Seiko Epson Corporation will use its first Dry Fiber technology to manufacture face masks for its workers in Japan. Dry Fiber technology, which is also utilized in Epson's PaperLab A-8000 in-office dry papermaking system, is a sterile process that has until now been used to turn paper into new paper within the workplace. The masks are not made from used paper, but from functional fibers and will be fabricated at the company's Kanbayashi and Suwa Minami Plants at Nagano, Japan, where the majority of its domestic employees are located. Epson hopes to start producing the masks by the end of May. The organization does not now plan to fabricate the masks for sale.

These masks respond to the increasing need for face masks for protection against the novel COVID-19. Manufacturing the masks in-house will allow Epson to donate 100,000 surgical masks it'd purchased as part of its business continuity plan (BCP) to local authorities and medical associations in Nagano, where needs for personal protective equipment (PPE) have been growing quickly.

The business will also contribute 5,600 face shields to the very same organizations.