Hull-developed lifesaving product set to help UK truck drivers

Hull-based Orvec International, which specialises in the provision of in-flight products to airlines and transport companies on a worldwide basis, has developed and manufactured a new healthcare product for truck drivers in the UK and Europe.

Neill & Brown Global Logistics, based in Hessle, is equipping its trucks with the new emergency thermal blanket in collaboration with Orvecare, a division of Orvec International.

The Orve+Wrap thermal blanket operates by capturing an individual’s heat and using thermal pockets to create convection heat to raise, then stabilize, core temperature.

The thermal blanket, which is a specially designed laminate, has twice the thermal TOG rating of a typical summer duvet that will alleviate hypothermia and maintain normothermia.

The blanket is suitable for critical emergencies or elective surgery and has been trialled at the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust. Furthermore, it is exclusively used for proactive patient warming at the Royal National Orthopedic Hospital.

Colin Moody, managing director of Neill & Brown Global Logistics, said: “These unique blankets can be used to keep the drivers warm and dry in any breakdown situation. And as professional drivers are often first on the scene at an incident they could offer support until medical help arrives.”

Kevin Stamp, managing director at Orvec International, added: “Orve+Wrap can be used in any situation where a person is required to be warmed or kept warm and it is ideal for life-threatening situations such as a road traffic accident.

“It has been designed and developed in Hull by our research and development team of textile specialists and project engineers. And working from the initial product concept our project engineers also designed and developed the machinery to manufacture the product here in East Yorkshire.”

Collaborating for more than 10 years, Neill & Brown Global Logistics has provided about 90% of Orvec International’s logistics and transport needs around the UK, Europe and the Far East.

With a £14m annual turnover, Orvec International has more than 35 years’ experience in manufacturing passenger comfort products for airlines and transport companies. The company employs 46 staff in Hull and 84 in China in its wholly-owned subsidiary, and is part of the Phipps and Co Group of Companies.