Blog

Pfizer Clinical Trial

12.11.2020

Polar Thermal Packaging go back a long way: collaboration on Clinical Trials has been made a valuable contribution to the Research & Development Department at Polar.

Pfizer Global Research & Development contracted Polar Thermal as the lead in cold chain package development and manufacturing. The trial was expanded to cover UK, Netherlands and the US over a 65 week period – Polar had responsibility for cold chain packaging solutions supporting clinical supply and day to day distribution activities from drug product stage through delivery to clinical site or to a subject’s residence.

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Made in Britain

09.09.2020

Following a visit to a factory in Shenzhen, Polar Thermal Managing Director Paul Harrison has committed to maintaining manufacturing and production in the UK. Paul said: “I was very curious when I was shown example costings but the reality was dreadful working conditions coupled with very poor and variable quality.”

Polar have been investing in new systems in their Warminster factory and taken on additional staff, but are more committed than ever to maintain and improve standards, rather than cut corners:

Office Manager Jemma Griffiths is responsible for maintaining the company’s ISO9001 Certification and is also handling the ISO14001 Environmental Registration – “operating in an ethical way has been core to how we do business and it has become even more relevant given the pandemic. Personally, I am really proud of the way we run our business, treat our staff, customers and suppliers.”

Commercial Manager Alex Porter commented: “We can’t compete on price with the sweatshops in the Far East – we have made a choice to maintain quality and improve service – we trust in our resellers and customers that this is enough – if we start compromising on this then we are just in a race to the bottom.

It is disappointing that some of our products are being copied and imported – we have had customers call us with issues only to discover that they have unknowingly bought cheap lookalikes. Given that we manufacture bags to keep vaccines and pharmaceuticals safe we would never look to outsource our manufacturing.”

Paul added: “it is always a difficult conversation when someone calls us and says they can ‘get it cheaper from China’ – they are correct – they can, and they can get it from the UK, Made in China, but if they are going to trust the lives of their end-customers to this then it is not going to end well.”

Polar has now committed to sourcing 90% of its materials in the UK, 95% within Europe and to maintain all manufacturing in the UK.

Marking and Cutting 20 litre Vaccine Bags for the NHS

NHS Framework Agreement

25.06.2020

Eugene Cooke, National Head of Procurement NHSBT, today signed a two year extension to the framework agreement NHSBT0485 with Polar Thermal Packaging’s Managing Director, Paul Harrison.

Paul said “we have always valued the NHS as a customer, but in recent months the importance of our relationship has really sunk in so we are absolutely delighted to be doing our bit. To see our Blood, Plasma and Vaccine Thermal Transport solutions being used daily by the NHS, the life science businesses and research universities is fantastic. The team in our Warminster factory has been working extra shifts, weekends and bank holidays to support the various vaccine research programmes and we are beginning to see some positive results.”

The framework agreement is signed by the NHS Blood and Transplant Service, but also covers all European Blood Alliance members making it possible for any of the 27 countries in Europe as well as the Australian National Blood Authority, Lifeblood Australia, Canadian Blood Services and the New Zealand Blood Service to avail of the special terms. All of the test data is also available to those member countries.

Polar delivers again in Covid 19 Convalescent Plasma Trial

12.05.2020

Today another 100 Blood Plasma Systems were finished by the team in the Warminster factory. Extra shifts were put on over the Bank Holiday to keep ahead of schedule.

Whilst Oxford Univesity is leading the way the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has issued guidance for trials of the process.

Already accepted in China the use of antibody-rich plasma has reportedly been very beneficial for many patients.

In the UK, thousands of recovered Covid-19 patients have volunteered to give plasma for the trials, and the collection and transport using Polar Thermal Blood Plasma Systems is being scaled up.

It is important to understand that this is not being put forward as a vaccine or cure, but there is significant hope that it may reduce the symptoms and slow down the effect of the virus.

Polar Thermal Packaging and Gist shortlisted for Innovation Award

25.06.2021

Paul Harrison, CEO at Polar Thermal, is delighted to announce that Polar Thermal, in partnership with Gist, have been shortlisted in the Air Cargo News Awards, under the Innovation Award – Product category.

The awards, now in their 37th year, reward and celebrate the best companies and products in the Air Cargo field.

PolarPodPolar Thermal developed their PolarPod™ system in conjunction with Gist to safely ship perishable, chilled and frozen foods by road and air providing a controlled environment in widely varying ambient temperatures.

Polar has collaborated with many partners over a long history including the MoD, NHS, many pharmaceutical businesses as well as the wider food cold chain operators, so the opportunity to work with a company with Gist’s credentials and reputation was ideal.

Gist has a long history of moving chilled, perishable and hazardous products by air, road and sea, providing end-to-end supply chain management. It is dedicated to supporting the needs of its customers and prides itself on building solutions to complex, global supply chains.

Gist and Polar Thermal have worked together to create a bespoke, eco-friendly and UK-made solution for transporting chilled food across the globe.

More information about the shortlist and awards can be found here:

https://aircargonewsawards.net/live/en/page/2021-shortlist

We are proud to announce that we are now ISO 14001 certified, to add to our ISO 9001!

17.05.2021

Polar Thermal Packaging is proud to have been awarded the internationally recognised ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification.

The ISO 9001 ensures that our services meet the standard needs of clients through an effective quality management system. Jemma Griffiths, Office Manager at Polar Thermal Packaging Ltd, explains:

“We have maintained our ISO 9001 accreditation for 20 years which has helped the business mature by formalising our processes, and now we have added ISO 14001. It also demonstrates our commitment to providing a quality and consistent service to clients as well as the desire to continuously improve.”

The ISO 14001 is the world’s most recognized environmental management system, enabling Polar to make day to day operations more sustainable. It requires us to have an environmental policy and action plan to manage environmental impact.

Managing Director, Paul Harrison, is very proud of this accomplishment: “Identifying our environmental impact and developing actions along with procedures aimed at improving our performance to create a more efficient business with less waste, which goes hand in hand with Polar’s existing green aware ethos.”

About Polar Thermal Packaging Limited

We are an ISO accredited thermal packaging, systems and container manufacturing company based in Warminster, Wiltshire.

Working closely with our key clients such as the NHS, Gist, Pfizer, Roche, Astra Zeneca and the MoD over more than two decades, has enabled us to develop bespoke solutions and products for the safe, secure transportation of vaccines, food, blood and medicines by road, rail, sea and air.

For more information about the services that we provide, please take a look at our website, or contact us for further discussion regarding your project requirements.

Gist wins BIFA Award with PolarPod™

01.04.2021

GIST WINS BIFA COOL AND SPECIAL CARGOES AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE ECO-FRIENDLY CHILLED PACKAGING SOLUTION

Gist have been announced the winner of the Cool and Special Cargoes Award in this year’s British International Freight Association Freight Service Awards.

The awards recognise organisations who are the best in the industry for specialist cargo and refrigerated services.

Gist, with partner Polar Thermal, developed an innovative, durable and environmentally-friendly bespoke packaging design to maintain the temperature of chilled products moving internationally by road and air for up to 60 hours. The solution is used for customers, including Tesco, for their global chilled supply chain.

With the new PolarPods™, Gist was able to reduce waste by more than 30% and improve overall speed by more than 20% whilst keeping the products at the correct temperature. More information on PolarPod™ – CLICK HERE

More information about the win and awards can be found here:

https://www.gistworld.com/News/ArticleID/54/Gist-win-Cool-and-Special-Cargoes-Award

Further information about the BIFA awards, visit https://bifa.org/winners/winners-2020

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Vaccines made in Belgium could be sent to the UK on military planes

06.12.2020

Millions of vaccines against the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) produced in Belgium could be airlifted to the United Kingdom on military planes, The Guardian reported on Saturday evening.

According to the report, based on sources in the British ministries of Health and Defense, contacts have already been made and the airlift would be envisaged from the 1st of January if railway, road and sea traffic is congested.

This would appear to reflect concern on the part of the British Government about the consequences of Brexit for transport.

All options are open for transporting the vaccines, but military planes are the most viable one, according to British officials close to the issue.

About 800,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine have already been transported through the tunnel under the English Channel, and another 5 million are expected in Britain by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the difficult negotiations between the EU and the UK on the Brexit agreement were scheduled to resume on Sunday.

The Brussels Times

Vaccine Transport Systems

23.11.2020

Polar Thermal is ready to take whatever vaccines are made available and assist in their safe movement by air, sea, road, rail, bike or by hand – from manufacture to final delivery.

We may not know exactly what will be required but we do know that Polar Thermal will have the solution. Why? Because Polar Thermal has developed a complete range of Vaccine Transport Systems – from Bulk Vaccine Shipments to individual doses.

Trusted by major pharmaceutical and life science companies like Pfizer, Astra Zeneca and Roche not to mention our longstanding relationship with the NHS and NHS BT.

Vaccine Delivery

23.11.2020

Paul Harrison, Managing Director, appears on BBC Morning Live with Shane Brennan to discuss the difficulties of delivering Covid-19 vaccines at very low temperatures, and also the prospect of large-scale distribution of other vaccines at more manageable temperatures.

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