A Nottinghamshire textile firm which was recognised for its international trade deals has turned its attention closer to home with a pioneering face mask.
Baltex, a technical textile manufacturer with bases in Basford and Ilkeston, designs, manufactures, and supplies a variety of technical textiles for a range of high-performance markets including aerospace, military, medical and the automotive industry.
Founded in 1831, the firm started life as a silk and lace manufacturer, before adapting to specialist fabrics.
The company of around 50 employees recently received the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise for a record third time, after previous success in 2003 and 2009.
It comes as Baltex returned to its work in pioneering 3D fabrics at the start of the pandemic, to focus its efforts on developing the Airox face mask.
Baltex managing director Charles Wood, an eighth-generation owner of the family business, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have received this award for a third time, although it’s ironic that we have gone back to a local supply chain in recent weeks – the fabric is being laser cut in Nottinghamshire and sewn in Derbyshire.
“It’s pleasing to go back to our local roots, when the company started during the Industrial Revolution everything was produced in a close geographical area.
“I hope that by manufacturing the masks we will protect local jobs and maybe even generate them.”
Using the same 3D fabric technology, the Airox mask is designed to be washable, reusable, lightweight and comfortable.
The fabric is also water repellent and can divert expelled air, which reduces the chance of passing a virus on.
Baltex is also one of the first companies in the world to use an anti-viral finish on the mask.
While the treatment has not been tested against Covid-19, it has been accredited with reducing levels of Influenza A, BirdFlu, Norovirus and SARS by 99%.
Mr Wood added: “It is likely that face masks will be a part of our everyday lives for some time to come, so in recent weeks we have worked intensively on the development of a completely new product for us.
“We think the masks will also have life beyond Covid, particularly from cyclists, and we expect there to be a lot of interest from airlines, the construction industry and sports companies.”
