Coventry firm helping to create life-saving face shields for NHS

A COVENTRY firm has joined forces with schools to help create life-saving face shields used by frontline NHS and critical key workers.

Flooring manufacturer Amtico has already produced 4,500 headbands to date and could up that rate to 20,000 per day.

The headbands are a critical part of essential personal protective equipment (PPE) and after having an order for 2,000 from one hospital, Amtico now has thousands of orders from other hospitals across the country.

The venture comes after the Coventry company joined forces with schools from around the country who were working on producing face shields using 3D printing before assembling them and distributing them nationwide.

The original 3D printed design consisted of a headband made from three separate components and Amtico stepped in to help improve the efficiency and speed of production and managed to cut the components down to just two.

Once the prototype headbands had been successfully produced, they were sent to the Merchant Taylors’ School in Hertfordshire, where they were assembled with their face shields.

The final samples were then taken to Watford General Hospital to show an ICU surgeon, who approved the design and immediately placed an order for 2,000 units. These were then produced by Amtico, free of charge, within seven hours of NHS approval.

A further 12,000 parts have been ordered to create face shields for many hospitals throughout North and West London, including Royal Free London, Chelsea & Westminster, Northwick Park and Mount Vernon, as well as Watford General.

Jonathan Duck, CEO at Amtico, said: “I’m proud of the way Amtico, as a company, rises to new challenges.

“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.”