The pandemic has allowed people to become creatively productive. One such example is ‘made in Oman’ respiratory F+95 masks developed by Dr Salim al Wahaibi.
An epidemiologist by profession, Dr Salim al Wahaibi, Chairman of Falha Investment, designed the mask and felt like meeting the need.
“As certified industrial innovation specialists, we noticed it were mainly imported N95 and KN95 masks in the market. So taking into consideration the difficulty in importing, we decided to design our own branded masks in Oman to meet local needs,” said Dr al Wahaibi.
The Omani brand is called F+ 95 and ‘F’ stands for Falha, the mother company for investment.
“The mask has two filters and three layers. Most importantly, we have put it to test through a prominent international laboratory and the result says that it has 99.9 per cent protection,” he explained.
Manufactured at the factory at Misfa industrial area, the F+95 masks are for medical purposes and available for the public.
“We have different types, but meant for the medical sector as well as for normal usage, as it gives better protection and confidence compared to a normal mask,” he noted.
The company is not looking at the Omani market alone, as it has already taken steps to move into export.
“Oman is our base, but we are also thinking globally. Moreover, to think on that level, we require many certifications. So we are in the process of a CE certificate which is for the UK, ISO certification for medical devices, additionally, we are in line with the US certification FDA.
That is why we went into international certification because we would also like to enter the EU market. These markets will not accept uncertified masks, so now we are ready to export as well,” said Dr Salim al Wahaibi.
Lakshmi Kothaneth
@lakshmioman
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