Companies Switch Business Focus Post-Epidemic

Connie Su has been busy on multiple fronts， recruiting workers， upgrading machinery and handling orders for her mask factory.

Her company， Guangdong Brilliant Medical Technology Co. Ltd.， was founded in Dongguan， Guangdong Province in south China， in May， focusing on developing and manufacturing highquality face masks. Su also owns two cosmetic companies.

“After the resumption of work in Guangdong in March following the easing of restrictions for the novel coronavirus disease（COVID-19）， we foresaw that the demand for masks would take off in the future and immediately decided to shelve the business of cosmetic imports affected by the epidemic and focus on making masks，” said Su， General Manager of the company， which has two 500-square-meter dust-free workshops and more than 20 workers.

“Our face masks have been exported to Europe and Southeast Asia， although the volume is not big，” she said.

The company has invested over 10 million yuan （$1.53 million） in research and development and construction of the factory， according to Su. She plans to recruit more workers. While targeting exports， the company is considering domestic sales through e-commerce.

“The lack of original design and branding capacity is a challenge facing our mask and protective equipment industry. We aim to create a brand that represents ‘Made in China，” Su said.

To meet the soaring demand due to COVID-19， thousands of companies across China have joined the production of personal protective equipment and other materials， many of them switching from their existing manufacturing output to this new line of business. The countrys exports of anti-epidemic materials saw robust growth in the first three quarters.

In April， the Strong H. Mechanical Technology （Laizhou） Co. Ltd. in Shandong Province， east China， began to produce maskmanufacturing machines. At present， it has 120 employees working on the program.

According to Hou Jian， a sales manager with the company， although the companys main output， sewing-machine accessories， returned to normal in September， equipment for mask production has become its new core business， as the pandemic is still spreading overseas.

The sales channels for sewing-machine accessories also work for the new products. As of mid-October， the company had exported about 400 sets of mask-production equipment， Hou said.

By mid-November， Beijing Biosis Healing Biological Technology Co. Ltd. had produced and sold more than 100 million masks， as well several million protective suits， Zhang Jinhui， chief operating officer of the provider of solutions for surgery and soft tissue repair， said.

The company began to produce protective materials in February. At the peak of overseas orders， it had 11 production lines in operation.

Yantai Show Long Medical Technology Co. Ltd. in Shandong has developed 148 types or categories of medical products since it was founded in February. Besides supplying the domestic market， the company has exported protective suits and masks to more than 20 countries and regions.

Yantai Show Long will build a special protection system with products in epidemic prevention， disaster prevention and radiation prevention， while adhering to its brand and quality strategies， Wu Jianmin， Board Chairman of Shandong Show Long Fashion & Accessories Co. Ltd.， the parent company of Yantai Show Long， said.