Businesses are helping to provide PPE kit for health workers. Getty
Businesses are helping to provide PPE kit for health workers. Getty
Businesses are helping to provide PPE kit for health workers. Getty
Businesses are helping to provide PPE kit for health workers. Getty

Barbour turns its factories over to the battle for PPE to wage coronavirus fight


Simon Rushton
  • English
  • Arabic

Some of the world’s leading clothes makers have thrown their weight behind the push to produce protective gear for frontline health workers.

They have joined companies including Rolls-Royce, Dyson and Lego in a Europe-wide effort to fight Covid-19.

British clothing manufacturer Barbour, known for its durable jackets, has announced it will adapt its factory in northern England to make personal protective equipment, or PPE, for the country's National Health Service.

The company says it is working to supply health services in the north of England with gowns and scrubs for health workers.

“Everyone has a role to play in fighting Covid-19, and I wanted my daughter Helen and I to play our part by turning our South Shields factory over to produce PPE product for the NHS,” said company chairwoman Margaret Barbour.

“The factory where we normally make our classic wax jackets is no stranger to adaptation. During both World Wars, we turned the factory over to make military garments to assist the war effort,” she said.

Medical staff at the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the Excel Centre in London. REuters
Medical staff at the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the Excel Centre in London. REuters

“We are pleased to once again be able to make a difference and this time, to support the NHS.”

But Barbour is only the latest clothing manufacturer to take up the fight against the virus.

High-end designer boutique Burberry announced it would dedicate some of its manufacturing capacity to produce protective gowns for NHS workers.

The company said it was “retooling” its coat factory in Castleford, West Yorkshire, to make nonsurgical gowns and masks for patients.

The British government says 761 million pieces of PPE have so far been delivered nationwide.

And in France, LVMH, which makes perfume for Givenchy, Guerlain and Christian Dior, has been producing hand sanitiser for about a month.

Beyond the fashion industry, European manufacturers from the aerospace, automotive and even toy sectors have rallied around government calls to produce badly needed equipment.

Companies including engineering giants Rolls-Royce, Dyson and McLaren have joined the effort.

National blockades

A consortium including carmakers Renault and Mercedes helped deliver the first batch of the Penlon ventilator device, which has been rapidly adapted from existing ventilator designs.

In Denmark, toy manufacturer Lego has applied its expertise in producing plastic products in large volumes to make PPE in its factory in the south of the country.

The pandemic has created an unprecedented demand for equipment and supplies necessary to fight the virus, with many countries facing shortages of masks, gowns and ventilators as confirmed cases, and deaths, continue to rise.

While bringing in as much protective equipment as possible, some European states have received faulty products, with the Netherlands in particular discovering that about 600,000 imported face masks were defective.

Several EU countries, including Germany and France, have blocked the export of vital protective gear.

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Company profile

Name: Infinite8

Based: Dubai

Launch year: 2017

Number of employees: 90

Sector: Online gaming industry

Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000

FIGHT CARD

Welterweight Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Tohir Zhuraev (TJK)

Catchweight 75kg Leandro Martins (BRA) v Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)

Flyweight Corinne Laframboise (CAN) v Manon Fiorot (FRA)

Featherweight Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Bogdan Kirilenko (UZB)

Lightweight Izzedine Al Derabani (JOR) v Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG)

Featherweight Yousef Al Housani (UAE) v Mohamed Arsharq Ali (SLA)

Catchweight 69kg Jung Han-gook (KOR) v Elias Boudegzdame (ALG)

Catchweight 71kg Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) v Jerry Kvarnstrom (FIN)

Featherweight title Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) v Alexandru Chitoran (ROU)

Lightweight title Bruno Machado (BRA) v Mike Santiago (USA)

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
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  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

Coal Black Mornings

Brett Anderson

Little Brown Book Group 

Monster Hunter: World

Capcom

PlayStation 4, Xbox One

The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont

Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950

Engine 3.6-litre V6

Gearbox Eight-speed automatic

Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm

Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm

Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km

SERIE A FIXTURES

Saturday Spezia v Lazio (6pm), Juventus v Torino (9pm), Inter Milan v Bologna (7.45pm)

Sunday Verona v Cagliari (3.30pm), Parma v Benevento, AS Roma v Sassuolo, Udinese v Atalanta (all 6pm), Crotone v Napoli (9pm), Sampdoria v AC Milan (11.45pm)

Monday Fiorentina v Genoa (11.45pm)

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

About Proto21

Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group

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Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
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  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
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  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions

Top 5 concerns globally:

1. Unemployment

2. Spread of infectious diseases

3. Fiscal crises

4. Cyber attacks

5. Profound social instability

Top 5 concerns in the Mena region

1. Energy price shock

2. Fiscal crises

3. Spread of infectious diseases

4. Unmanageable inflation

5. Cyber attacks

Source: World Economic Foundation

The Perfect Couple

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor

Creator: Jenna Lamia

Rating: 3/5

Score

New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs 

New Zealand win by 47 runs

New Zealand lead three-match ODI series 1-0

Next match: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, Friday

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.