Member Article

Improving air quality must remain a focus for society says Ceramex

With scientific studies reported in the media showing a decline in air pollutants since the Covid-19 lockdown was imposed, Ceramex, an international leader in Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) cleaning and refurbishment for commercial vehicles, is urging continued emphasis on improving air quality as restrictions are eased.

Analysis of data collected from air monitoring stations across the country by the National Centre for Atmospheric Science found that lockdown has resulted in a reduction in air pollution across major cities. Particulate matter (PM 2.5) pollution from vehicles was found to have dropped by 30-50% in London, Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff. Similarly, an assessment of pollution levels in the capital by Breathe London, which maps pollution by collecting data from monitors placed across the city, identified a 9-17 percentage drop in nitrogen dioxide levels between 17 March and 13 April, compared to its last available pre-confinement data.

Having maintained DPF cleaning operations at its Slough-based facility by implementing hygiene and social distancing measures, the company has ensured that its customer trucks and buses remain environmentally emission compliant and efficient as they continue to provide essential transport services. As lockdown restrictions start to reduce, Ceramex is seeing a return to pre-Covid levels of DPF cleaning volume, due in part to increased logistics fleet activity, suggesting some initial ‘green shoots’ of renewed economic activity.

In line with its planned expansion strategy for 2020, Ceramex continues to move forward with the development of a much larger DPF refurbishment facility in Reading, which will open in the next few months. During the pandemic, the business already commissioned part of this site as its logistics hub, which has afforded more storage capacity to enable the Slough facility to operate at full capacity.

Commenting on its view of the market, Colin Lewis, Managing Director of Ceramex, said:

“As market leaders in DPF cleaning and refurbishment for commercial and off-road vehicles, Ceramex has responded quickly and effectively to ensure its resilience in order to support our customers over this very challenging period. Safeguarding our workforce has been a top priority and we have introduced health checks on entry to our facility as well as strengthening cleaning practices.

“With early signs of market recovery, we are looking forward to opening the doors to our new DPF refurbishment facility in Reading, which will enable Ceramex to service the growing needs of our pan-European customer base.

“This planned expansion will reaffirm our focus on helping customers to achieve renewed momentum and also provides an opportunity to highlight the importance of efforts being made to improve air quality by minimising vehicle emissions. In a Covid-19 world, protecting our lungs has never been more important and Ceramex stands ready to play its part.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Blackbird Communications .