One Year On.

It can be safely said that I will never, ever forget Monday 23^rd March 2020 and I’m sure that goes for many others as well. When you run your own business, one of the things that you love is that you have control – last year we lost control of so much in our daily lives, that we take for granted and frankly, it was a scary place to be. To be honest, maybe it wasn’t Boris confirming a National Lockdown which was when it first got scary. The Friday before we had two staff ring in with COVID related symptoms (thankfully it didn’t turn out to be that) and I remember us all looking at each other and wondering what the hell was going on!

As we approach the anniversary of the first Lockdown, I wanted to reflect on the year that we have had and take a moment to thank you all, our customers for the continued support and business you have provided us. The year has been up and down, some periods were really exciting and some back into those times of uncertainty but we have continued to fight on. I’m sure many of you will feel the same as us about your teams, but we couldn’t be prouder of ours here. We have all pulled together, with some staff operating in new departments to help cover when we were short. There is no doubt that the last year has made us stronger and more motivated than ever.

Our main issue currently is stock, with many of you, I’m sure growing with frustration due to delays in your new machines and or material shortages. This started back in September and we were sure it would be sorted by January but it has rumbled on and on! It is causing us and you all so many issues and we hate continuing to let you down, as set delivery dates move. There are a number of issues – availability of certain components to complete a machine build or roll of material and shipment issues, as there is a lack of space within containers in both planes and boats! The worst thing is that it won’t be solved quickly, but we will do everything we can to help you during this time.

One year on and the world is no doubt a different place, lives have changed and although I feel positive about the future ahead of us all, as business owners I do believe we are going to have to continue to dig deep through the rest of 2021. Regardless of this, we are here for you, in whatever capacity we can be and as someone who loves a good inspirational quote, (I actually had this one printed and put up in my office last year):

“Don’t be a prisoner of your past, be the architect of your future”

Take care,

Lucy Kehoe