Emplas has said that with effect from yesterday (Monday 8 June) it has reinstated pre-lockdown standard delivery day(s) across its ranges.
Introduced as part of its strategy for a safe and phased return to work, Ryan Johnson, managing director at Emplas, said the trade fabricator was also pulling forward its plans for the reinstatement of pre-shutdown lead times of 10 days glazed and five days unglazed.
“The demand we’re seeing has now moved significantly beyond our early projections,” said Ryan. “Starting the return when we did, has given us the time and space to adapt our processes, train our teams and build capacity in a controlled, sustainable – and most importantly, safe manner.
“We’re now in a position to resume standard delivery days across core products – and critically, to do so while maintaining service levels and product quality so orders are delivered not only on-time but in full.
“We also continue to build capacity and expect to be able to reinstate our pre-Covid lead times later this month [June],” added Ryan.
The trade specialist has been amongst a vanguard of window industry companies to restart its operations following temporary closure in response to COVID-19, at the end of March.
This included the restart of limited production on 20 April 20, driven by demand from the commercial sector in the UK and its Australian retail business, Ecostar, which has remained open throughout the global pandemic.
Ryan added that the control of IGU supply through its own glass business, Padiham Glass, meant that Emplas was also able to bring reliability to glass supply.
“Installers have a lot on their hands,” he said. “They’re adjusting to new ways of winning business and fulfilling orders. If they can get their glass, their windows, entrance and bi-fold doors on a single delivery – and know it’s going to be there – it takes away something to think about.”
Emplas has created a series of new controls to support safe deliveries. This includes the issue of PPE, face shields, gloves, sanitiser and disinfectant spray.
Drivers will also go through daily health checks, including body temperature monitoring, developed in-line with the latest government guidelines for the return to work.
Having launched its barcoded dispatch and unloading system last year, orders are recorded digitally and in full as they’re unloaded. This forms the basis of a ‘safe digital signature’ and will be stored against customer accounts, eliminating any physical requirement to sign against orders. These are also available to review or retrieve at a later date.
Ryan continued: “We’re very clear. Everything we need to do needs to be safe and also sustainable. We’re now confident we have the capacity within our business to manufacture and meet growing demand – but also the processes in place to safeguard our team, our customers and suppliers.
“We’re not quite there yet but we are a long way down the road and close to getting back to our pre-Covid service levels. I would like to thank each and every one of our customers, for their support and patience while we have done it.”
