Manufacturers contribute to city region PPE taskforce
16 June 2020
Companies in Greater Manchester are supporting local frontline workers in the NHS by manufacturing and donating millions of vital PPE items such as gowns, masks, gloves and hand sanitiser.
A Greater Manchester PPE taskforce was set up following the COVID-19 outbreak to help ensure the city region’s frontline services had the vital supplies they needed. So far, the city region has received 5.4 million items of PPE from the government’s national pandemic stock and has ordered over 19 million items through direct procurement.
Local businesses contributing to the PPE drive include garment manufacturer Tibard (pictured), which has repurposed its manufacturing to produce scrubs and non-medical gowns. To date, the company has produced more than 50,000 garments at its factory in Tameside.
GC Business Growth Hub and MIDAS, the city region’s inward investment agency, are supporting the PPE taskforce with procuring supplies and increasing local production.
Geoff Crossley, Senior Manufacturing Advisor at GC Business Growth Hub, said:
“Instead of the NHS having to source PPE from all over the world, we’re looking at re-shoring as much PPE production as we can back to the UK and to Greater Manchester specifically. We’re working with a network of local manufacturers to produce PPE cost-effectively and improve the design of items with input from doctors, so that they fulfil their purpose better and are built with materials that are as responsibly-sourced, recyclable and sustainable as possible.
“This all forms part of the Build Back Better movement to source things locally, support local businesses and improve the sustainability and inclusivity of the Greater Manchester economy.”