A sudden new crown epidemic disrupted the expected start of 2020. Since the new crown pneumonia epidemic raged, with the continuous development of epidemic prevention work, Wuhan, the source area, and even many regions across the country are facing extraordinary challenges. There is a severe shortage of medical supplies, and masks were once in extreme shortage. In the face of the epidemic, many car companies have shown a strong sense of social responsibility.
Recently, with the official mass production of "Chang'an brand" masks, four car companies, including BYD, SAIC-GM-Wuling, and Guangzhou Automobile Group, have already acquired mask production capabilities. Regarding the production of masks by car companies, some friends think that they are just amateurs joining in the fun, while others think that the masks produced by car companies are reliable?
For your friends’ questions, let me tell you that mask production is a piece of cake for car companies. For the manufacturing industry, products are composed of nothing more than raw materials, sites, manufacturing processes, and qualifications.
1. Raw materials
Medical surgical masks and N95 masks generally adopt a multi-layer structure, referred to as SMS structure: a single layer of spunbond layer (S) on the inside and outside, and a single layer in the middle. Meltblown layer (M). In terms of materials, the spunbond layer (S) and the meltblown layer (M) are both non-woven fabrics, and the raw materials are polypropylene. However, their production processes are different. The fiber diameter of the spunbond layer on the inner and outer sides is relatively thick, about 20 microns; the fiber diameter of the melt-blown layer in the middle is only 2 microns and is made of polypropylene material with high melting finger fiber.
Similarly, the sound-absorbing cotton on the car is also divided into three layers. The first and last layers are polypropylene fiber non-woven fabrics, which are essentially polypropylene melt-blown non-woven fabrics. In other words, in the long-term supply chain of car companies, companies that produce polymer materials such as NVH sound insulation cotton can solve the problem of key raw materials for mask production.
2. Venue
As long as the raw materials are guaranteed, the "hard targets" for the production of masks require a high-level dust-free environment, which is not a difficult problem for car companies. , because the "painting workshop", one of the four major automobile workshops, is a dust-free workshop. During the vehicle painting process, if there is dust falling on the vehicle body, it will be clearly visible. Therefore, car companies have extremely strict requirements for a "dust-free environment" during the spraying process.
3. Manufacturing process
First of all, automobile manufacturing can be said to be the most complex industrial product manufacturing in the world, so the production of masks is as insignificant to automobile companies. Why do we say this:
Take medical surgical masks as an example. Its structure is simple and mainly consists of three layers of melt-blown non-woven fabrics, mask belts and metal strips. Mask manufacturers need to do just that. These three parts are assembled and then sterilized and left to stand. In contrast, a car is composed of tens of thousands of parts. Any link in the manufacturing process of a car factory is incomparable to a mask manufacturer. With these powerful hardware supports, do you think it will be complicated for car companies to produce masks? It's just a little effort.
4. Qualifications
Everything is ready, but it does not mean that you can produce masks. You still need an "east wind". According to the "Medical Device Classification Catalog", medical masks: belong to National Class II medical device. In other words, companies engaged in the production of medical masks need to obtain a medical device production license and a medical device registration certificate. Regarding qualification issues, there are currently more than 20,000 companies related to the mask industry chain in my country, but only 353 companies have medical mask production licenses. The formal application process starts from the time of product registration inspection and inspection. For products exempt from clinical practice, it usually takes 1 to 1 and a half years to apply for a medical device registration certificate. If clinical trials are required, it takes 1 and a half to 3 years or even longer depending on the product. . And considering overcapacity, the government generally does not approve new mask manufacturers. Taking into account the special period, local governments have specially opened "green channels" within controllable limits. For car companies with mature manufacturing conditions, it will obviously save more time in the approval process.
In summary, when car companies produce masks, they not only have sufficient production conditions, but also have strong quality assurance. Therefore, car companies are not amateurs, and the masks must be reliable. Speaking of this, I believe many friends Everyone thinks of car companies producing masks. Is this a "business as usual"?
For enterprises, what sustains the company's operation and development is of course profits, but now more and more enterprises are not purely aiming for profit, especially large enterprises, which have long been closely related to the development of society. In addition to profit growth, these enterprises are also the cornerstone of social stability.
The pioneers of "Wuling" brand masks are BYD Electronics Business Group No. 9, which is not far behind, GAC Group, which is racing against time, and "Chang'an" masks, which are catching up from behind. When the epidemic is raging, we can see that these car companies are able to transform their production lines regardless of cost and prioritize the production of masks. These car companies that produce masks can use their own advantages and capabilities to quickly solve the problem of material shortages during the current epidemic. , what they demonstrate is not only the strong "Made in China", but also the embodiment of the social responsibility of car companies.
In the current critical period when Japan and Japan are fighting against the epidemic, more and more car companies are not focusing on costs and profits, but are actively engaging in this war without gunpowder." "In the midst of the epidemic", he deserves our respect. With the support of all Chinese people, we believe that this difficulty will be overcome soon!
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.