Private White VC digital collection of photographs

Collection of digital photographs in .jpg file format.

The photographs show the process of making medical-grade face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Private White VC repurposed a former automobile garage in Glossop to house a modular ISO-grade clean room. 150,000 masks a day could be produced.

Medical grade masks must be produced in a controlled environment free from contamination from dust and airborne microbes. The photographs show the modular clean room inserted inside the original building. Workers are seen wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). Measures to reduce contamination include using personal laboratory style coats, gloves, and shoe and hair coverings.

The photographs show the entire production line, starting with rolls of fabrics to the completed face masks being checked, boxed, and warehoused. They show how the fabrics are layered, manipulated, attached, and finished. They include details of workers doing manual processes alongside highly mechanised systems.

Private White VC’s diversification from traditional British clothing to PPE made financial sense to the company and provided an extra 50 full-time jobs to local people during the pandemic. They became one of the largest UK suppliers of masks to the NHS. They exclusively supplied the NHS. When the contracts were fulfilled, the company stopped production of PPE.