© Bettina SAM.

Monaco based knitwear manufacturer Bettina SAM was in the news last week when Prince Albert of Monaco visited its factory to witness production of the company’s Bettimask protective facemasks, which are being used in the fight against COVID-19.

The government of Monaco has committed to distribute washable masks over one month to all residents of the Principality, including the employees of the Prince’s Palace. Eighty thousand of the ‘made in Monaco’ masks have been ordered.

Before the arrival of the COVID-19, Bettina's production lines were geared towards high-end knitwear for well-known French fashion houses. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the flat knitting machines of the Monegasque company, located in the heights of the Condamine district, have produced no less than 70,000 masks.

Bettina’s Bettimasks come in various sizes - nine in total, including three suitable for children and adolescents.

"5685 masks have been ordered for children from 5 to 18 years. Morphologically speaking, they adapt to each child,” Philippe Prudhomme, managing director and general manager of Bettina, told Monaco Matin. “The masks are still in production and should be delivered shortly."

The wearing time of the masks is limited to four hours, but they can be machine washed at 60 degrees and reused a good fifty times, according to Mr Prudhomme.

Bettina, established in 1954 in the Principality of Monaco, is a manufacturer of luxury knitwear employing over 150 highly skilled personnel. For over forty years, the company has been a permanent supplier to a number of France’s most well-known and respected fashion houses, including Hermès which became a controlling shareholder in 2014. The design studios of these houses, which work hand in hand with Bettina’s in-house creative staff, rely on Bettina’s research, knowhow and craftsmanship to develop their knitwear collections.

www.bettina.mc