3 minute read - 12th May 2022
Alpha Solway opens new manufacturing facility in Scotland
Scottish-based PPE manufacturer Alpha Solway has begun the production of meltblown polypropylene – the virus filtering material used in its FFP2 and IIR facemasks – at the company’s newly built factory in Dumfries.
Alpha Solway, part of Globus Group, launched the new £12m factory in just 10 months after it was awarded a multi-million pound public-private investment partnership with South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE). The company started work on the factory last summer.
The onshore production of this critical filter layer will ensure a reliable and resilient supply chain of PPE from Globus Group’s multiple sites across Britain and Europe. It is the latest initiative under the business’s long-term sustainability strategy to reach net zero by 2027, which includes a commitment to 75% UK manufacturing.
Alpha Solway has opened its new £12m state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Scotland / Picture: Globus Alpha Solway
As a result, the business – one of the largest private sector employers in the South of Scotland – has created over 300 new positions in Dumfries. The new factory is part of £33m invested by Globus Group into the region to date – with new manufacturing facilities producing PPE since the start of the pandemic, resulting in over 1,000 new roles in communities across the UK in the last two years.
As part of its commitment to sustainability, Globus Group will ensure all its European-made products launched after 2024 are net zero and will develop and implement a robust product life cycle management process with more than half of its customers.
With over 25 years’ heritage, Globus Group now produces one billion medical masks and 300 million FFP respirators per annum, and recently launched a new transparent face mask. Approved by the DHSC, the product will help aid communication between frontline healthcare workers and their patients.
The multi-million pound investment has created over 300 new positions at the Dumfries facility / Picture: Globus Alpha Solway
Steven Binnie, director of Alpha Solway, said: “Our customers continue to need a fast, resilient supply of PPE and launching this new facility is an important next step in our strategy to accelerate the access to vital products. We’re committed to continuing to support the healthcare sector as well as helping our economies recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic.
“We’re focussed on constantly improving and evolving our manufacturing processes by launching pioneering products and services and the opening of this new factory is a key step in enabling our ongoing sustainability strategy.”
South of Scotland Enterprise was launched on 1 April 2020 as the new economic and community development agency for Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders. It was established by the Scottish Government to drive inclusive growth, increase competitiveness and tackle inequality within the region.
Professor Russel Griggs OBE, chair of SOSE, added: “We are delighted that Alpha Solway has been able to launch their state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Dumfries. The £4.8 million support package SOSE provided the business last year demonstrates our commitment to secure the long-term future of manufacturing in the South of Scotland. It is great to see that our funding has been so effective in helping the organisation grow the number of employment opportunities available in the region significantly.
“The organisation’s commitment to reaching net zero by 2027 could also be hugely influential on other organisations and employers in the South, who we hope will feel inspired to make similar environmental pledges in the next few years.”