DuPont – one of the leading manufacturers of PPE – has signed a contract with the European Commission and EU countries, to open the door for countries to place orders for the delivery of millions of Tyvek® hooded coveralls to COVID-19 frontline workers across Europe.
The contract allows for over 4.9 million coveralls over the next 12 months to be delivered to key workers.
One of the products offered is Tyvek® 500 Xpert, category III, Type 5-B and 6-B coverall, which is designed to protect wearers against biohazards as well as liquid and particulate threats. The product boasts stitched external seams, elasticated wrists, ankles and face which means it is ideally suited to protect workers in healthcare and other frontline occupations. It protects workers from contamination by droplets, whilst also providing optimal ease of movement and comfortable wear.
Additionally, if the delivery of the products is time-critical, instead of Tyvek® 500 Xpert, member states can also opt to receive another type of DuPont™ Tyvek® garment that offers similar performance and may be more readily available.
The contract allows the participating countries to order more than eight million garments over a period of twelve months from DuPont – if demand persists and production processes allow. Since being signed in early May, the contract currently allows procurement from Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Malta, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, and Slovakia.
From March, DuPont has increased its production volume and shortened its supply chain to optimize the manufacturing capacity in response to the current pandemic. It has also donated 50,000 Tyvek® coveralls to help protect healthcare workers in some of the worst affected countries in Europe. The company has many years of experience in supplying protective garments during viral outbreaks, and some of its Tyvek® and Tychem® hooded coveralls have been successfully used by frontline workers during past epidemics, including Ebola and Bird Flu.
Albrecht Gerland, Product Manager for DuPont Personal Protection in Europe commented, “It is vital that healthcare workers have access to PPE that they can rely on so that they can turn their full attention to the task in hand. We are proud to play a part in the ongoing battle against COVID-19. As we manufacture both the fabric as well as the actual coveralls, we are well-placed to quickly respond to the current demand without disrupting the supply to our existing customers. This contract will bring our proven DuPont™ Tyvek® technology to those most in need, and we will continue to work tirelessly to meet the European Commission’s requirements in this evolving situation.”
For more information, please visit www.dupont.co.uk.
