A few weeks ago, we took the decision to temporarily suspend our operations in support of the UK Government’s effort to bring the Covid-19 pandemic under control and to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of our colleagues in a very uncertain time. Now, along with much of the UK building industry, we will begin to safely bring some colleagues back in to the workplace, from Monday, 27th April 2020. This will allow us to commence a phased approach to restart activity in some of our factories over the following weeks, prioritising those with higher demand and ensuring we can continue to support the UK’s construction industry and get Britain building again.
As the health and safety of our employees, customers and suppliers is paramount, we have introduced enhanced protocols to ensure compliance with social distancing, hygiene and current guidelines regarding Covid-19. All sites will undergo a “safe-start” session before commencing operations to support these ongoing protective measures.
It’s at times like this that the relationships which we have with our customers and across the supply chain demonstrate their most significant value and increase the combined strength of all our businesses.
To our Customers, thank you
We would like to thank our customers for the understanding and close communication which has enabled us to plan together in recent weeks. Over the last 18 months Ibstock has invested significantly in the reliability and capacity of our assets. As a result, we have good stock levels and are confident that by working together with our partners we can continue to meet your needs through this restart period.
We have continued to despatch product for essential projects and have done this in a safe and effective way. With enquiries increasing, our commercial teams are available and continue to work remotely to process orders and payments, and to respond to your questions as required.
As a British manufacturer, we have no exposure to raw materials or finished goods coming from outside of the UK - over 95% of our raw materials are sourced on-site, or from UK quarries. The breadth of our factory network means we are uniquely positioned, with our products having a low average radial delivery mileage, strengthening the responsiveness and reliability of our service.
Please continue to communicate your needs to us as accurately as you can so we can give you the best service possible.
To our suppliers, thank you
Our suppliers have been supportive of the actions that we have taken to date during this crisis and have been flexible and understanding around the unique circumstances that we have all found ourselves in. Whether in the raw material supply chain, distribution or other areas of supply, we want you to know we hugely appreciate the efforts that you are making to continue to supply our essential resources.
We hope that you recognise the additional efforts we are making to communicate our needs and requirements as early as possible, in the same manner as we are asking our customers to keep us informed.
Please contact us with any queries you may have. If you are unable to reach your usual contacts, please use the below fall-back numbers and they will direct you to an appropriate contact within our business:
Ibstock Brick – 0844 800 4575
Ibstock Kevington – 0844 736 0350
Supreme Concrete Customer Services – 0333 999 2220
Forticrete Roofing Customer Services – 01525 244900
Forticrete Stone Customer Services – 01909 775000
Anderton Customer Services – 0333 234 3434
Longley Customer Services – 01924 464283
All the amazing employees at Ibstock wish you well during this time. It is important for all of us to keep communication lines open so please stay healthy, stay in touch, and together, let’s get Britain building again.
Joe Hudson
CEO Ibstock PLC