WREXHAM companies have been stepping up to respond to the government call for manufacturers to assist with the production of PPE.

Riva UK Ltd, which began work designing a protective face visor back in early April, Advance Spares Ltd (ASL) based on Vauxhall Industrial Estate in Ruabon and Silvergate Plastics have all joined the fight against Covid-19.

Riva UK Ltd, despite national shortages of materials, now has capacity to produce 100,000 visors per week.

The company says the product is now CE Certified and is being used to help protect NHS staff and workers across the UK.

ASL is one of the suppliers supporting the production of these visors. It is supplying the visors, as well as a range of other PPE equipment including masks, gloves, thermometers and hand sanitiser, to its customers in the automotive and other industries around Wrexham.

Adrian Tant, sales director at ASL, said: “We really want to support local industry as we know these products are hard to obtain and are so needed to get our local economy up and running.

"We are still supplying our core fastener products globally as well as supporting many manufacturers who are currently making ventilators and other medical equipment. We have had to adapt our working practices to ensure we can stay open, it has been a very steep learning curve of which I am very proud of the ASL team.”

Silvergate Plastics says it has seen a significant spike in orders coming in from manufacturers of hand-sanitiser and disinfectant bottles.

Councillor Terry Evans, Wrexham Council's lead member for economic development and regeneration, said: “All Wrexham companies involved in the provision of essential goods including PPE during the pandemic are to be commended and thanked for their massive contribution to keeping people safe.

"They have stepped forward during a time of national crisis and changed what they produce and how they organise their workforce which has meant a huge steep learning curve for all those involved. Thank you for your contribution and to all businesses across Wrexham who have answered the call to help.”