by Richard Cosgrove | Thu 16 Apr 2020
Tragedy spurs on JCB's Joe
JCB and a team of volunteer employees have set up mini production lines to come to the aid of the nation’s NHS heroes in need of personal protective equipment.
Principal Electronics Engineer and father-of-two James Morley – who is normally based at JCB’s World HQ in Rocester - has converted the garage at his Derbyshire home to produce vital supplies.
And inspired by his efforts, JCB has re-opened its Innovation Centre at the World HQ so colleagues and Tooling and Moulding Engineers Joe Mumby, 22, and Joe Bagley, 25, of Ashby de-la-Zouch can also volunteer and have free use of the company’s 3D rapid prototype machines to help produce medical grade visors for NHS staff. The World HQ and JCB’s other UK manufacturing plants fell silent last month as a result of the disruption caused by the Coronavirus and the vast majority of employees furloughed.
For Joe Mumby, of Hilton, Derbyshire, volunteering to produce the vital NHS kit has also taken on a poignant significance as he and his family come to terms with the death of his father’s cousin from Coronavirus in the past few days. With the visor material now exhausted, Joe and Joe are concentrating their efforts on producing hundreds of head bands required for the visors before despatching them to a Warwickshire company for final assembly.
Meanwhile James Morley, 43, who was the original inspiration for the project, has transformed his rapid prototyping machine in the garage of his home in Belper, near Derby from making toys for children Alice, eight and Joshua, five, to producing NHS kit.
Having made 20 visors, he is now diversifying his domestic production line to make components, which convert snorkelling masks for use with hospital ventilators. He is also rapid prototyping so-called ‘superhero nurse’ headbands which make face masks more comfortable for medical staff to wear as they fit on the back of the head rather than on to the back of ears.
James says he has been touched by the generosity of people during his voluntary work – including the donation of half a kilometre of plastic for his project from one well-wisher.