The manufacture of masks as a means of integration for disabled workers at ADTP in Annecy
It’s an adventure that began in May 2020 almost by chance. At the time, the ARS (Regional Health Agency) asked the leaders of the ADTP in Haute-Savoie to supplier of masks to its 600 employees. “We said to ourselves: we are not going to buy them, we are going to make them”, remembers Alain Gagneur, the president of this associative company which works for the professional qualification of people with disabilities.
“Stimulating activity”
A few weeks later and with financial assistance from the Departmental Council and Grand Annecy, a first machine was purchased. “Very quickly, our employees had to learn a new profession”, continues Alain Gagneur. And the ADTP has taken the quality slider to the extreme since in its premises at the Atelier du Thiou in Cran-Gevrier, surgical masks are produced in a gray room. “Here the atmosphere is controlled which allows us to have the criteria for the medical standard”.
Today, the associative company has two production lines. “I am very proud to say that I make masks”, explains Valérie, one of the ADTP employees. “This activity is very stimulating”, says Mostafa Yamani, the head of the mask unit. “We are moving from the stereotype of a small activity for people with disabilities to something very modern with a very high level of technicality.” And there it is no more limit. “Our DNA is to succeed on a daily basis that a disability is an opportunity to learn”, suit Mathieu Each, the director of the Cran-Gevrier site.
The ADTP association employs 600 people, 80% of whom are disabled. Its mission is to facilitate integration through work and support for each worker in order to develop their social and professional autonomy. It is located on several sites in Haute-Savoie (Cluses, Cran-Gevrier and Ville-la-Grand)
A contract with the Annecy hospital
In a little over a year and a half, ADTP has produced and sold nearly 4 million masks. Among its customers, the Annecy Genevois Hospital Center (Change), which has just placed an order for 488,650 masks. For change, working with a local company committed to the social and solidarity economy is a plus. “It is a great initiative to have both a company from the Annecy region and an adapted work group work and, for ADTP, it is a great recognition to have the hospital as a client.” indicates the director of purchasing, logistics and infrastructure at the Annecy hospital center.