It is now two weeks since the Prime Minister introduced the regime of tighter restrictions in order to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for BEIS, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, and the Secretary of State for Environment, Communities & Local Government have all stated the importance of maintaining capability in the construction sector, although inevitably there has been a reduction in activity during this time.
Polypipe Group Plc is playing a role in a variety of ways during this crisis. We have supplied ventilation equipment to two emergency hospitals, with a further four projects being supplied in the coming weeks. We are manufacturing visors to supplement the PPE supplies of the NHS, and we have donated a lot of our own stock of PPE to front line carers. Elsewhere, our products continue to be installed in the emergency hospitals that are being built around the UK, as well as some of the essential maintenance work that is going on within existing facilities. More broadly it is essential that our product ranges remain available for repairs and maintenance for other key sectors, such as food supply, utilities and infrastructure.
Polypipe’s businesses have remained open to serve customers, albeit with a significantly reduced number of colleagues in work. The health, safety and well-being of our colleagues and customers is of course paramount. Colleagues are working from home where appropriate, and various measures have been put in place to achieve safe working practices across our sites, and in the ways we are delivering to our customers. Our customer service and support teams remain available to handle any enquiries.