The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our communities, our industry and the entire world, presenting challenges which have not been experienced before.

In March 2020, whilst shutters were down and showrooms darkened, industry-leading PVCu systems company Liniar turned its downtime into an opportunity to make a difference with the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) to key workers.

This initiative saw the design, manufacture and donation of tens of thousands of protective face shields to NHS and front line workers throughout the entirety of the pandemic – which is still running into 2021.

Now, almost a year since the pandemic began, Liniar has been recognised by the British Plastics Federation (‘the BPF’) in conjunction with The Worshipful Company of Horners (‘the Horners’) for its work during these challenging times.

In January, the BPF and the Horners announced they’d added a new category to their annual industry awards – the COVID 19 Outstanding Achievement Award – with winners selected by a judging panel. The Liniar team were notified of their award last week, which came as a total but welcome, surprise!

Martin Thurley, Group Managing Director for Liniar, commented: “After what has been a challenging year for everyone, I’m honoured to accept the Covid-19 Outstanding Achievement Award on behalf of the whole team at Liniar. It’s always been in our DNA to help the communities around us, and the pandemic accelerated this desire. We feel privileged to be in a position where we can make a positive difference.”

Mike Birrell, one of the award judges, explains why the panel chose Liniar as a winner:

“We were extremely impressed by the spirit demonstrated by Liniar and their design team, shown clearly by their dedication working both day and night to produce face visors before an injection moulding tool for mass production became available. The fact that Liniar’s protective visors were produced free of charge to front line workers shows the extent to which Liniar contributed in this time of crisis.”

The Worshipful Company of Horners has been a pillar of the community for centuries. Discover more about their work and partnership with the BPF by visiting www.horners.org.uk/the-company/committees/.

You can learn more about Liniar’s PPE Initiative and order protective visors at www.liniar.co.uk/ppe/.