We are pushing nicely into autumn now, and whilst the Marketing Department has been on furlough since March, the business has been open throughout the pandemic.
As I look back through 2020, just before Covid-19 ripped through the UK, we at Vaplas were going great guns, planning for our biggest year yet. The first couple of months were heading in a fantastic direction. We even had two new machines planned to help with the extra demand. Then along came Covid-19 and flipped us upside down. We had to scale the business back, hold off on the new machinery, sadly let a few members of staff go and take advantage of government help. But we are still here to tell the tale; and we will recover.
It’s been difficult seeing businesses around us temporarily closing, shutting for good, straining to stay afloat and letting people go, but it’s also been humbling to see those who have diversified and rolled with the punches. Vaplas have had to be flexible with the approach to business. Whilst many customers weren’t open for business during lockdown, we didn’t have the orders coming in, but luckily, with the help of our fantastic suppliers and employees at Vaplas, we were able to help supply PPE to the nation. As the new high street emerged after the initial lockdown, everywhere is now covered with acrylic hygiene screens, some of which Vaplas have supplied. These orders managed to keep some of our staff working and ticking over whilst the economy started recover and our customers went back to work. Members of the team have been working from home. We have a new, Covid-safe shop floor and so far we have managed to keep afloat with a healthy team.
As the economy is now gaining momentum, we are finding ourselves recovering well and things are certainly picking up pace now. With that in mind, most of our staff are now back off furlough and we took the plunge and took delivery of our two new machines.
£160,000 later and we have added one more Haas VF2 SS machine, which is happily milling away as we speak, and we also have the epic Hass VM3 with 5th axis capability.
Our new VF2 is allowing us to expand our milling capacity to push more into the aluminium market which we are seeing more demand for from our customers.
Having the most high-tech machinery is really setting Vaplas up for success ensuring efficient cycle times with less downtime between each cycle. The VCM3 with 5th axis capability can do so much more without being stopped to change tool or position in the middle of a cycle. Shorter cycle times mean a better price for our customer, with a quicker turn around and delivery to boot.
Speak to one of the team about your requirements to see how we can help your business grow.
T | 01924 220 050
W | www.vaplas.co.uk
E | sales@vaplas.com
