Close Brothers Asset Finance has restructured the finance agreements of Transcend Packaging, enabling the sustainable packaging manufacturer to mass produce face shields for the NHS. Having achieved the CE mark for Covid-19 protection, Transcend will be ramping up production, working toward a target of a million face shields per week and scaling that to nearly two million per week as demand increases.
The face shields – designed for single-use and to provide protection from airborne liquid particles – are currently being trialled in hospitals across Wales, setting the stage for broader deployment within the NHS.
“While these are unprecedented times, our support for our customers remains undimmed,” said Paul Philbrick, Sales Director at Close Brothers Asset Finance’s print division. “When Transcend reached out to us to see if we could re-structure their agreements to free up headroom and allow them to manage cashflow during the current pandemic, we didn’t hesitate.”
Jordan Pocock, Relationship Manager, added, “Doing this gave Transcend the peace of mind they needed, knowing they could manage overheads for the foreseeable futurewhile also exploring alternative routes to market. We’re confident, with the continued support of Close Brothers Asset Finance, Transcend will successfully trade through what is an uncertain time and will operate at full capacity when everything returns to normal. We’re proud to support a solution-driven business that is working to actively combat the Covid-19 crisis.”
Lorenzo Angelucci, Managing Director, Transcend Packaging, added, “We’ve been aware of the national challenge of sourcing PPE, so as a packaging manufacturer we challenged ourselves to see what we could do to help in this fight. We’re delighted to have designed, produced and received regulatory approval for a face shield that can be produced quickly and in large quantities, providing affordable protection from airborne liquid particles. These face shields will help provide Covid-19 protection across Wales for front line care providers, shopkeepers, care home workers, retail employees and restaurant staff. The strength of our solution is in its simplicity. Our face shields are easy to use, inexpensive and designed for single use, eliminating the cumbersome process of cleaning the shields safely. Our goal is to get as many shields in the hands of Key Workers as possible and we should be able to produce between 1 and 2 million face shields per week as long as the need persists.
The face shield is designed to be light, simple to use, disposable and inexpensive, providing an extra layer of protection for workers looking to slow the spread of Covid-19. There are multiple versions of the face shield available including printed, unprinted and ‘plastic free’ options to meet the needs of front-line staff and businesses. In addition to Wales, the face shields are either being tested or deployed in health systems in the UK, Greece, Italy, Japan, and Ireland
