A Covid-19 test kit manufacturer hopes to create 1,000 new jobs at its new East Midlands operation.
Derby-based SureScreen Diagnostics is looking for production and assembly staff, warehouse workers and technicians for a factory on the Sherwood Business Park, near junction 27 of the M1, in Notts.
There are already about 300 people based at the site with manufacturing being scaled up after the government ordered tens of millions of 30 minute lateral flow tests.
The tests – which use a device a bit like a pregnancy test and are aimed at people with no symptoms – are also exported to 53 countries around the world.
People who test positive using the kits are encouraged to self-isolate and get a lab test to confirm infection.
SureScreen, which has bases at the Prime Enterprise Park and in Morley, has been at the frontline in the fight against Covid-19 since the virus emerged and last year, it grew from 60 employees to around 300.
It expects to provide some 1,300 jobs across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire once the new factory is fully operational.
Director David Campbell said: “It is a big investment for us, we see it as a platform for future innovative tests.
“It will be among the best lateral flow facilities in Europe and we are expanding in all areas of production and investing in cutting-edge equipment to scale up further.
“This will mean incredible growth of the company, which comes with challenges, but we are committed to helping governments and companies worldwide to be on top of Covid-19 and its variants.
“We are well-known for Covid-19 tests but this is a new platform for our other products such as alcohol and drug testing, pregnancy tests, male fertility tests, testing for new infections diseases, HIV and being ready for new health crises.
“It’s important that we build a platform in the UK to be ready for future healthcare needs, including possible future pandemics and we believe this facility will help to do just that. “
SureScreen’s lateral flow tests – which operate by detecting antigens produced in response to Covid – were the first European tests to pass the validation process in the laboratory by Public Health England.
Their accuracy was deemed to be excellent, and, as a result, 20 million were ordered by the UK government for its national rapid testing programme.
Boris Johnson visited the SureScreen production line in Derby on the day the contract was signed, underlining its significance to the nation.
Meanwhile, the company is still developing other tests including its unique alcohol testing devices for ambulances, and supply of urine diagnostic tests to over half of the GPs surgeries in the country.
Fellow director Alastair Campbell added: “We are very excited about the future of SureScreen Diagnostics.
“This year is the 25th anniversary of the company, and we’ve always been immersed in scientific innovation, motivated by the chance to improve people’s health and well-being through rapid testing.”
