Buckshaw Village-based Vernacare has won an Excellence in Manufacturing award in recognition of its efforts to maintain supplies of its medical products through the pandemic.
The award, granted by Profit Track 100 and backed by The Sunday Times, recognises Vernacare keeping manufacturing levels high enough to meet rising demand for it single-use human waste disposal system, LDS needles for its Vaccine Solutions division and cleaning and disinfection products.
The firm, which employs 380, increased manufacturing capacity to enable the manufacture of 1 billion Low Dead Space needles. The production of the LDS needles allows 20 per cent more of the vaccine to be delivered to patients than alternative needles.
Vernacare also introduced the first sustainable plastic sharps containers, created in the UK which are used for the disposal of used needles, now containing 30 per cent of recycled materials, with the first bulk order due to be dispatched to France next week.
The awards also recognised that Vernacare diligently following Covid-19 procedures and adapted to changing working practises throughout.
Richard Hall, group operations director, said: "Thank you to the Sunday Times for acknowledging all of the hard work that has gone into our UK manufacturing sites, especially over the last year."
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