Samsung is once again expanding its contributions to the global fight against the novel coronavirus strain, having most recently focused on better supporting mask manufacturers. More specifically, it shared its smart factory tech and practices with Polish producer PTAK, consequently tripling its daily output to nearly 70,000 masks, according to its own estimates. This achievement comes only three months after the company announced a similar manufacture initiative in its home country, which itself is an extension of the push toward intelligent automation it started in partnership with the Korean government two years ago.
The said program helped hundreds of Korean manufacturers improve their volume production output by over 50% on average. Scaling mask manufacture proved to be a key first step in “flattening the curve” during the original outbreak. Much like the engineering innovations it's sharing with non-affiliated firms free of charge, the overall idea of Samsung's war on COVID-19 is to keep fighting smarter, not harder.
$2 billion in relief efforts and counting
Samsung's latest sustainability report saw the company officially pledge to defeat COVID-19 through a multitude of endeavors spanning nearly every industry imaginable. From improving volume production of established PPE producers and repurposing its own manufacturing lines to helping trial vaccines and educate the population on best health practices, Samsung already committed about $2 billion to a range of coronavirus relief efforts, as per the aforementioned report. Naturally, that figure includes direct donations to NGOs and health organizations, of which there have been many so far.
Samsung's top engineering talent is likely to continue supporting manufacturers of all kinds in the coming months, especially as most of the world is now relaxing social distancing measures, thus expecting a second wave of infections by late summer.
