"Acrylic glass is the new gold"

The large CNC milling machine is running. It cuts exactly according to the programming template. Another employee works next to it. He does the fine-tuning: breaking the edges so that nobody cuts themselves on them later. The still blue foiled acrylic glass panes - or "Plexiglas", as they are colloquially called after a brand name - are placed in a frame pallet. They still need to be packaged before they can be used in catering, retail or offices to protect against the coronavirus.

A bakery provided the impetus

Expomobilia in Effretikon has only been working like this for just under two months. The company is actually active in trade fair construction. But without trade fairs, nobody needs a stand builder. The order situation is poor and most of the employees are being put on short-time working. The rethink begins with an enquiry from a bakery. "The boss kept seeing partitions at petrol stations and wanted some for his counter. As he is a friend of mine, he approached me in mid-March," explains Johannes Baumann, COO at Expomobilia. "I immediately realised that we could do it. As a specialist in temporary structures, we have the machines and expertise available in-house." Calls to the company's own network followed and deals were finalised with suppliers. "We asked everywhere for acrylic glass and made reservations for months in advance," says Baumann. Expomobilia shared the first batch of protective walls on its own social media channels. With success. A short time later, it was clear: "We are focussing on coronavirus protection measures."

Acrylic glass is almost unrivalled

In the meantime, it is clear that the decision has paid off, even if it does not replace normal business either financially or in terms of workload. Never before has Plexiglas been searched for and traded so often. "Acrylic glass is the new gold," says Baumann slightly exaggeratedly. "In the last few weeks, the price of acrylic glass has risen by around 30 to 40 per cent due to demand." Delivery times have also increased massively, as interim stocks have long since been exhausted. Everyone has to order from the various producers. There is no alternative material, at least not yet. Werner Bollhalder, who takes care of all graphic matters and is now very familiar with acrylic glass, agrees. "The panes have to be transparent in almost all cases, which leaves only glass and acrylic glass. As glass is heavier, more expensive and more fragile, the choice falls in favour of plastic." He can imagine that at some point people will look for a more sustainable alternative, but the coronavirus crisis would have to last even longer for that to happen. Which, in turn, nobody hopes.

Pandemic displaces environmental protection

The raw materials for polymethyl methacrylate, as the material is correctly called, are acetone, methanol, hydrogen cyanide and sulphuric acid. The last two in particular are highly toxic. Nevertheless, nobody is currently crying out loud at the thought of the chemical manufacturing process for Plexiglas. "It's about containing a pandemic, so everyone has to react quickly. That's the most important thing and is pushing the topic of environmental protection into the background," says Baumann. And after all, the plastic is 100 per cent recyclable. "We use as much as possible in-house, the rest goes back to the manufacturers. They turn it into granulate, which can be used in its entirety to produce new acrylic sheets." To do this, the leftovers have to be sorted by type. Because not all acrylic glass is the same, there are different compositions. These are hardly noticeable visually, but must be taken into account in the recycling process in order to produce high-quality sheets again.

Glass + PlexiglassAvailability unknown

Anti-virus countertop screen

50 cm, 75 cm

27

Glass + PlexiglassAvailability unknown

Anti-virus countertop screen

50 cm, 75 cm

27

Product catalogue is growing steadily

Theoretically, when the partitions are no longer needed, they can all be returned to the beginning of the retail chain. "Or you can store them in the cupboard and be prepared for the next pandemic. Thanks to the plug-in system, the virus protection walls take up hardly any space." Panels and feet are milled individually. A groove is made in the disc on the left and right, into which the uprights are inserted. There are also four anti-slip studs and the safety barrier is complete. "But we do much more than this simple design. The customer can make requests at any time. We are used to flexibility in trade fair construction," says Baumann. The product catalogue is constantly expanding. The repertoire now also includes visitor boxes for retirement homes, protective roll-ups, partition walls, signage in buildings and print material.

"In our graphics department, we print all kinds of material with the familiar BAG infographics, make the typical spacer floor stickers, but also cater specifically to customer requests," says Baumann. Here too, Expomobilia has the technology and expertise in-house: Exhibition stands are also branded. "We also want to cut acrylic glass panels with our laser cutter soon. Because the edges are finer, there is less post-processing work."

The fact that the current tasks for Expomobilia's employees are hardly new means that everyone can still work. "The 25 production employees are all on short-time working, but they are taking turns. That way, everyone gets a break," says Baumann. Only the packaging of the small protective walls still requires a bit of fiddling around. With bubble wrap or can it just be done with cardboard? After a bit of origami folding, the second option prevails. "The edges are well protected and at the same time we need less material and less time, which of course has a financial impact," says one of the employees.

You have to be able to afford protective measures

In this crisis, everyone is trying to make ends meet as best they can. The industries they supply even more so than Expomobilia itself. "All the protective measures add up to impressive sums. Not every catering business can afford it," says Baumann. For many small businesses, it is therefore worthwhile
to open their doors despite the easing on 11 May. Or if they do, then only for the take-away business. "We want to offer everyone else at least fair prices. As we don't rely on any middlemen, but do everything ourselves, we can keep the price low - for Switzerland as a production location." However, there are also a few acrylic glass dealers who are charging exorbitant prices in order to make a big profit from the crisis. This is not an option for Expomobilia. "After all, we're all in the same boat and have to navigate through this storm together."