A PRODUCTION manager who works for a company which produces medical devices has been awarded a B.E.M for his work during the coronavirus pandemic

Tim Rance, who works for Penlon, is on the King’s New Years Honours list for his ‘services to the Covid-19 response’.

The Didcot man has played a big part in the ‘ESO 2 Emergency Ventilator’ which was accepted as a solution to the Government’s requirement for thousands of ventilators during the pandemic.

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In a term dubbed ‘Ventilator Challenge UK’, the company then had to go from making 500 AV-S ventilators a year to over 500 every two days.

In April 2020, when the design had been signed off for production, Penlon had completed a pilot batch and then transitioned rapidly to decentralised manufacture.

The Penlon factory in Abingdon had to be completely reconfigured into one great test site. The organisational and equipment challenges were large, going from one five days a week dayshift to 24-hour activity, seven days a week.

Mr Rance’s role includes turning production forecasts and orders into products, ensuring the ESO 2 and other products are manufactured on time.

On the Penlon site, Mr Rance said: “I feel very proud to be working on this project and it has been great working with such a fantastic team with a common goal.

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“I have had very little time to ride my Harley Davidson, and my budding singing career has been put on hold …but I will keep threatening to bring my guitar in for when we have the Saturday office treat – fish and chips.”

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This story was written by Gee Harland. She joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.

Gee covers Abingdon, Didcot, Wallingford and Wantage.

Get in touch with her by emailing: gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @geeharland