From video brochures to face mask manufacture

Published by

Nicky Godding

A Cheltenham company known more for producing videos than medical protective equipment saw an opportunity to contribute to helping the current crisis when it discovered that the Chinese manufacturer of its video brochures was changing its output to make face masks.

PinPoint Media’s CEO, Oliver Bruce, was quick to set up a website www.easybreathing.uk, to sell FFP2 and FFP3 facemasks to businesses, local councils and government organisations. On its first day of trading it confirmed orders for 105,000 FFP2 face masks for a UK care home chain.

FFP2 facemasks protect against moderate levels of airborne particles, while FFP3 facemasks protect against higher levels.

Wearing a face mask won’t guarantee protection against Covid-19 - viruses can also transmit through the eyes, and tiny viral particles, known as aerosols, can penetrate masks, but they are effective at catching droplets – a main transmission route for coronavirus.

Oliver said: “Easy Breathing has been set up to meet the need to keep those on the front line safe in the war against Coronavirus. Easy Breathing is using its contacts in China to provide much-needed equipment to care homes, food manufacturers, hospitals, local authorities and other businesses which supply key services to the public who are in desperate need of certified PPE. We have access to equipment which is really hard to come by at the minute, and offering it at distributor cost rather than marking it up for profit."

He added: “While we predominantly operate in the B2B and wholesale space, the ability to ensure we’ve got surplus means we’re able to donate masks to workers and individuals in local towns simply and cheaply. It’s an international effort fighting COVID-19 and I am just ensuring that we do our bit as best we can.”

Oliver says that EasyBreathing can supply orders from 500 to more than 100,000 FFP2 masks within five days of placement with FFP3 masks being more costly, in higher demand and with a longer, 7 – 14-day turnaround time.

“We are also speaking to local councils and care homes about their supply,” Oliver added.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.