Med-Con / Foodmach

Australia's only surgical mask manufacturer, Med-Con, was tasked by the Australian Government to dramatically increase production to meet COVID-19 PPE demand. With only two aging 40-year-old machines operational and original blueprints lost, they needed seven new mask-making machines built in 14 weeks.

Foodmach re-engineered the machines using 3D models created by Australian Defence Force engineers. Allen-Bradley Compact GuardLogix PLC, Kinetix 5500 Servo Drives, PowerFlex 525 drives, and PanelView graphic terminals provided integrated control and safety for the new mask-making machines.

The new machines gave Med-Con the capability to produce more than 3 million masks per week, representing approximately a 60-fold increase in manufacturing capability, with an ongoing annual capacity of 160 million masks targeting 60 million by November 2020.

• Modern automation platforms enable rapid machine replication even when original blueprints are unavailable • Integrated safety and servo control simplify commissioning timelines under extreme pressure • Government-industry collaboration can compress years of manufacturing ramp-up into weeks when urgency demands it