Extrupol Packaging in Lincolnshire has seen demand for its products increase threefold to help the UK’s front-line battle against Coronavirus. A new £50,000 loan from CDFI Finance For Enterprise enabled the 13-employee firm to fulfil an enormous new order for a range of sterile packaging, which will be used to protect sterile surgical equipment, uniforms and cleaning products, helping to reduce exposure to NHS staff working in hospital operating theatres, intensive care units and hospital wards.
Marina Wittey, Financial Director of Extrupol Packaging, said: “We have worked with a specialist supplier who provides sterile cleaning products, uniforms and surgical equipment to the NHS for more than 20 years. When our products enter the healthcare environment, they must meet stringent safety standards. We were approached to fulfil an order which was three times larger than a typical one and we knew it would place significant pressure on our cashflow. Having worked previously with Finance For Enterprise, we called upon them for help.
“From the outset Finance For Enterprise understood our business model and helped us to secure the funds we needed to fulfil our orders. The time taken between securing a lending decision and being able to draw down the funds happened within just a few days. As a result, new products are now rolling off our production line and will be quickly distributed to hospitals; something which wouldn’t otherwise have been possible.”
