How Ossenberg GmbH reacts
on the crisis
The corona pandemic is a challenge for many companies . Ossenberg GmbH also had to react to the changed requirements and has expanded its product portfolio. An editor from www.rehacare.de, the on-line portal of the fair of the same name for humans with handicap and care need in Duesseldorf, took this to the cause around with the managing director Carsten Diekmann an interview over the effects of the Corona crisis to lead.
When and why did you decide to change or expand your production?
Due to the measures decided by the German government and the associated freeing up of bed capacities in hospitals, many non-essential operations have been suspended until further notice. In addition, leisure activities and sporting events were severely restricted. The resulting slump in demand for orthopedic aids meant that our company also had to resort to short-time working from the beginning of April to the end of June.
As the number of infections increased, so did the demand for personal protective equipment. In particular, there was increased demand for high-quality respiratory protection masks. As we are already a certified medical device manufacturer, we have intensively addressed the challenges and included personal protective equipment in our range..
What new products/services do you offer?
We have added medical respiratory protection masks type 1 according to EN 14683 as well as FFP2 respiratory protection masks and hand disinfectants to our program. It was important that the products had all necessary certificates. In order to exclude counterfeits, intensive research was carried out and the goods were extensively tested in order to be able to supply our customers with faultless, tested goods.
How did the changeover go? Did you already have the necessary machines and experts or did you have to increase your equipment?
For the respirators, we planned to have our own production in Germany for a short time. The production rooms were already prepared and quotations were obtained from various machine manufacturers. Since a secured acceptance after the Corona crisis was not foreseeable, the project was rejected. We now continue to buy breathing masks from our certified suppliers.
The necessary staff was available in-house for this purpose.
What is the customer feedback?
Since our customers now have a reliable supplier at their side for respirators and disinfectants, the feedback is consistently positive.
From long-standing business relationships, our customers know the quality requirements of our products and can therefore be sure that we do not make any compromises when it comes to protective equipment.
Has the changeover brought the desired economic success?
The short-term introduction of personal protective equipment has mitigated the enormous economic damage caused by the Corona crisis and helped us to cope with this challenging time.
Do you plan to continue offering the new products/services after the Corona crisis?
If the demand will continue to exist, we will permanently include the above mentioned products in our program.
What are your general plans for the future? What prospects do you see for 2021?
Corona and its effects will continue to haunt us for some time. Our customer relationships span the globe, so we are not only dependent on the situation in Germany.
In the future we wish to further expand our business activities internationally. Our product portfolio is constantly being completed and we will continue to focus on our strengths to become even better in what we do.
You can find the REHACARE article about the interview here.
By Jennifer Diekmann