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Face masks: #TeamSchmersal sews

"To be aware of our social responsibility" is one of our corporate values. "We build an environment of solidarity and respect, contributing with personal commitment and financial effort to the sustainable development of society.” A proper facial covering helps to reduce the spread of the corona virus. Wearing appropriate protection, especially in public places or where the necessary social distance cannot be maintained, can help to protect the health of others.

When masks became scarce in April 2020 and it was likely that many of our colleagues would soon be returning from the home office to their workplace, the #TeamSchmersal sews! campaign was launched.

 The goal was to sew together about 6,000 face coverings to protect the colleagues at Schmersal and to stem the spread of the corona virus. The action was to take place outside working hours and was of course entirely based on the voluntary commitment of Schmersal employees.

After the starting signal, the initiative quickly gained momentum: The tool shop at the Wuppertal site produced templates with which the cutting team could better cut the 12,000 pieces of fabric required. The purchasing department procured not only the necessary utensils for cutting, but also fabrics, elastic bands and yarn. Stamps with the Schmersal logo were created and textile inks were tested for stamping, sample masks were sewn and washed to test the running-in behaviour - in short: the preparations ran at full speed across various departments.

The cutting team was soon able to start work while maintaining the distance control. Equipped with rotary cutters and supported by our trainees, the necessary fabric pieces and elastic bands were cut with admirable verve within a few days. Team "Sewing" received packed material packages with sewing instructions in succession and got straight down to work with great commitment. The finished masks were washed by other colleagues so that the handmade masks could be provided with the Schmersal logo as quickly as possible and packed together with washing and handling instructions in our logistics department. The finished packages were then distributed to colleagues or sent to our locations.

Although the initiative #Team Schmersal sews! started in Wuppertal, it quickly spread far and wide within the Schmersal Group: a large team of employees from all over the world and from many of our sites spent a lot of their free time cutting fabric, cutting elastic bands to length, sewing masks, washing and applying the Schmersal logo - in line with our corporate value "To work as one company".

The colleagues often received active support from family members, but also retired Schmersal colleagues were willing to help. In total 11 different Schmersal companies participated in the project!! And today we are already close to our common goal of 6,000 handmade masks and would like to thank all those involved in the #Team Schmersal sews very much for their support and commitment!