COVID-19: UK marine companies switch to PPE production
UK marine companies have come to the aid of medical staff and key workers by switching production to manufacture Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus lockdown.
Sail makers, marine engineering firms, boatbuilders and Britain’s America’s Cup team, INEOS Team UK, have all been helping to ease the shortage of PPE, thanks to their 3D printers and industrial sewing machines.
Havant-based Ocean Signal, which manufacturers and supplies marine safety equipment, have been using their research and development 3D printer to make medical visors for GP surgeries and hospitals in Kent, Surrey and Gloucester.
A spokesman for the firm said demand for the visors was outstripping capacity.
‘We’d welcome anyone who has a 3D printer at their disposal to lend their support to helping with production for your local NHS staff. We’ll happily share our CAD [computer-aided design] design with anyone able to support,’ he said.
On the East Coast, Suffolk Sails has been making thousands of free face visors for doctors and heath care workers, sending them all over the country. The Woodbridgebased sail loft has repurposed their 3D printers, which usually make discontinued sail parts and prototypes, and an army of community volunteers are helping to construct the visors before they are sent out.
Exe Sails & Covers based in Topsham, Devon, has collaborated with staff at North Sails’ Gosport loft to make scrubs for frontline medical staff. Exe has provided the material, while North Sails has the equipment to cut the fabric.
Once cut, these are sewn together by volunteers before being sent to NHS hospitals in Exeter and the wider south west.
Marine systems specialist Fischer Panda UK, in Dorset, has been supplying inverter units to power ventilators on NHS mini-buses and ambulances. Initially, 57 units were fitted to ambulance transfer vehicles run by the London Ambulance Service, with a further 50 installations planned.
INEOS Team UK has been using 3D printers and its sailmakers to manufacture PPE face shields for key workers in Portsmouth. It is aiming to supply 5,000 face shields to the local hospital free of charge, as well as distributing additional face shields to local surgeries.
Making plans
Other marine firms have also adapted to the coronavirus lockdown. With many smaller boats shows cancelled or postponed around the country, yacht brokers Ancasta decided to hold a 10-day virtual boat show. It attracted 7,000 people, with 360° virtual tours of boats, including a large display of Groupe Beneteau vessels. Ancasta staff were available online to answer technical questions.
A Virtual Used Boat Show will be held on 21-25 May.
Meanwhile in Europe, many boatyards have restarted production. Dufour based in La Rochelle, France resumed production in mid-April, as well as limited yacht deliveries. As we went to press around 20% of staff were back at work.
Fountaine Pajot, which has yards in La Rochelle and Aigrefeuille, also has around 20% of staff back at work, with employees observing social distancing.
Other yards have continued work throughout the pandemic, with Hallberg-Rassy in Sweden operating as normal. Hanse Yachts, which includes the Moody and Dehler brands, has also continued production, with no delay to deliveries.