Geelong factory applauded for nation-leading COVID response

A GEELONG manufacturer at the fore of the country’s frontline COVID response has won recognition as one of the state’s top manufacturers.

North Geelong medical supplies maker Care Essentials was named medium manufacturer of the year at this year’s Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame Awards, after a nearly fivefold increase in staff since the start of the pandemic.

Care Essentials pivoted its product range during 2021 to include sterilisation wraps to hospitals performing elective and public surgeries across Australia, as the industry faced a shortage of the product that used similar raw materials as in-demand facemasks.

The Geelong manufacturer already had access to similar materials for its market-leading Cocoon range of patient warming blankets – used to maintain patient temperature during surgeries – and stepped up to fill the market shortage.

“We set up the machine and were able to start making it,” Care Essentials director Chinmay Sinha said.

“We had to very quickly understand what the market’s expectations was from hospitals and their technical requirements.

“That was a big achievement that required a lot of innovation and problem solving.

“It involved the entire team, all the way from production, manufacturing, accounting, marketing, research and development, our technical team, quality assurance to get it ready for the TGA.

“All this happened within a couple of months, when we had a product launch.”

Mr Sinha said the success of the launch meant the wraps would remain a staple of the company’s product range going forward.

The wraps development followed an earlier intervention from Care Essentials to make N95 respirator facemasks for the Australia market earlier in the pandemic to fix a similar shortage.

It now has 20 machines making the respirators at its North Geelong factory after having zero in March 2020.

The manufacturer’s rapid growth has seen its workforce jump to almost 100, up from 20 before the pandemic. It was also a finalist for the diversity and inclusion category of the manufacturing awards.

The latest gong adds to Care Essentials’ win in the state and federal Australian Export Awards for its flagship Cocoon products in 2019, 2020 and 2021 – a collection it hopes to add to when 2022 winners are announced.

Care Essentials is planning an expansion to incontinence products alongside its patient warming and sterilisation equipment in the next phase of its North Geelong factory.