Resilient manufacturers are business heroes of the pandemic - The Yorkshire Post says

And just as factories of the first half of the 20th century answered a call to arms to mobilise Britain for conflict, manufacturers today have shifted their production as part of an unparalleled peacetime effort in a battle of global public health.

Yorkshire’s industrial sector has a long and proud heritage when it comes to supporting this country and its economy, from the coal fields of its Ridings, to its textile mills and first-rate steel makers.

Right now, the scale of its national contribution can be seen in the extent to which manufacturing repurposing is taking place in the region. Gin distilleries are producing hand sanitiser, precision engineering firms are making ventilator components and a drug developer is creating a rapid test for screening large populations to diagnose the virus - and that’s to highlight just a few.

Let it not be forgotten that these organisations are transforming their production lines to do what they can to help whilst facing huge challenges of their own, with some fearful for their future.

Yet, they have shown an admirable resilience and it is no exaggeration that their swift ability to adapt, come together and produce vital equipment for the national good could save lives.

Undoubtedly, they and their unwavering staff are a credit to our region - and Ms Hart is absolutely right to call them “our business heroes”.

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.

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Sincerely. Thank you.

James Mitchinson

Editor