Our first action was to set up a network of 40 volunteer seamstresses to make overmasks based on the recommendations of the WHO and the Belgian FPS Health. The aim of the overmasks is to extend the life of the FFP2 masks by using a washable and reusable element over the mask. The idea was also to move away from the one-size-fits-all principle and bring recycled and sustainable products to the market. With this in mind, the raw material used is 95° washable polyester fabric from advertising flags from the Cockerill Expo, held in 2017 and other events. More than 6,000 overmasks were supplied to care units in France and Belgium. We also produced more than 1,000 tri-fold masks for the Fédération des Banques Alimentaires for the homeless.
The Foundation was also involved in the manufacture and/or distribution of protective visors through three partnerships. The first one with the CTA (Centre de Technologies Avancées) Robotique de Liège, the company Restore Design and the Fablab de la Province de Liège. The second with the Liège HackerSpace / Botabotlab of the Uliège. The third with the company Timbtrack (Namur). More protective visors5000 were thus directly manufactured thanks to the Foundation. Nearly 10,000 visors were distributed by employees to various structures such as hospitals, fire stations, homes, etc. throughout French-speaking Belgium.
Finally, thanks to the authorisation to convert its production line, the Dupuy company (a subsidiary of John Cockerill Aquaged), located in Quatre-Champs (France), was able to launch production of hydro-alcoholic liquid according to the official WHO formula. Its production capacity was then 23,000 litres per week. On its own initiative, the company honoured some donations in France. At the same time, we acquired a stock of litres5000 for the care units in Belgium and a second stock of litres 3000sent to Morocco to help the Casablanca region fight the virus.
