AROUND 250 jobs have been created in Northampton by a world-leading manufacturer of high-quality personal protective equipment.
The Canadian-based Medicom Group has opened a new purpose-built production facility – its first in the UK – in Brackmills. The is already making more than 1.5 million face masks a day, under its internationally renowned Kolmi brand, to help the NHS combat Covid.
Medicom has an agreement with the UK government to supply more than 600 million clinical face masks for the NHS. The facility below represents a multi-million pound investment in Northamptonshire and brings the number of Medicom’s manufacturing sites worldwide to ten.
The Northampton site was chosen because of its proximity to the NHS supply depot in Daventry. It also reduces the need for imports with a high carbon footprint and there are other major environmental benefits through recycling procedures.
Medicom’s UK managing director Hugues Bourgeois pictured said the new manufacturing and warehouse facility in Northampton is a significant step forward in the UK’s fight against Covid.
“We are proud of our partnership with the NHS,” he added. “The result is a world-leading production facility, which is helping doctors, nurses and other medical professionals to carry out their vital work safely, efficiently and comfortably.”
Alongside Medicom’s Northampton investment, its parent company the Berry Global Group has built a production facility in south Wales to supply the essential material for mask filters.
Mr Bourgeois said: “We have been making PPE for 45 years and are very proud to be protecting front line staff in the NHS. We have created a strong supply chain for a long-term commitment to the UK.”
Medicom’s FFP3 respiratory masks filter up to 99% of airborne particles and are the type favoured by many healthcare organisations.
The UK government has joined Canada, France, Singapore and Hong Kong in choosing Medicom as a key supplier. The company has already played a pivotal role in controlling the spread of Covid-19 in Canada.
