Bow ties to face masks: German firms shift gears in coronavirus crisis

The Auerbach men’s accessories maker in Berlin has been sewing tailor-made neckties, elegant scarves and stylish handkerchiefs for more than a century. But with demand for its finely handcrafted wearable works of art in free fall due to the coronavirus crisis, managing director Jan-Henrik Scheper-Stuke realised he needed a quick fix to keep his 40 employees working.

Just a few days after abruptly shifting production from dapper bow ties to fancy face masks last Thursday, Auerbach has been inundated with more than 2,000 orders for his €18 (US$20) masks that come in a wide variety of colours and designs. Scheper-Stuke is now searching for tailors to help meet the surging demand so he can shorten the two-week order delivery time.

“Necessity is the mother of invention,” Scheper-Stuke said in an interview. “It seemed that neckties and bow ties weren’t going be in demand for the time being so the question was how could we best utilise our top-quality tailoring expertise? Switching to making masks seemed like a smart thing to do.”

Scheper-Stuke is one of a myriad German entrepreneurs to quickly shift gears in the face of the coronavirus crisis that has idled the country and much of the world. Other companies and even opera houses in Germany – one of the world’s hardest hit nations with 73,522 confirmed infections and 872 deaths (as of late Wednesday) have been innovative in coming up with remedies to some of the shortages the country is facing.

They have quickly retooled their plants and production lines to make face masks and medical equipment instead of shirts, jackets, seat covers and theatre costumes.

In a remarkable can-do spirit of national interest, beer brewers and spirits makers have made changes at their distilleries to produce or distribute grain alcohol that can be used for disinfectants that are in short supply.