Greek companies turn crisis into opportunity
As the coronavirus restrictions put much in the way of economic activity on ice, many Greek enterprises chose not to shut down but rather to shift their production to products required in the pandemic.
Lariplast and Thrace Plastics, for example, started producing face masks, illustrating one of the ways in which corporations could adjust to the requirements of the pandemic. And now the list of companies turning the crisis into an opportunity is growing.
In another example, a wedding dress designing company joined the effort to produce much needed face masks, while plastics company Tetraform – based in Kilkis, Central Macedonia – started manufacturing plastic face shields for hospitals.
Other companies have turned to the production of disinfectants.
Olga Karaververis, head of fashion house Karaververis, tells Kathimerini that, “during the lockdown, which had us suspending production of apparel and freezing all appointments for bridal fittings, we decided to use our small production unit and our know-how for the creation of fabric face masks, which are vital products.”
The Karaververis unit now has a production capacity of 3,000 masks per day and mainly supplies drugstores and major foundations. The company doesn’t agree with the idea of turning masks into fashion products though: “I would not like to think of the protection mask as a trendy item. This is not about fashion, but rather a product that has entered our lives only for the period of the pandemic. In any case, the crisis may be a starting point for supporting Greek products and the domestic industry,” she argues.
Nanophos was founded in 2005 and makes nanotechnology products. It recently turned to antiseptic hand gels and other pharmaceutical products, but its strong point is its SurfaShield smart products based on nanocrystalline titanium dioxide.
These are applied to surfaces of daily usage (door handles, inox surfaces, textile etc) and produce an invisible screen with antimicrobial properties that are triggered by natural or artificial light. The screen remains active for over a month even when cleaning products are used on it.
