Textiles firm has switched some of its production to face masks

A textiles firm has revealed reveals how it has saved jobs after switching some of its production to making face masks during the pandemic.Lancashire Textiles, which usually makes bedding, feared it might have to make staff redundant at the start of the pandemic - but has ended up taking staff on due to demand.The Burnley-based firm employs around 45 staff and has an annual turnover of £5m from producing mattresses, duvets and pillows since it was formed in 2001.Bosses spent £30,000 on equipment to transfer production in late February after a director with family in Poland heard that factories there had begun to make masks.Demand for face masks peaked at 10,000 per week since it developed a prototype and rolled it out commercially.And the firms expects it to increase after the government announced it would be mandatory to wear one in shops from July 24.Director Joe McBride told BBC Breakfast today (Wednesday): "It's been the busiest period in 20 years of manufacturing.

In the last 20 minutes we've sold 50 masks."Sales manager Steve Aspey said jobs would have gone at the company "but for this diversification".He said: "It was our managing director's idea, when the pandemic kicked off and business had slowed down."We are quite flexible because we have a lot of materials and fabrics that are suitable for a barrier product and we have a lot of machinists."Things had quietened down with the coronavirus and lockdown so we worked on  prototypes so that we could make them commercially."As demand for masks grew, the bedding side of the business picked back up again and Mr Aspey said the firm had never been as busy.They have even recruited more staff to cope with the demand, which he expects to rise again after the government announced on Monday that masks would soon be mandatory in shops.Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it would "give people more confidence to shop safely and enhance protections for those who work in shops".Mr Aspey added: "We are now making bedding and masks side by side."As the masks took off, the  demand for our bedding products picked up."We have actually taken on more workers where a lot of companies have had to let people go."We have hired mainly machinists because of the demand and their flexible skillset."At one point, we were making up to 10,000 masks per week at the peak of demand."You would not believe how the phones have lit up since the government's announcement."Businesses and people have been getting in touch with us to place orders in great numbers."The firm managed to work right through the pandemic without having to furlough any staff or close down production.The masks it produces are a two-ply barrier garment which Mr Aspey says "offers protection for the wearer".He added: "This is a barrier mask, it is fully washable and re-usable."It can withstand around 60 washes, it isn't a surgical mask."It can help reduce any germs a person might spread with a cough or sneeze or even just their breath."The mask will maintain the droplets in your breath or a sneeze."Staff at the firm - which previously produced wipe-clean pillows during the Ebola outbreak in 2014 - have had to adjust to new social distancing measures in the factory.Equipment is now sanitised regularly throughout the working day and staff have to follow one-way systems around the factory floor.Mr Aspey was full of praise for how workers had diversified their skills, adding: "I'm very proud of the way we have been able to keep business driving forward."We make a lot of bespoke products so it has been relatively straight-forward to expand our production."And Mr Aspey, who has spent 30 years in the textile industry, believes demand could see masks becoming a permanent fixture of the firm's production line.He added: "I think wearing a mask is almost going to become second nature to people - and we don't know what the winter is going to bring yet. "If what we are being told about this virus is correct, it isn't going anywhere soon."Until we've got a vaccine that is proven to work - and that won't happen overnight - then people have to look after themselves as it were."

A textiles firm has revealed reveals how it has saved jobs after switching some of its production to making face masks during the pandemic.Lancashire Textiles, which usually makes bedding, feared it might have to make staff redundant at the start of the pandemic - but has ended up taking staff on due to demand.The Burnley-based firm employs around 45 staff and has an annual turnover of £5m from producing mattresses, duvets and pillows since it was formed in 2001.Bosses spent £30,000 on equipment to transfer production in late February after a director with family in Poland heard that factories there had begun to make masks.Demand for face masks peaked at 10,000 per week since it developed a prototype and rolled it out commercially.And the firms expects it to increase after the government announced it would be mandatory to wear one in shops from July 24.Director Joe McBride told BBC Breakfast today (Wednesday): "It's been the busiest period in 20 years of manufacturing.

In the last 20 minutes we've sold 50 masks."Sales manager Steve Aspey said jobs would have gone at the company "but for this diversification".He said: "It was our managing director's idea, when the pandemic kicked off and business had slowed down."We are quite flexible because we have a lot of materials and fabrics that are suitable for a barrier product and we have a lot of machinists."Things had quietened down with the coronavirus and lockdown so we worked on  prototypes so that we could make them commercially."As demand for masks grew, the bedding side of the business picked back up again and Mr Aspey said the firm had never been as busy.They have even recruited more staff to cope with the demand, which he expects to rise again after the government announced on Monday that masks would soon be mandatory in shops.Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it would "give people more confidence to shop safely and enhance protections for those who work in shops".Mr Aspey added: "We are now making bedding and masks side by side."As the masks took off, the  demand for our bedding products picked up."We have actually taken on more workers where a lot of companies have had to let people go."We have hired mainly machinists because of the demand and their flexible skillset."At one point, we were making up to 10,000 masks per week at the peak of demand."You would not believe how the phones have lit up since the government's announcement."Businesses and people have been getting in touch with us to place orders in great numbers."The firm managed to work right through the pandemic without having to furlough any staff or close down production.The masks it produces are a two-ply barrier garment which Mr Aspey says "offers protection for the wearer".He added: "This is a barrier mask, it is fully washable and re-usable."It can withstand around 60 washes, it isn't a surgical mask."It can help reduce any germs a person might spread with a cough or sneeze or even just their breath."The mask will maintain the droplets in your breath or a sneeze."Staff at the firm - which previously produced wipe-clean pillows during the Ebola outbreak in 2014 - have had to adjust to new social distancing measures in the factory.Equipment is now sanitised regularly throughout the working day and staff have to follow one-way systems around the factory floor.Mr Aspey was full of praise for how workers had diversified their skills, adding: "I'm very proud of the way we have been able to keep business driving forward."We make a lot of bespoke products so it has been relatively straight-forward to expand our production."And Mr Aspey, who has spent 30 years in the textile industry, believes demand could see masks becoming a permanent fixture of the firm's production line.He added: "I think wearing a mask is almost going to become second nature to people - and we don't know what the winter is going to bring yet.

"If what we are being told about this virus is correct, it isn't going anywhere soon."Until we've got a vaccine that is proven to work - and that won't happen overnight - then people have to look after themselves as it were."