Exclusive
Status: 07/28/2022 5:00 a.m
With incorrect information, the company Enlipa GmbH received mask orders worth millions. Particularly successful in Bavaria, like BR-Prove research. The case should be a topic in the U-Committee of the state parliament.
Some false customer references, logos used without permission or an alleged collaboration with scientists: At the beginning of the pandemic, the textile retailer Enlipa from North Rhine-Westphalia tried to sell protective masks nationwide.
In emails, an advertising brochure and on the website, the Enlipa company advertised with alleged customers. So also with the state of Hesse. But that never ordered masks from Enlipa. The German Red Cross, the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for Social Affairs, Health and Integration and the Cologne University Hospital made similar statements on request. After the Bavarian Radio (BR) contacted the customers in spring 2022, the logos disappeared from the Enlipa homepage.
An importer with a question mark
At the end of March 2020, Enlipa will deliver a total of 150,000 surgical masks to North Rhine-Westphalia. However, the company will not be entered in the commercial register until April 9, 2020. Nevertheless, Enlipa writes in his advertising brochure, which was sent to the Bavarian Ministry of Health at the time: “We have been working with our producers for over ten years.” Enlipa states in the brochure that it has a “cooperation with a project at RWTH Aachen University”. The university denies this on request.
In April 2020, the Free State of Bavaria ordered two million masks from Enlipa GmbH for around 8.8 million euros including taxes. This emerges from internal documents from the State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL). That even exceeds the bill from the Swiss company Emix Trading to the Free State of Bavaria.
Among other things, the mask investigation committee in the Bavarian state parliament is dealing with this mask business. Among other things, the panel examines whether MPs have mixed up their mandate with business interests. Some CSU sizes had received millions in commissions from mask shops – such as Alfred Sauter, Georg Nüßlein and the daughter of former Secretary General Gerold Tandler, Andrea Tandler.
Former Minister Huml passed on the offer
In the case of Enlipa, commissions are out of the question. However, it is about the question of how reputable the business partners of the state government were, how carefully offers and providers were checked and whether the costs were reasonable.
In April 2020, Enlipa contacted the then Health Minister Melanie Huml (CSU). The e-mail to the politician’s MP address has the subject line “Initiative: Help German companies – DEKRA-tested respiratory protection”. A ministry spokeswoman wrote to him BR Currently, the minister forwarded the mail to take over the process without any evaluation. The Ministry of Health does not comment on questions of content. The State Chancellery and the current Minister for Europe, Melanie Huml, are responding BR-Requests not.
Multiple defects in delivered goods
On May 23, 2020, Enlipa GmbH will deliver the ordered masks, but these will be blocked immediately due to labeling deficiencies, as confirmed by the LGL. The same applies to the second delivery a few weeks later. The third Enlipa delivery will not be accepted until the end of June 2020, two million masks from the manufacturer Hunan EEXI Technology & Service Co., Ltd.. According to LGL, 520,000 of these masks are currently in the Bavarian pandemic central warehouse. At a price of around 4.40 euros per mask including taxes, this corresponds to a value of almost 2.3 million euros.
Enlipa admits mistakes
Enlipa GmbH emphasizes BR-Request she is a reputable company. The management admits that there was no cooperation with RWTH Aachen: “In 2020 there were about 65 different versions of this advertising brochure and unfortunately the first versions had some errors.” The customer references are all correct.
Enlipa firmly rejects quality defects, there have never been any complaints. When asked about the alleged customer, the University Hospital of Cologne, it was said that they were not satisfied with the fit of an FFP3 mask and the values did not correspond to the internally preferred values. The university hospital writes: “The FFP3 masks tested by our hospital hygiene department did not (fulfil) the required criteria according to the standard. Since the standard specifies minimum requirements, the mask was not allowed to be used.”
Enlipa becomes a topic in the committee of inquiry
The Bavarian opposition describes the case of Enlipa GmbH as “exemplary” for the procurement of protective equipment in Bavaria. The deputy chairman of the committee of inquiry, Florian Siekmann (Greens), says: “We have an offer that advertised with dubious references. We have a contract that was not delivered on time in the promised quality. And we have failed the timely reversal and complaint.” An image that shows itself again and again in procurement processes.
The committee of inquiry is now putting the case of Enlipa GmbH on its agenda. The first witnesses have been named, including the management of Enlipa GmbH and the former Minister of Health, Melanie Huml.