Engin Mehmet’s children helping to make the masks 

A pair of Archway entrepreneurs are producing thousands of face masks to be handed out to medical staff for free.

Engin Mehmet, who runs the Absolute Print store in Junction Road with Hak Huseyin, was shocked when his medic student son said that front line NHS staff were “screaming” for help, with shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) causing chaos across the country.

Mr Mehmet, a self-proclaimed “tinkerer”, realised he could make visors out of the 3D printer he had at his house.

He then contacted his businesses partner Mr Huseyin to tell him about his discovery, who then spread the word around his various contacts and since then the orders have come flooding in.

Engin Mehmet wearing one of the masks

Mr Mehmet, 50, told the Tribune: “My son is going to start working next week for the NHS as a health care assistant. There is a lack of all PPE, to be honest. But these face shields, which helps when there is a risk of fluids splashing on the NHS staff, is something I can help with. That’s all I can do to help. I can’t make anything else, I wish I could.”

Mr Huseyin put the word out to friends in the BNI Chipping business networking group and they managed to raise £2,500 so that Mr Mehmet could buy a different kind of machine known as a computer numerical control (CNC) router which could increase the number of visors the pair can produce.

Mr Huseyin said: “I’ve been really blown away by how generous everyone has been. It’s almost had me in tears. We have enough money to buy the new machine and we’re going to fundraise to buy another to produce more.

“I am just absolutely buzzing to be honest. It’s been amazing how everyone has rallied round to help each other.

“We’re not going to make any money from this, all the visors are being given away and at the end, we’re going to auction off the machines and give that cash to charity.”

Hak Huseyin wearing the masks 

Once the new CNC machine is up and running Mr Mehmet believes he will be able to produce 50 visors an hour, while the 3D printer was only able to produce 70 visors a day.

Some of the visors have already been given out to pharmacists, nurses and council staff.

Mr Mehmet added: “We’re also doing a drop at the big bus depot in Archway. The bus drivers, tube drivers and shop workers are on the front line as well. They need these visors.”

This comes as nine bus workers died in London after contracting coronavirus, including Emeka Nyack-Ihenacho, 36, who drove the number four bus from Blackfriars to Archway.

His mother Anne has called for better protection for bus drivers as the family were left in “immense pain” by Mr Nyack-Ihenacho’s death.

To donate to the visor crowdfunder, which has received more than £3,000 in less than 24 hours, go to https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/absoluteprint