A response from Emplas Managing Director Ryan Johnson to the second national lockdown for England
It is clearly not something any of us want, but a second national lockdown for England wasn’t unexpected, to the point that it was perhaps inevitable. If you’re reading this in Manchester, Liverpool, large parts of the North East, the Central belts of Scotland, Northern Ireland (and at least for the last few days) Wales, very little has changed at all. Large parts of the country have been working with strict controls in place for weeks and months. In this respect for many of us, things are the same as they were yesterday, while for a few, things in the last 72-hours have at worst ‘rewound’ to May.
We put in strict controls and safeguards when we returned to work in April and they have remained in place. Hand sanitisers, visors, PPE, social distancing, regular disinfection of all surfaces, doors, new processes for deliveries, our safe return to work didn’t stop and COVID-19 won’t stop us or the many responsible and adaptable window and door businesses nationwide.
Our priority remains the well-being and safety of our colleagues, customers and supply partners. We are, however, confident that we can continue to work safely and within government guidelines. Should this change, we will review our position in-line with whatever is required of us, however, we are committed to a ‘business as usual’ approach.
The government has also made it clear in its latest guidance that while taking every precaution to prevent the transfer of COVID-19, tradespeople can continue to work in other people’s homes. We will do everything we can to support our customers in continuing to do this. This includes COVID-19 retail sales support and guides.
We have launched unique remote sales software, which allows installation companies to walk homeowners through the sales process remotely. It also cuts out process and saves time by automatically integrating with our ordering process. These innovations are allowing us to do business differently and ultimately better. This industry has come a long way since March. There may be ‘bumps in the road ahead’ but I have no doubt we will come through them, move forward and be better at what we do as a consequence.
