Mechanical Engineering alumnus, Kieron Salter ’93 is helping co-ordinating a local supply chain for PPE and his own company, KW Special Projects is rapidly developing new products to support the Covid-19 response.
“In my role of Director of Silverstone Technology Cluster (STC) we are helping coordinate the high performance engineering supply chain to solve some of the local requirements. We established the STC a couple of years back to represent the cluster of high performance businesses that exists primarily because of the motorsport industry, but now operates across many sectors.
“We have been looking at supporting face shields, gowns, scrubs, bodybags and PPE.
“Within KW Special Projects (which I founded in 2012 as a spin out from our own motorsport focused business KW Motorsport) we have been utilising our Additive Manufacturing capabilities to provide manufacturing capability for PPE, also for rapid product development and prototyping of Covid-19 testing swabs and a project we are involved in as a joint venture developing a new PPE solution, Respolab. This includes a new valve-less FP3 respirator integrated as either a full face shield or half mask option.
“We are rapidly developing this and the filter system with our motorsport focus and using our in house capability to fast track product development.
“We have gone from idea to 3rd stage product prototype in less than 4 weeks and expect to get to full certification and large scale production soon.”
Research Nurse, Susan Johnston ’13 has been working on Covid treatment research >>>