May 5, 2020
17 European companies within the MinebeaMitsumi Group, including three Minebea Intec locations in Germany, donate N95 protective masks to hospitals and care facilities.
Throughout most of Europe, the supply of respiratory masks and protective clothing is dwindling. Numerous care facilities are desperately looking for the necessary equipment to protect their employees during the coronavirus crisis. Currently, most countries’ leaders generally advise wearing protective masks in public, even if they are only makeshift protective masks.
MinebeaMitsumi President Yoshihisa Kainuma and Jörg Hoffmann, General Manager of Regional Affairs for Europe, have now initiated the distribution of a total of 17,000 N95 protective masks around the 17 European locations. “In the current situation, we see it as our responsibility to protect not only our own employees, but also the local communities and associations, and thus also the regional economy, as best we can,” says Jörg Hoffmann. “Right now, it is important that we use our strong international network and act in solidarity.” The MinebeaMitsumi headquarters in Tokyo provided 1,000 donated protective masks for each of the 17 European subsidiaries. Each company decided which regional facilities had the greatest need, and numerous hospitals and care facilities were deeply grateful for these donations. In addition, MinebeaMitsumi is currently planning to produce 200,000 masks per day itself to ensure, among other things, the safety of its employees.
MinebeaMitsumi employs around 100,000 people worldwide at 63 different locations in 27 countries. “COVID-19 Countermeasure Teams” were set up early at the Tokyo headquarters and the European headquarters in Villingen-Schwenningen (Baden-Württemberg). These teams work together under extreme pressure to support the subsidiaries with information, masks, and protective measures to ensure that the spread of the virus is slowed. As Jörg Hoffmann explains, “The common goal is to make our workplace one of the safest places.”
As a subsidiary with three locations in Germany, the global supplier of industrial weighing and inspection technologies, Minebea Intec, will split its donation: “In Germany, we are represented in Hamburg, Aachen and Bovenden near Göttingen,” explains Patrick Moll, Director Human Resources at Minebea Intec. “Our protective masks will be distributed there to senior citizens’ and nursing homes. Elderly people need special protection during this time. We are very glad to be able to contribute a small amount with our donation”. Minebea Intec manufactures at its three German locations industrial scales, load cells and electronics for weighing silos, vessels and vehicles as well as inspection technologies for a variety of industries.