Hemel Hempstead business switches production to help fight COVID-19

A business in Hemel Hempstead has expanded their business offering to produce high quality face protection products for businesses, healthcare workers, key workers, and members of the public.

OPRO, producers of the world’s most technologically advanced mouthguard and double winners of the Queen’s Award for Innovation, recently announced the launch of their new UK production line for their OPROtec range of PPE face protection products in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Recognising the health imperative that has been placed on people covering their faces in public, together with the unreliability and delay in sourcing PPE from overseas, the OPRO team has developed new UK production lines for fully certified type II and type IIR face masks and visors, which are now available for businesses, retailers and healthcare institutions to purchase.

Made in OPRO’s headquarters in Hemel Hempstead Industrial Estate, the original OPROtec product range – which includes compression sleeves, supports, braces and kinesiology tape - has been widened in just a number of weeks to include high quality face masks and visors, thus demonstrating OPRO’s nimble and proactive approach to business.

The OPROtec face masks and visors underpin one of the new brand’s key values, which is to protect individuals, whether that is from injury or illness.

With 500,000 face masks already produced, and the ability to produce hundreds of thousands of face masks and thousands of PPE visors each week moving forward, OPROtec will ensure frontline medical staff and key workers, together with the wider public, have access to high quality, fully certified, UK made PPE face protection.

OPROtec are prioritising distribution to healthcare institutions, businesses and selected retail partners who have face to face contact with the general public, to ensure their PPE face products are made immediately available to those who need them most.

Dr Anthony Lovat, founder and MD of OPRO, said: “As an innovative company, we have always prided ourselves on developing technologically advanced products, and the launch of our new OPROtec range is no exception to this aim.

"The outbreak of COVID-19 led us to revaluate the range and take the proactive decision to widen the original product portfolio through the addition of face masks and PPE visors, which I believe will help protect our NHS and UK businesses by bringing more PPE equipment into the supply chain at a time when demand is growing.

"With 500,000 face masks already under our belt, we have quickly transformed our business so that it supports the UK economy, by offering access to UK-made PPE which will help to save lives, protect the NHS, and protect jobs.

"We are aware of a number of ‘uncertified’ imported face masks being offered for sale at the moment, which don’t include the all-important antibacterial middle filter layer.

"All our OPROtec face masks include this vital layer and have been rigorously tested in the UK to the applicable standard.

"Not only will our OPROtec sports protection range protect wearers from injury and aid rehabilitation, but with the launch of the new PPE protection products, it will now also help protect them from illness, at a time when we all need to stay safe.”

OPRO, a family run business, was founded 20 years ago by dentist Dr Anthony Lovat, OPRO is the world’s most technically advanced mouthguard company and a leading pioneer in oral protection.

OPROtec’s innovative kinesiology tape features industry leading antimicrobial protection from Biomaster.

Containing a unique silver ion technology, it prevents the growth of bacteria by up to 99.99 per cent and is effective against antibiotic resistant.

To learn more about OPROtec’s face masks and PPE visors, visit: www.opro-tec.com.