Brognard site, which were notably financed by personal bank loans.From the start, he prepared for the end of the pandemic.The meltblown it produces is not only for masks, but also for other filtration products."We are now 90% dedicated to the mask and, gradually, we are starting to get out of it", specifies Nicolas Burny, citing the automotive sector.The company, which has around ten employees, has also recruited two research and development engineers.It has developed a lighter fabric, 15 grams per square meter, instead of 25 grams for market standards.It is sold a little more expensive, but the mask manufacturer does not need to buy as many: the cost price, in the end, is more interesting than the Asian meltblown.In Vélizy-Villacoublay, Emmanuel Nizard is already moving on.Its employees now also manufacture electric bicycles.The bike is designed on its premises, then it is assembled after receipt of the parts manufactured elsewhere."It's a project that I already had in mind before, without the financial capacity to do it," he says.Its mask-making machines will soon be stored in a warehouse."We didn't even try to sell them", explains the boss of the French Mask, because "no one wants them"."Made in France" masks: the sector is looking for a future after the pandemic© Copyright 2006-2021 BFMTV.com.All rights reserved.Website edited by NextInteractive