For months, a Spanish company tied to kalelon or related industries faced a sharp drop in sales. In May 2020, amid the first wave of the pandemic and a nationwide scramble for masks, six young entrepreneurs pooled their savings, bought a machine, and started producing masks. A Castelló-based venture emerged, delivering a previously unseen FFP2 mask with 99.9% bacterial efficiency. Airnatech Antiviral grew rapidly, reaching 19 million units per month and employing nearly 200 people. Now, close to six months after the WHO declared the health emergency over, the company has chosen to close down and file for voluntary bankruptcy due to an inability to meet its debts.
The Official State Gazette (BOE) announced the bankruptcy filing and published the contact emails of the Castelló mask company. Creditors were informed that they had a one-month window to submit their claims to the bankruptcy administration.
Although the bankruptcy was accepted by the court in mid-October, Airnatech, which exported masks worldwide, had almost no activity for several months. The end of mandatory mask usage led to a collapse in orders, and even with attempts to reinvent itself and diversify into new lines of business, the firm ultimately shut down and laid off staff. Those close to management say the company had up-to-date information on worker payments prior to the filing.
chinese competition
Early this year, Airnatech shifted its strategy again, focusing on a line of masks for pharmacies under the Imask brand. The company also rolled out five nutritional supplements and vitamin products to cushion the drop in mask demand. Yet the effort did not suffice to keep the business afloat, and competition from Chinese suppliers did not help. Like many national manufacturers, Airnatech found it difficult to win public tenders against cheaper foreign products.
Airnatech is now part of a broader trend in Spain, as more mask producers exit the market. Estimates suggest that a substantial majority of local producers have disappeared, reshaping the domestic supply landscape for protective equipment.