Extra workers taken on by online supplier
A boom in business for a Wetherby company led to it recruiting 11 new staff members between the start of lockdown and July.
Online supplier of metals, plastics, tube clamps and engineering consumables, metals4U, was able to remain open during the crisis, while many of its competitors were forced to close during the early days of the emergency.
The firm, which also supplies provides power and hand tools, supplies frontline organisations, engineering businesses, and customers making the most of working from home by catching up with DIY.
It saw orders up by 41% in July 2020 compared to July 2019, which was also 28% higher than February 2020, the last full month before lockdown.
This sharp increase in sales has resulted in metals4U renting additional warehouse space and investing an additional £500,000 in stock to meet demand.
Paul McFadyen, managing director of metals4U, said: “We knew many people had used their time during lockdown to continue existing projects or embark on new projects that they may have lacked the time to schedule in before.
“Once lockdown was lifted, businesses, the construction industry, and the engineering sector needed to be able to access a wide range of metal and engineering products that could be delivered the next day; this trend is clear to see from our sales data.
“Our largest customer base has always been the construction and engineering industries, so we are pleased to have been able to continue to provide materials for them during lockdown.
“With restrictions easing, we hope to see demand for our products continuing to rise and that the key industries we supply begin to return to pre-coronavirus levels.”
