- The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has announced
that government is setting up face covering production
lines in cooperation with UK manufacturers
- Production has already started at two sites in England
and Wales, with another site in Scotland starting
production in the coming weeks
- Ten production lines have been procured and a further
ten British production lines are being made with government
support
Following the procurement of ten production lines, the
government has been working with suppliers in Port Talbot
and Blackburn to start producing high quality face
coverings. Another site in Livingston in Scotland will also
start manufacturing face coverings in the coming weeks.
The production sites will ensure that public demand for
face coverings does not impact on the supply of
higher-grade face masks for NHS front line staff.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster said:
This is a major step to ensure that this country can meet
any increase in demand for face coverings by working with
British firms to establish the capability, capacity and
skills required to manufacture these items at scale.
These production lines will be able to get millions of
face coverings to the public, without putting any
additional pressure on NHS supply chains.
It is fantastic to see companies in Lancashire, Neath
Port Talbot and West Lothian coming together to provide
face coverings for every corner of our United Kingdom.
The government has bought ten production lines, which
include 34 tons of equipment and machinery, and following
checks and testing at a machine manufacturer, DCR Machines
in Leeds, the machines have been set up across the UK.
A further ten production lines have been commissioned from
a UK automotive company, Expert Tooling and Automation Ltd,
based in Coventry.
The manufacturers will produce millions of masks each week.
The first production lines are being established at:
- The British Rototherm Group, in Port Talbot, Wales.
- Cookson & Clegg, Blackburn
- Transcal, in Livingston, Scotland
Scotland Secretary said:
I’m delighted that a Scottish manufacturer is joining the
UK wide effort to ramp up production of face coverings.
The UK Government has secured extra production lines to
ensure we can get high quality face coverings to those
who need them without impacting supply of higher grade
masks for front line health workers.
Secretary of State for Wales said:
As our economy bounces back from the coronavirus pandemic
and people look to get back to work safely, it is vital
that our supply of protective equipment meets demand.
Firms like Rototherm in Port Talbot will ensure we have a
strong domestic manufacturing capability and that
high-quality face coverings are available to everyone who
needs them.
This is the first time that face coverings are being made
at such scale in the UK.
Orders for the coverings have already been placed by a
number of public and private sector buyers and the
government is in discussions with a number of other retail
companies on the purchasing of the items.
Additionally the critical materials for the manufacture of
these masks are sourced from UK manufacturers
Government guidance to the public encourages the wearing of
face coverings in enclosed public spaces, where it is less
easy to socially distance, or where you are more likely to
come into contact with people you do not normally meet. It
is mandatory to wear face coverings on public transport and
from 24th July, in England it will be mandatory to wear
face coverings in shops and supermarkets. Both disposable
and reusable face coverings made from cloth are suitable to
be worn in shops and public transport.
Different regulations exist for wearing face coverings in
different parts of the UK about which you can find out more
on devolved government websites.
