How a packaging firm's expertise informed its COVID-19 response

Riverside Medical Packaging’s expertise in the medical industry has seen it adapt quickly to help design and supply face shields in the fight against COVID-19.

Set up by David Shaw 40 years ago, Riverside's 6,000 sq metre manufacturing facility in Derby has been tailor-made specifically for the manufacture of medical packaging and packing of medical devices. Over the past six years, the company has set up two further divisions, Shawpak and (AMD) Aseptic Medical Devices.

As routine surgical procedures were curtailed due to the pandemic, Riverside adapted its business model and became involved in the cleaning of air pathway components for a UK manufacturer involved in the Ventilator Challenge set by the government.

Matt Roe, managing director at Riverside Medical, said: "Our experience in the medical industry has meant we could adapt equipment to manufacture face shields very quickly. We can now offer the ‘DispoShield’ and ‘The Shield’ to care workers and to protect employees of businesses returning to work. Proudly made in the UK and packed in an ISO13485:2016 controlled environment we can produce up to 100,000 shields per week."

Riverside teamed up with fellow Bondholder the University of Derby to design and supply the face shields. The first 500 were donated to staff at Derby Royal Hospital and, having the capacity of producing 100,000 shields per week, the company helped protect care workers as well as employees at other businesses. The products have also been ordered by Bondholders looking to ensure their employee safety.

David Hitersay at Bondholder TidyCo said: "We were looking for a protective face shield for our employees and we found Riverside right under our nose."

Matt Roe addedd: "We are very proud to be able to contribute to this crisis and help Britain return to work.

"Our latest product offerings are Hands Free Sanitising Stations, Hand Pump Sanitising Stations and a range of NHS and WHO approved Hand Sanitisers. The free-standing dispensers are easily installed and provide hand cleansing for both employees and customers. The measured dosing head means 2,500 doses can be dispensed before a refill is required and when using AMD Sanitiser each cleanse costs less than 2p.

"In the next few weeks we will have Nitrile Gloves, FFP2 and 3 PLY face masks to add to our range of products to assist in the fight against COVID-19."