Manufacturer secures support during pandemic

Travis Perkins, which has a distribution centre on Brackmills, launched its Support Project when the coronavirus struck. The team have been delivering PPE across the UK – to hospitals, nursing homes, care centres and hospices. More locally, the company has been delivering much needed PPE supplies to Northampton General Hospital.

Ian Lewis, BID Director and Site Facilities Manager for Travis Perkins, said: “Everyone is incredibly proud of the work that has been done to support our key workers through these difficult times.”

Find out more about this good work on social media with this hashtag: #supporTProtect.

IN’n’OUT Autocentres kept a third of its garages open during lockdown and focused on supporting NHS and other key workers.

Jon Morgan, CEO, said: “When it all kicked off, we recognised the importance of keeping the NHS workers mobile, so we offered them free MOTs and half price services. Our priority was keeping their cars safe and roadworthy, so these workers could do their essential work.”

All the autocentres are now open, and the company continues to look after NHS workers by offering free MOTs and 20% off servicing. Pop into the Brackmills centre.

StarTech.com has not slowed its operations down for even a day since COVID-19 struck. The company has been shipping connector cables for ventilator machines to America and Italy.

Howard Wilson, Warehouse Operations Manager, said: “The team have been working in two shifts – largely to adhere to social distancing. Between these shifts we have a cleaning team come in and thoroughly scrub. We are practicing strict social distancing, even staggering breaks and lunches so there is space. The staff have been brilliant, and I cannot praise them enough.”

Businesses across Brackmills are joining forces to support the Northampton Hope Centre.

A drop-off point has been set up at IN’n’OUT Autocentres on Brackmills, with staff dropping off tinned food, pasta, sauces and much more. The BID is then delivering these to the Hope Food Bank – to help those living on the streets of Northampton.

Another fundraiser for Northampton Hope Centre has been the Ride for Hope, organised by Brackmills-based pastry specialist Pidy UK.

This company organised a ‘virtual challenge’ in May, taking cyclists from Sydney in Australia to Northampton, having ridden out to Sydney on the first May bank holiday with another virtual team.

Find out about future Ride for Hope events by emailing tanya@northamptonhopecentre.org.uk

Caswell Road-based igus UK have been helping produce ventilators and have also set up an emergency production line to produce face masks – free of charge, simply to help during this crisis.

Director Matthew Aldridge said: “At the start of the lockdown, the government put out a request for all manufacturers to produce ventilators, and the UK engineering industry leaped into action. Many companies were building prototypes for testing, and we were inundated with requests for samples and engineering support. We provided igus parts for use in prototypes free of charge, and had dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of ‘virtual meetings’ to solve different engineering problems.”

From its Brackmills factory the company also started to assemble face shields at no cost for the NHS. It repurposed part of its facility into an emergency production line and is now producing between 500 and 1,000 shields pe

Rico Group, courier experts with a service hub on Brackmills, are providing invaluable support to the testing of coronavirus. The company is collecting coronavirus testing kits from homes and from nursing homes – all done during a time-critical window – and then delivering these kits to the testing labs.

The business is part of a $9billion global company and on Brackmills, from its hub in Salthouse Road, at least half of all its work is currently dedicated to collecting and delivering COVID-19 testing kits.

Signs Express on Brackmills produces basic ‘wash your hands’ graphics and has given many to customers without any charge. The company has also been discounting its social distancing graphics.

Brackmills is a thriving Business Improvement District – to find out more about the estate click here to hear from the BID’s CEO Sara Homer.