Omani Companies Rush to Make Covid-19 Protective Gear Using 3D Printing

Several Omani companies have employed 3D printing technology to ensure timely supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to help medical professionals control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in the Sultanate.

“During the coronavirus crisis, many industries appeared to have filled the shortage in the local market with products like medical masks. They used 3D printing technology for manufacturing of several types of protective gear for the medical sector,” Times of Oman quoted Saeed Al Rashdi, the CEO of the Omani Industrialists Association, as saying.

He added that after the end of the pandemic, the association will hold meetings to assess the lessons learnt from the crisis and look into the weak points present particularly in these factories, and the sector in general.
Several local factories made sanitization corridors to be put in front of establishments to reduce the threat the pandemic posed to the visitors.

Saeed Al Rashdi said that the continuous work of factories without any interruption during the crisis would not have been possible without the cooperation between factories and the concerned authorities, who provided the highest levels of safety for employees and workers in factories.

Khalid bin Rashid Al Omairi of Al Bahjah Group said: “The crisis of the coronavirus pandemic has encouraged investors to invest in medical supplies, as well as introduced local companies which manufacture these products in the Sultanate. This has also shown the potential of Omanis for leadership and high levels of efficiency.”
“Omani companies which produce medical and related materials have played a pivotal and major role during the coronavirus pandemic,” he said. “They have multiplied their production and made efforts to provide the products needed by health institutions and individuals to treat patients and preventive efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus,  he added.

A number of private sector officials have lauded the efforts made by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to contain the spread of the coronavirus, as well as to make their procedures easy and overcome the challenges faced by the local industries during the pandemic.

The officials said that the pharmaceutical and medical industries of in the Sultanate were based on strong foundations. Companies are involved in not just making medicines, but research and innovation as well. These industries are making extraordinary efforts to produce locally various types of medicines and medical equipment including masks, gloves, and sanitizers.