Fleet Transport June 2020

SUMMER 2020
case study 1
world’s face masks are produced in
China or Korea. But as the Coronavirus
hit these regions, those countries have
enacted export bans which exacerbate
the worldwide shortage brought on by
the pandemic. Irema is part of a very
small cohort of European manufacturers
of these essential supplies. And happily
for the HSE, Irema is not dependant on
importing its component materials from
the Far East either.
“We’re quite lucky that we make
our own mask material. That’s a huge
advantage we have, and to that extent
we’re not as affected as other companies
who are waiting on a shipment or two or
three.”
However, Kieran stated that they are
not entirely unaffected: “There are other
elements of supply chain that have been
impacted to an extent. We’re quite lucky
that the majority of our supply chain is
European, so we’re not as impacted by
the big shutdown that happened since the
start of the year in China. But there have
been slight delays on certain elements,
the plastic for the tie-ons at the back, or
plastic frames for the air filters.” These
are things they can keep stock of and
thankfully it hasn’t held them back. “We
haven’t been overly impacted.”
The current crisis highlights the
dangers of relying on a single source at
any stage in the supply chain.
“The disposable mask market
(and indeed global manufacturing in
general) is facing up to a real challenge,
the consequences of a single source
procurement model. Many of the very
large mask manufacturers, including
OEM clients Irema manufactures for,
deliberately shy away from a single source
procurement model to avoid the scenario
the market now finds itself in.”
Kieran mentioned that single source
procurement has grown as a model over
the last 30 years with a switch towards
far Eastern manufacturing. “Quite often
this single source of supply for a number
of brands is due in the main to perceived
cost savings and efficiencies. The reason
Irema Ireland has managed to buck this
trend and indeed grow significantly, is
due to our alternative location in Ireland
and the desire for the very big players in
the market to have multiple sources of
procurement in multiple geographical
locations.”
“When the dust settles on the
Coronavirus, there will be a lot of
questions asked of the procurement
policies in place throughout the market. It
will make brands think about diversifying
their supply chain and creates an
opportunity for Irish manufacturers to
position themselves as a safe pair of hands
to those making the key OEM partnership
decisions,” Kieran concluded.
It has been beneficial for the HSE
- and us all - that a small factory like
Irema has been able to flex its production
systems as much as it has. And whatever
the future holds, one suspects it will
include expansion for this little factory in
Limerick.
TEXT: Johanna Parsons – contributor@fleet.ie www.handling-network.com 33