Two of the five automated mask production lines that Autoland Technology Co promised to donate to the Czech Republic are to be shipped today, a company executive said.
“The equipment, to be transported via two 40-foot containers, will leave Kaohsiung on Monday,” said Kuo Li-lin (郭立霖), general manager of the Tainan-based machinery manufacturer. “The containers are expected to arrive in Germany after 40 days and then be transported to Prague by train.”
The donation was a sign of the company’s appreciation of Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil’s support for Taiwan, Kuo said.
Kuo announced while Vystrcil was in Taipei in early September that Autoland and a group of machinery industry leaders in southern Taiwan had decided to donate five mask production lines to the Czech Republic to help that country control COVID-19.
However, the donation has been held up by several hurdles, including domestic politics, the lack of coordination among government branches, legal requirements in the Czech Republic, and the lack of formal diplomatic relations between Taipei and Prague, sources said.
To help expedite the donation process, Vystrcil has held at least three virtual meetings with Taiwanese officials, in which Representative to the Czech Republic Ke Liang-ruey (柯良叡) took part, sources said.
Four of the five production lines are being providing to InoCure, a Czech company focused on nanotechnology development, based on a business-to-business model, and InoCure is to establish a new company with Good Mask, a Czech mask manufacturer, to begin production, Kuo said.
Autoland said that the four lines are capable of producing 160,000 “high-end 3D masks” a day when running 20-hour shifts.
Five percent of the masks made by the InoCure-Good Mask venture are to be given to the Czech Senate for distribution to government agencies and medical institutions.
InoCure chief executive Matej Buzgo and expert Miroslav Doupnik arrived in Taiwan earlier this month to learn how to operate the machines and left for Prague on Saturday, Kuo said.
As to the fifth production line, Vystrcil told reporters in Prague that the donation would be based on a government-to-government (G2G) model.
However, that G2G plan might be changed due to various factors, sources said.
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