Essentra supports VentilatorChallengeUK 16 July 2020

Essentra Components has supplied fastener products including 60,000 nylon washers for the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium in the race to produce 10,000 ventilators for the NHS. As a result, the company has also dedicated production lines to support customers in the medical and critical industries.

In order to respond to the Coivd-19 crisis and the needs of the NHS, Penlon Ltd, a member of the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium, needed nylon washers to complete the build of the initial batch of its EOS 2 emergency ventilators. Essentra was able to supply the required washers to Penlon.

“We appreciated Essentra Components’ quick response by supplying the nylon washers within 2 hours of order. The company even hand delivered them, which meant that we could complete the first 30 ventilators for the NHS,” commented Mike Barlow, materials manager at Penlon.

With demands rising on the Penlon production line, further parts were ordered from Essentra’s range of 45,000 products, including, slotted screws, knurled knobs, cable clips and rectangular inserts. The innovative Penlon EOS 2 ventilator stood up to rigorous testing and subsequently was the first ventilator in the challenge to receive regulatory approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Scott Fawcett, divisional managing director at Essentra explained: “Our team are proud to be supporting consortium member Penlon with hassle free urgent delivery of vital components making life easier throughout their development and production processes.”