Scots firm to supply £53m NHS order

A major order to make personal protective equipment (PPE) for NHS Scotland has been secured by a Scottish company.

The £53 million order will be manufactured by Alpha Solway, based in Annan, Dumfriesshire.

Alpha Solway - which secured the order through national supplier Arco - will make 232 million surgical masks and 2 million visors to meet demand for Scotland’s health and social care sectors until summer 2021.

The company is also making an additional 6 million FFP3 respirator masks which will meet around 87% of Scotland’s health and social care needs.

The order will support around 200 new jobs in addition to the 50 already created at Alpha Solway since the start of the pandemic.

Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation Ivan McKee said:

“This is fantastic news for Dumfriesshire and for NHS Scotland.  It is great that this substantial PPE order will be supplied by Scottish firm Alpha Solway.

“It delivers significant savings to the NHS as well as supporting vital jobs - both at Alpha Solway and at other Scottish businesses in their supply chain - and demonstrates that Scottish manufacturing is competitive on a global stage.

“The order also highlights that the proactive work undertaken during lockdown to bolster the COVID-19 supply chain is continuing to deliver real benefits in the form of higher employment, increased manufacturing activity and savings for our NHS.”

Alpha Solway director Steven Binnie, said:

“Alpha Solway, part of Globus Group, is proud to be awarded this order to further support NHS Scotland during this incredibly challenging time. We are also delighted to announce that it allows us to create two hundred new jobs.

“NHS Scotland’s commitment to purchase critical PPE equipment from local manufacturers sends positive signals to businesses such as ours and gives us the confidence to continue investing in the local area. It enables us to do more in the fight against the impact of COVID-19, but in a way that lays positive, sustainable foundations for the future.”

Background

Alpha Solway, which is based in Annan, Dumfriesshire, manufactures a range of PPE products including protective clothing and disposable respirators.

The £53 million NHS Scotland order was awarded to Alpha Solway through a regulated procurement framework with Arco – a major national distributer of PPE.

To meet demand for PPE in Scotland NHS National Services Scotland’s National Procurement has been supported by a cross-government team including the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland.

Since March 2020 more than 380 million items of PPE have been supplied to Health and Social Care by NHS National Services Scotland.