Member Article

The ‘Filtermist Five’ set their sights on fighting lung disease one step at a time

Five members of Telford-based Filtermist International Limited’s senior management team will be putting their best feet forward in the name of fundraising in May.

The ‘intrepid five’ will be taking on the Three Peaks Challenge to raise much-needed funds for the British Lung Foundation, with the team heading for the summit of Ben Nevis in Scotland, followed by Scafell Pike in Yorkshire and then Snowdon in North Wales – with the aim of scaling all three mountains in under 24 hours.

“This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while, so I thought why not rope my colleagues in and do it for charity!” commented Jo Morris, Director of Group Shared Services.

“Filtermist is committed to helping customers in a range of industries ensure the air in their workplaces is clean and safe to breathe. With this in mind The British Lung Foundation was a perfect fit, as it undertakes research to identify new treatments, lobbies the government on lung-disease related issues and provides a variety of vital services for people affected by lung disease.

Contaminants including dust, fume, oil mist and VOCs can result in a number of respiratory diseases including lung cancer, occupational asthma and COPD. The HSE’s current ‘Go Home Healthy’ campaign includes a focus on reducing workplace related lung-disease across a range of industries, with the current inspection programme targeting metal fabricating facilities.

“Our business provides a wide range of products and services aimed at reducing exposure to harmful airborne particles in industrial workplaces,” continued Jo.

“Despite the introduction of COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) regulations back in 1988, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimates that past exposures at work still contribute to approximately 12,000 lung-disease related deaths per year. This is entirely preventable if employers use effective control measures.

“We are looking forward to taking on this challenge and raising awareness of the steps that can be taken to reduce workplace related lung disease along the way.”

In addition to Jo Morris, the ‘Filtermist Five’ includes James Stansfield (CEO), Andy Hives (Director of Sales), Simon Barron (Director of Manufacturing) and Martyn Hasell (Chief Financial Officer).

Filtermist supports various charitable causes that are close to its employees throughout the year. If you would like to support the team, please donate via the dedicated JustGiving page: justgiving.com/fundraising/filtermistteamsmt.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .