How COVID-19 Has Affected The World Of Sheet Plastics

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has not only taken over the world but it has also been the main topic of discussion for most of us each day. It’s a surprise if your industry hasn’t been affected by the pandemic, with many businesses needing to furlough their staff or hike up production to meet spikes in demand for products or services.

As a plastic products supplier, we are the largest online stocker of plastic sheets in the UK and supply acrylic sheets and other plastic sheets which are cut to size. With an increased demand for protection in workplaces throughout the UK and for home renovation projects, we have seen an increased demand for our products.

We have received a record number of orders of plastic sheets since the virus first entered the UK, meaning that we have received increased demand and had our best-selling products temporarily out of stock.

Here are just a few ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the world of Sheet Plastics.

Why Is There Increased Demand for Plastic Screens?

If you’ve visited a local UK supermarket in recent weeks, you may recognise the plastic screen guards surrounding checkouts and tills to protect members of staff whilst they operate. These acrylic screens provide protection to shield and divide consumers and colleagues from the risks of catching coronavirus via droplets in the air.

These screens can be cut to size, meaning that the plastic screens we stock can be cut to allow customers to access a card machine through a slot in the screen, and for some retailers, even pass products through to shop staff to allow them to scan each product. Not only are these screens found in supermarkets, but they’re also found in many retail stores, pubs, restaurants and cafes.

With this high demand, it has been a challenge for us that we have been able to achieve. Whilst stock levels depleted quicker than we ever anticipated, we extended delivery times to provide more time to fulfil orders in our warehouse.

All of our orders have been within the UK and we have mainly been fulfilling orders for the NHS, nursing homes, dentists, schools, councils and many more - which we have assigned full priority for whilst continuing to fulfil standard customer orders too. During March, we even took the decision to temporarily pause our marketing efforts to reduce the flow of orders to allow us to keep up with the workflow.

Increased Demand for Home Renovation Projects

With an impressive 71% of us admitting to completing DIY projects around the house during the UK lockdown, there’s no surprise that our plastic sheets have sold out due to our customers using them for their own DIY projects.

After all, we have been truly inspired by the way our customers have used our plastic sheets for projects around their home, including for the bathroom, kitchen, glazing, furniture and even shed windows.

Some of these projects have included the creation of bathroom splashbacks, acrylic tables, shoe storage units, DIY acrylic photo frames, shelving units and dining table topper protection sheets, which are a much cheaper alternative than using a made-to-measure glass table topper.

Protecting Our Employees with Safe Working

Due to the significant increase in orders, our members of staff have worked hard to meet every deadline and fulfil every order.

Of course, we have taken every step to protect our members of staff. All safety measures were implemented early on and will continue to remain in place until further notice, with self-distancing rules applying throughout the business and also in our warehouses.

We are only allowing our internal stakeholders to enter the general building to reduce the risk of transmission. We have also only allowed warehouse employees into our office and vice-versa, with an exception for our organisational managers.

For customers collecting their orders, this is now done on an appointment-only basis and completely contactless.

To further protect our employees and customers collecting orders, we have installed clear protection screens with strict self-distancing rules.