The mouthpiece factories in Mexico work at high speeds and suffer from a shortage of materials

The machines work piece by piece in an industrial park in Morelos, 90 kilometers from Mexico City. Specifically, they do not stop producing mouthguards. This company of the medical supplies sector that prefers not to give its name for security reasons, has stopped manufacturing other products to get fully into the production of two and three-layer mouthpieces (surgical), the simplest and used in hospitals and to go outside these days.

Although the World Health Organization (WHO) and governments do not agree on whether the use of a face mask is essential for the entire population, this article has become one of the most demanded products in the world since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis. Its use slows the spread of the disease, which is why several governments have ordered that they be carried on public transport, supermarkets and the streets. According to health specialists, most of the mouth masks are single-use, which has generated an explosion of demand.

The factory in Morelos used to produce 13 million mask covers a month and now it is close to 30 million. The phone in the sales department does not stop ringing but this family business cannot expand its production, these are critical weeks. “We are completely overpowered. I have the orders committed for the next four or five weeks and we cannot accept more, ” Mauricio Conesa, commercial director , tells Verne by phone .

From the company they are rushing to increase the workforce 100% with workers from other factories to accelerate production, however, the lack of raw materials has become a stumbling block that the sector has to overcome. The non-woven fabric most mouthguards are made from comes from China and Taiwan, currently overwhelmed by their own domestic demand. In other countries, such as Mexico and Colombia, what is done is to mount the mask (the fabric is cut, the filter is put on and the elastics or tapes are adjusted) but it is very difficult to find the supplies. "We are looking for fabric anywhere. We have a business partner in Israel with whom we search together. We have brought something from the United States, Mexican companies are supplying us and we are looking in Europe ”, explains Conesa, who adds that the factories that supplied them in China have stopped supplying them.

Despite the increasingly strong dollar against the Mexican peso and the drop in oil prices, the transportation of the product to the other side of the border in the United States has become more expensive. "If before it cost me $ 5,000 to bring a trailer from Nuevo Laredo to New York, now it costs 15,000," explains the businessman. "In addition, no one wants to travel there to the epicenter of the pandemic because when they return they have to be in quarantine for two weeks," he adds.

Conesa never imagined that mouthpieces would come out of its factory in Morelos to China, the market leader and the world's largest producer with 20 million masks a day. But from February 3, the Chinese government began to import this item from other parts of the world to compensate for the shortage. "It is like sending Serrano ham to Spain," he points out.

Although there is not enough scientific evidence that masks protect healthy people from contagion and recommend washing hands as the best preventive measure, the price of mouthguards has increased by 200%, also the liter of alcohol in antiseptic gel. To prevent speculation and abusive prices, some governments, such as the Spanish, decided to set the price of face masks and other protection and disinfection supplies this week.

As infections and deaths increase -Mexico has reported 11,633 positives and 1,069 deaths- the sale of simple mouth masks on the street has become the alternative for street vendors to continue to have a fixed income, speculation has also increased. through the internet, scams and abuse.

Through pages such as Mercado Libre, private sellers offer what looks like antibacterial gel and masks, sometimes double what it costs in a pharmacy or supermarket. "There are people who want to become rich by being intermediaries of the product," says Conesa. "They want to raise a weight for each face mask, if they move a million face masks, they earn a million pesos," explains the commercial director. "I know that a distributor inflated prices and sold the box of 50 mouthpieces to a New York hospital for $ 31, when a few weeks ago that box cost $ 5," he says.

Example of mouthguards for sale on the internet

From the company, they avoid giving details of the increase in profits during these months and clarify that although it seems that mass purchases help, they put them in a difficult situation. "It is negative publicity. [People] believe that the manufacturer is saving the product to sell it more expensive but we also suffer with the cost increases. Those who take all of our production are not thinking about those who come behind. " Conesa acknowledges that the safety of the plant has increased and that it would never have thought that a truck with its face masks was going to be worth more on the market than one that transports televisions.

While the machines in Morelos do not stop, in supermarkets and pharmacies the masks and antibacterial gel run out in less than an hour after replacing it. Although it seems contradictory, panic purchases are not entirely benefiting companies in the sector. The market is overwhelmed.

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