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Eclipse Automation Secures North American Rights to First N95 Mask Automation System From Chinese Manufacturer
April 9, 2020 | PRNewswireEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Eclipse Automation Inc. is proud to announce an exclusive teaming agreement with Harmontronics Automation of Suzhou, China, to manufacture, sell, distribute, service, commission and modify the Harmontronics fully automated N95 Vertical Flat-Fold Respirator Mask Production Line system throughout North America.
The combination of Eclipse's extensive North American presence and medical device experience, coupled with Harmontronics' proven design and in process machine inventory for this application, provides a dynamic team to bring production online rapidly and address an urgent need. Eclipse and Harmontronics have initiated investment for an initial production line to be brought to North America. The system will be installed and put into operation at Eclipse in Cambridge, Ontario within 4 weeks.
This system will be used for the purpose of working with North American manufacturers to customize the system for their specific needs and support qualification efforts for various respirator designs. It is anticipated that this initial system will be a key enabler in getting locally produced respirators into the health care supply chain and into the hands of North American health care professionals as quickly as possible.
Steve Mai, President and CEO of Eclipse explains: "I am seeing a lot of companies, with the best of intentions, trying to get into this arena but without the experience in medical device automation, they may be chasing inferior systems that could be unsafe to run and produce faulty masks. Eclipse has the know-how to assess this system already producing N95 masks in China and see that any modifications required to meet North American specifications are done quickly and right. We can expedite this to provide a top-notch N95 mask automation system and lead the process to see that it can be scaled to all who need it. We can deliver a level of proactive control to the solution that is crucial for such an important product."
Albert Cai, President and CEO of Harmontronics commented: "When it comes to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone has a role to play. Harmontronics has extensive experience in medical device automation and we are taking effort to provide more mask automation systems to Chinese and overseas markets. We are very excited to announce our partnership with Eclipse Automation to supply N95/KN95 respirator mask production lines to the North American market, in helping to fight the mask shortage crisis in North America. This partnership combines Harmontronics intelligent automated machine designing and building with Eclipse's automation expertise to localize the equipment and to help local customers for production ramp up."
By moving this automation implementation process to Canada, Eclipse Automation can facilitate mass production and make sure that our local needs can be met, to the standards North Americans would expect. The manufacturing will still scale from the Harmontronics facility in China and Eclipse will work closely with their customers and Harmontronics to assure high standards for safety, spare parts and usability.
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