Mersey firm creates 100 jobs as it wins NHS PPE deal
Survitec, which operates a factory in Birkenhead is a specialist supplier of equipment to the maritime, defence and aerospace sectors and will now also make surgical gowns. Tony McDonough reports
Wirral manufacturer Survitec is creating more than 100 new jobs after winning contract to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) for the NHS.
Survitec, which operates a factory in Birkenhead is a specialist supplier of equipment to the maritime, defence and aerospace sectors. However, due to demand for PPE during the coronavirus crisis, the firm has become one of many to diversify production.
It has been selected by the UK Department for Health and Social Care to produce sterilised surgical isolation gowns in order to supply the NHS. The factory, which has continued to operate during the COVID-19 crisis, has been expanded to include a dedicated site for the production of the life-saving gowns.
The company will be hiring more than 100 additional workers from the local area to support this critical work. As an existing supplier of choice for the UK Government, Survitec already meets the high standards for such critical material production and will produce this new PPE to the standards required by the NHS and other health services.
The company worked closely with the Government in order to move quickly through the regulatory and procurement process, enabling it to begin production upon receipt of the specialised raw material and to ramp up production of the gowns as soon as it is able.
Martin Whittaker, chief executive for aerospace and defence at Survitec, said: “In these unprecedented times, it is critical that UK business steps up to support the NHS and other health services around the world.
“In doing so, we are also pleased that we can create a significant number of jobs in the North West to support the local economy. We are glad to be partnering with the Department of Health and Social Care, to produce critical PPE at a time when international demand and the disruption of global supply chains makes sourcing of these items very difficult.”