Coventry-based flooring manufacturer Amtico has joined forces with schools in the battle against Covid-19 by using its production facilities to produce parts for life-saving face shields used by frontline NHS and critical key workers.
The company has already produced around 4,500 of the headbands, with capacity to produce up to 20,000 per day, and is now listed on the Government’s official PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) procurement service.
Schools from around the country have been working on producing face shields using 3D printing before assembling and distributing them nationwide. As the headband is the most complex and time-consuming component, Amtico stepped in to help improve the efficiency and speed up production.
“I’m proud of the way Amtico, as a company, rises to new challenges,” Jonathan Duck, CEO at Amtico, said. “Members of our CAD, cutting and material development teams listened carefully to feedback from the NHS to make sure the headband was not only functional but comfortable. We were able to draw on our technical expertise, modifying the design for maximum efficiency, scaling up production and helping local schools support the NHS and other key workers.”
Once prototype headbands had been successfully produced, they were then sent to Merchant Taylors’ School in Hertfordshire, where they were assembled with their face shields.
Andrew Duffey, head of design, engineering and technology at the school (pictured with nurse), said: “Amtico has helped us to greatly increase production, so that we can help even more frontline staff. When we were laser cutting our own frames, we were producing 650 per week; however, since Amtico have been able to supply the PVC frame, we’ve managed to increase this to 4,500 units per week.”