ONE million masks a day are made in a new factory in Herefordshire, which officially opened this week.
The Ultrafilter Medical factory in Ross-on-Wye is the brainchild of Dustin and Dean Kronsbein, who even welcomed TV presenter Richard Hammond to the opening ceremony.
Over the past 20 years, the two have built up an international group of companies that specializes in the manufacture of high-performance filters for the removal of bacteria and viruses.
The factory in Ross-on-Wye now employs more than 60 people. Image: Dan Barker
With a £ 3.6 million investment from the Kronsbein family, Ultrafilter Medical set up the factory by converting warehouses in Alton Business Park into a state-of-the-art facility equipped with mask making machines developed by in-house engineers who are specialists in Filtering viruses in the air.
The company now employs 67 people in the Herefordshire facility and makes the Ultramask, a Type IIR medical face mask currently used in hospitals, care facilities, the pharmaceutical, food and beverage industries across Europe and the UK.
Since opening, the Ross-on-Wye site and its sister factory in Germany have produced over 400 million masks for use by frontline workers in Herefordshire and beyond, including employees of the Wye Valley NHS Trust, Herefordshire Council, the Swiss Government and hospitals across Germany.
The factory produces more than a million masks every day. Image: Dan Barker
Dean Kronsbein, Chairman of Ultrafilter Medical, said: “At the start of the pandemic, when PPE was in short supply in the UK, we wondered how we could use our wealth of experience in filtering airborne viruses to save lives and make the UK independent from mask imports from abroad.
“I wanted to help my country, it was a duty. We also wanted to create much-needed employment and career opportunities for the locals here in Ross-on-Wye.”
Because the Ultramask is made in the UK, the company has a lower carbon footprint than masks imported from China and other overseas exporters.
Ultrafilter opened the Ross-on-Wye factory and the Kronsbein family invested £ 3.6 million. Image: Dan Barker
The delivery to British customers is also faster and cheaper than the logistics for imports from Asia.
And with the Ross-on-Wye factory producing a million masks a day and providing just-in-time deliveries, orders from health organizations can be placed as needed.
Frank Myers MBE, chairman of the Herefordshire Business Board and non-executive director of the Wye Valley NHS Trust, was one of the guests visiting the Ultrafilter Medical factory for an official opening event on Tuesday.
Herefordshire Lord Lieutenant Edward Harley unveiled a plaque to celebrate the factory’s official opening, and Amazon Prime The Grand Tour star Richard Hammond, who lives in Weston-under-Penyard, was also given a tour.
Flying the flag for British manufacturing is something British-born Dean Kronsbein and his family-run global filtration group are passionate about.
Since opening, the Ross-on-Wye site and its sister factory in Germany have produced over 400 million masks. Image: Dan Barker
He studied and worked as an engineer in Germany before specializing in filtration and moving to Herefordshire.
Dean said, “We are definitely on a mission to bring production back to the UK.
“The pandemic has exposed structural weaknesses in the global supply chain, and post-Brexit tariffs and import duties are causing companies to think about bringing production home.
“The demand for more sustainability also plays a major role, as the environmental costs for shipping goods from the Far East are now factored in.
“By making face masks alone, we have demonstrated the benefits of UK manufacturing for the customer, our local economy and the environment.”