UK SME develops new equipment for mass-producing Covid-19 swabs

A tiny UK-based business has designed, built and begun exporting innovative production equipment capable of producing up to 10,000 Covid-19 medical testing swabs per hour.

In February this year, Andrew Campbell, managing director and owner of Campbell Coutts Ltd., discovered that delays in Covid-19 testing were partly caused by a shortage of the particular ‘flocked’ swabs required to collect the biological specimens, with demand far outstripping production capacity in the UK.

Campbell said: "Within eight weeks we had built and tested a prototype and orders were coming in from customers around the world. It was a very challenging, complex project, partly because we knew we had to produce the equipment very quickly to help meet the global need for swabs. Another hurdle was the shortage of the polycarbonate sheeting needed to enclose parts of the equipment as the demand for protective, perspex screens being used in public environments had used up all the stock in the UK."

To assist with accelerating the design and development, the company were awarded a government grant via Innovate UK, the UK's Innovation Agency, as part of a competition specifically set up to fast-track development of innovations borne out of the coronavirus crisis and to help build future resilience.

Small and large versions of the machinery have already been purchased by eager customers across the world.

The process wasn't without challenges but has been a rewarding and profitable venture nevertheless says Andrew.

"The equipment had to be suitable for use in a cleanroom sterile environment,” Campbell added, “which was a particular challenge, especially when dealing with millions of minute nylon fibres flying around. I'm really delighted that all our hard work has paid off and that we are making a positive contribution to the global fight against Coronavirus."

The company is the UK's longest established and largest supplier of flocking equipment and consumables and one of just a handful of businesses worldwide with the expertise and capability to design and produce electrostatic flocking equipment for large-scale production of a variety of flocked products and components.