Transcend Packaging produces low cost face shield to fight spread of COVID-19

• Sustainable packaging company creates CE-certified PPE face shield for NHS and other key workers
• The face shield is disposable and inexpensive, providing an extra layer of protection for workers looking to slow the spread of COVID-19
• Over a million face shields – scaling to 2 million if demand persists – to be produced every week in food-safe factory
• First orders placed within minutes of posts on social media

YSTRAD MYNACH, Monday 27th April: Sustainable packaging experts Transcend Packaging have produced a lightweight (26g), low cost, single-use face protector for use in the fight against COVID-19.

The Transcend Face Shield, is intended for anyone wanting to take an extra safety precaution from airborne liquid particles associated with the virus including NHS and social care staff, retail employees, delivery drivers or food preparation workers.

Made from widely recyclable materials and available in plain or printed versions, the CE Certified COVID-19 face shields are intended for use in conjunction with medical face masks and are available to the NHS and others at low cost.

The face shields are being produced at Transcend Packaging’s BRC AA food standards compliant plant near Caerphilly, South Wales, where the company produces paper straws and other sustainable packaging for the world’s leading Quick Service Restaurant brands.

Within hours of the Transcend Face Shield being shared with the public, the first orders were placed, with sales exceeding a million face shields in the first week. Many of the face shields are already in use across hospitals and care homes in Wales and are being tested or deployed in health systems in Greece, Italy, Japan, Ireland, and other parts of the UK.

Lorenzo Angeluci, CEO of Transcend Packaging said: “We’re delighted to have designed, produced and received our CE-marked, regulatory approval for a face shield that can be produced quickly, inexpensively and in large quantities.

“These face shields will help provide COVID-19 protection across Wales and beyond, protecting our brave NHS staff, care home workers, retail and restaurant staff and other frontline workers.

“Our goal is to get as many shields in the hands of key workers as possible and we should be able to produce between one and two million face shields a week as long as the need persists.”

Wales Economy Minister Ken Skates said:

“Transcend Packaging is an important business in Caerphilly County and I applaud the way it has changed its way of working to develop a vital product, which will help support and protect many people. We are in the midst of a global crisis, but we have seen companies really step up in recent weeks.”