Nunet, a specialist in the design, creation and production of bespoke ring binders, folders, boxes and wallets is another example of a Dorset company putting its expertise to use during the Coronavirus pandemic to support the production of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for NHS staff.
Morgan Leadbitter, Managing Director at Nunet explains: “Like many companies, we saw a reduction of orders as soon as the working from home measures and subsequent stringent social distancing measures were introduced and we had to furlough most of our staff to safeguard their jobs.
“By coincidence on the same day at the start of April I was contacted by two different people regarding the production of PPE. One, a friend whose aunt working in a large London hospital had flagged the shortage of PPE to her asked if we could help, while the second sent photos of Italian workers putting together visors so we could see what was needed. We didn’t hesitate to look at what could be done.”
Despite most of the Nunet team being furloughed and only Morgan and one other member of staff working to cover operations and sales between them, they looked at the market, the best designs and quickly came up with a prototype for a visor. As an existing supplier to Dorset University NHS Trust they were able to pitch the design and by the second week of April had sourced the materials, commissioned the tools and started production on their first order of 4000 visors for the Trust.
With the staff furloughed, Morgan turned to friends in the rugby community at Dorset Dockers and East Dorset Rugby Club who volunteered to help with the order fulfilment. Adhering to strict social distancing measures, the volunteers completed the 4000-strong order for delivery straight to frontline staff here in Dorset the following week.
With many importers struggling to source PPE from suppliers abroad who are subject to red tape and rising freight costs, companies like Nunet are critical when it comes to the fast production of essential PPE here in the UK to ensure it reaches key workers on the front line in short timescales. Nunet has registered with the Government’s PPE procurement service and opened an online shop for the general public to order directly. Orders come in boxes of 2, 5 or 10 and are available from www.nunetfaceshield.com