Firm in constant drive to improve quality of its workplace safety gear

FIBRES blend overhead, their strands knitted together to produce a brilliant white candy floss blanket.

Dave Watson, site manager at 3M Newton Aycliffe

As the whirring myriad of machinery continues at a pace, these confectionary-like layers emerge moulded together from their metallic journey before being laid to rest on neighbouring pallets.

Resembling giant honeycombs, they will eventally form part of millions of industrial face masks made at pioneering 3M, in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

The company's headquarters, in Heighington Lane, are the US conglomerate's global personal protection division.

The firm, once known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is a dominant market force with its Scotch tape and Post It note products, and even makes towel hooks and tennis elbow supports, but in the North-East, the focus is all about workplace safety.

A flagship factory for face mask protection, the Aycliffe site leads the design and development of 3M's products, which have been sent out to manufacturers across countries including Russia, Turkey and Poland.

Earlier this year, bosses moved production of cartridge filters, used in facial mask respirators, to the region such was their confidence in its 330-strong North-East workforce.

With a new production line installed, the company is now ramping up production of these filters, which stop users inhaling dust and vapours, as well as full facial protection and disposable masks.

As you enter the plant, you are greeted with inspiring and encouraging slogans emblazoned on the walls, including the message, we never stop.

You wouldn't expect anything less than a focus on forward momentum from a company which has a rich history of sponsoring a US Nascar racing team to success around the country's wide oval circuits.

But walking around the factory, such an ethos is made patently clear.

Dave Watson, 3M's site manager, is unequivoval about the company's success, and why its US bosses have shown such commitment.

The former maintenance fitter, who joined the firm in 1987, said: “We are a flagship site for the company and have the right people here with the correct attitudes to continue that.

“That strong business model means we can carry on getting the best results and maintain our position at the cutting edge.

“We want to be the best at what we do, and the company knows we can deliver the good, and are a safe pair of hands.

“We are very proud of our reputation for innovating products, which means we can continue giving value to the customer.

Production manager Paul Hird, left, with module manager Craig Wood

“The company has a long heritage in Newton Aycliffe, having been here since 1966, and safety is extremely important, both in what we produce and in the way our staff work and look after themselves.”

So, why did 3M's bosses over in Minnesota choose Newton Aycliffe to head such a major arm of its business?

“We do as much work in-house as we can”, says Mr Watson, “and instead of shipping it around the world we can make it here where we have the skill and talent from the local community to keep us on the upward curve.

“You only have to look at the confidence 3M have in us to make such an investment as the new production line.”

“Most big companies are investing in the Asian markets, but our innovation and technical superiority means they are building here, and that is a real feather in our cap.”

Walking around the plant, you can see just how the company is evolving and constantly working on improving its portfolio of products.

A CAF output conveyor with newly-produced respirators ready for packing

The firm, which also makes car polishes, soaps and wax at Newton Aycliffe, has various mannekins kitted out in protective clothing, their faces adorned with various masks made using its huge machinery.

After squeezing a pair of bright orange foam protectors into my ears, I join Paul Hird, the factory's production manager, on a tour of the site to gauge its operations.

Our first stop takes us to a room showcasing some of 3M's main models, from their full-face respirators, complete with masks and cartridges, and others with breathing tubes, to its protective eyewear and range of headsets.

You might think that a face mask is just that, but listening to Paul's passion, coupled with the company's drive to be the leading industry producer, such a theory is immediately dashed.

Walking into its laboratory, various products are being twisted, torn and tested to their limits to ensure they meet the exact criteria.

The processes are carried out all day, every day and only when they stand up to the stringent scrutiny are they officially sanctioned for use.

Delving deeper into the factory, the honeycomb structures become more apparent, their soft textures weaved together to create layers, which will be eventually wrapped around 3M's disposable masks.

Technician Chris Barron services a CAF machine at 3M

Another section, in the extended part of the factory, houses the new production line, its machines laden with cartridges as workers pore over their quality.

Such attention to detail, Paul tells me, is the key to 3M's ongoing success, and presenting the average is simply not acceptable.

He said: “Our continuous monitoring and improvements are part of the processes that we go through every day.

“We do not just make something and hope that it passes the test, we want it to exceed expectations.

“There is a lot of pride in what we produce.

“The point is that you have to think that they could be worn by your mother, your father, or even your brothers and sisters, and you would want them to work properly for them, so that thought process has to carry on throughout every one we make.”

Another feature of its products is their development, with the company focused on gaining constant feedback from users to see where they can make adaptations to make them increasingly comfortable and safe.

He said: “If you are not making radical new processes then you have to make these incremental, but significant, changes.

“You have to get out there and see what the customer is telling you and what they want, listening to their views is very important.

“The genesis of so many products have come from this plant that have then gone on to be sent out to other manufacturers in Turkey, Poland and Russia.

“For us, that only reinforces Aycliffe's high-speed and high-technology ethos that has served us so well.”

Operator Christine Smith and module manager Craig Wood