What is the impact of the lack of oxygen due to the new crown outbreak in Indian laser cutting companies?

Since April this year, India's new crown epidemic has broken out on a large scale, and medical resources in various regions have been seriously insufficient. With the emergence of "hypoxia" across India, the price of oxygen has soared. Oxygen is also an indispensable gas in laser cutting, and the nationwide "hypoxia" is constantly impacting the Indian laser cutting market.

Currently, governments across India use most of the oxygen produced for medical purposes. Although there is still some oxygen that can be delivered to companies that assist in the production of compressors and other medical equipment, the amount of oxygen they can use has also dropped significantly, resulting in shorter equipment running time. Industry insiders responded that due to the extreme restrictions on the work development of the laser cutting industry, the issue of layoffs followed one after another.

The owner of a laser cutting factory in Aurangabad, India (located slightly north east of Mumbai) said: “In the past we could get 14 gas cylinders a day, but now it’s very difficult to get 2-4 gas cylinders in 10 days. And also get the FDA license. This makes the equipment that can be produced 24 hours a day can only work 8 hours a day, originally there were 75 workers to produce medical equipment, and now more than half of the staff have been laid off, leaving only 32. We have tried cutting with other gases, but the customer refuses to accept such products. The role of oxygen cannot be replaced."

It is understood that in order to cope with the impact of insufficient oxygen and avoid further increase in factory losses, the factory has begun preparations to install its own oxygen production device. The owner of the factory said: "The oxygen demand for our equipment is 150 cubic meters, but our oxygen generator can produce 450 cubic meters of oxygen. If the government needs it, the oxygen we produce can also provide services for people."

Another owner from Wadgaon Kolhati village revealed that due to the lack of industrial oxygen, only one of their three laser cutting machines is still operating, and there are only six of their original 30 employees. In addition, he also expressed another worry: "We used to use oxygen at a pressure of 6-8bar to cut thick plates, but now we still cannot cut thick metal plates with high-pressure air at 18-22bar. If our supply cannot satisfy our customers Demand, and customers have found new alternatives, that is a huge loss for us personally and for the laser industry in the entire region."

The laser industry in India has been greatly impacted, but domestic laser companies have been less affected. A few days ago, Shenhui Laser stated in an investor platform interaction that the company's 2020 operating income in India accounted for less than 0.2%, and it was mainly consumer electronics customers. The outbreak of the epidemic in India has little impact on the company's business.