GLENROTHES MSP PRAISES LOCAL COMPANY’S CONTRIBUTION TO SCOTLAND’S FRONTLINE RESPONSE TO COVID-19

Published date : 18 Sep 2020

Ardmel Group doubles local workforce to produce as 15,000 PPE gowns per week for NHS Scotland

Mid Fife and Glenrothes MSP Jenny Gilruth has thanked Ardmel Group employees for supporting Scotland’s NHS during a visit to the company’s newly constructed PPE factory in Glenrothes, where they are producing 15,000 NHS gowns per week.

On the visit, the town’s MSP heard about how the company behind the Keela/Ilasco Outdoor Factory Shop has created over 50 jobs for local people during lockdown – doubling their workforce – as they renovated an old warehouse into a fully functioning personal protective equipment (PPE) production centre.

The Ardmel Group’s Director, Ms Arlene Kidd, gave Jenny a physically distanced guided tour of their new facilities and explained how the gowns are fully prepared and produced on site, before being transported to an NHS Scotland procurement centre outside Glasgow for onward distribution across Scotland.

Jenny was also had the opportunity to visit the Ardmel Group’s main factory and see first-hand their innovative manufacturing machines that have made the company a world leader in design engineering and manufacture of specialist machinery for the clothing, electronics and motorcar industries.

Following the visit, Jenny Gilruth MSP said:

“I was delighted to visit the Ardmel Group’s facilities to hear about the outstanding work they are doing to support NHS Scotland during the coronavirus pandemic by producing isolation gowns.’’

“This is an important contribution to the frontline in Scotland’s fight against Covid-19 from a Glenrothes-based company, which has also helped to create over 50 new jobs for local folk whose employment has been affected by the pandemic.

“I was impressed to hear that this PPE factory had been constructed from scratch within three weeks and that a total of 15,000 gowns are now produced on a weekly basis at the facility.

“We are fortunate to have such an innovative employer here in Mid Fife and Glenrothes and I look forward to seeing how their local operations develop in the coming years.”

The Director of the Ardmel Group, Ms Arlene Kidd, said:

“It was lovely to meet Jenny today and escort her round our factories here in Glenrothes.

“Jenny took a keen interested in our activities, particularly our new building for the production of PPE isolation gowns for NHS Scotland.

“Ilasco/Keela created 50-60 new jobs from the local area providing the necessary training in cutting and machining. Most of the workforce had no prior experience in this type of industry and were from various employment backgrounds who had either lost their job during lockdown or were unemployed.

“The factory now produces over 15,000 gowns per week. The company is evaluating ways in which to manufacture more of our products here in Scotland.”

ENDS

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