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Join on Telegram Rabat – Moroccan tech startup Nextronic has designed and manufactured the first 100% Moroccan infrared thermometer, as part of the national efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Engineers from Nextronic presented their invention on Saturday, June 27, to Morocco’s Minister of Industry, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, who expressed his pride in the product and his department’s disposition to support the project.
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Morocco has imported all of its infrared thermometers. The new invention would allow Moroccan public institutions and private companies to monitor the temperature of their staff using locally-produced equipment.
According to the Ministry of Industry, the thermometers respect international norms and are available at competitive prices.
“These small tools have an extreme utility,” Elalamy said after Nextronic’s product presentation. “We are totally mobilized by your side so that the project moves forward.”
Elalamy also encouraged Moroccans to innovate, assuring that his ministry will prioritize support for Moroccan products, as long as they are of high quality.
“The sovereign’s orientations are very clear. We need to give the chance to Moroccans. Moroccans must be able to have their own abilities without depending on anyone. The ambition that [King Mohammed VI] has for the kingdom is enormous and it can only be achieved by children of the country,” Elalamy said.
Morocco’s pandemic-induced innovation
The infrared thermometer is the latest in a series of products made in Morocco and invented specifically to help the country control the spread of COVID-19.
In March, the Ministry of Industry encouraged local textile companies to exclusively manufacture medical protective gear, including face masks, gowns, head caps, and shoe covers.
The directive allowed the country to meet national needs in terms of face masks — one of the most in-demand products amid the COVID-19 pandemic — and export them to foreign countries.
In May, the ministry authorized the export of face masks after production by 69 Moroccan companies exceeded national demand and ensured a reserve stock of 50 million masks.
As of June 9, the date of the ministry’s most recent update, Morocco had exported nearly 18.5 million face masks, with the vast majority going to Europe.
The main destinations of Moroccan-made face masks include France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Germany.
Another 100% Moroccan product that earned support from the Ministry of Industry was ventilators produced by SERMP, a research and engineering company based in Casablanca.
“The design of the ventilator is completely Moroccan, from the manufacturing of the reduction motor, to electronic cards, to other mechanical parts, to assembly,” said Badre Jaafar, the director of SERMP, during a presentation.
According to him, the ventilators are manufactured in accordance with high aeronautical standards.
During a visit to the production site, the minister of industry announced that Moroccan hospitals treating COVID-19 patients will purchase the Moroccan-made ventilators to support the unprecedented wave of Moroccan innovation.
