Littleport company expands rapidly since moving into hand sanitiser production
A company that had just four employees at the start of 2020 now has over 35 since it diversified into hand sanitiser production during the coronavirus pandemic.
A company that had just four employees at the start of 2020 now has over 35 since it diversified into hand sanitiser production during the coronavirus pandemic.
CambCol Ltd, which has a site in Littleport, has announced it has also taken on six apprentices to join the rapidly expanding business.
Kelsey Stone, a spokesperson for the company, said: “Over the summer, we had a number of 16 to 18-year-olds join us for short term work.
“Some of them decided they wanted to do apprenticeships rather than go into full time college or university.
“So they decided to stay with us and train in a particular area.”
One has started an apprenticeship in business administration, another is training as a laboratory technician and four are apprentice warehouse operatives.
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CambCol was first established in 2014 and has developed collagen-based medical products which can be used in wound dressings or skin care products for treatments such as scar therapy.
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the company re purposed its facilities to produce free hand sanitiser which was delivered to local care homes for free.
And in September, East Cambridgeshire District Council approved plans for a temporary building for hand sanitiser production and storage facilities at CambCol’s site on the Oak Lane Business Park.
The company submitted the planning application after winning a contract with a company that supplies hand sanitiser to Transport for London, Costa and Hilton hotels.
During its peak period of the summer, CambCol was sending out 250,000 litres of sanitiser a week.
Kelsey added: “There were just four or five people when we first moved to Littleport and when Covid hit it needed more staff.
“We had some permanent members of staff and some more casual labour. As well as the apprentices, we’ve been able to offer permanent positions too.”
Following a recent visit to CambCol, MP for North East Cambridgeshire Steve Barclay said: “The economic challenges that coronavirus has caused is affecting many, so it was great to visit one local business that has thrived during these difficult times.”
