Merlin Industrial Products manufacture some of their products from the factory in Devon, and these have not been currently affected. Some of the other products manufactured elsewhere within the United Kingdom have been effected.
Please find excerpts from a few of the other manufacturers, and how this might effect lead times on some of the product ranges.
Recent Industry Updates
Mainly for Access Equipment
Update October 26th, 2020: Wales is now under additional lockdown restrictions, starting last Friday, October 23rd at 6 PM. The ‘fire-break’ will end on Monday, November 9th. During this time, will once again remain open to deliver critical height safety equipment to businesses across the UK.
Delivery
All stocked items ship as standard on a next day service, however, some deliveries may take slightly longer, between 24-72 hours. This is likely to further extend as we enter the busy holiday season from now till the end of January. Please bear with us if the delivery time is delayed slightly.
We are working hard to ensure that any disruptions are kept to a minimum, whilst working as safely as we can. Most of our team are working from home, and those who work on-site are continuing to do so under strict social distance measures as per Government guidelines to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Furniture and Soft Seating
I’m sure you’re already aware of the severe issues that have been affecting the whole of the European foam industry. Ongoing supply chain problems on the availability of the critical chemical TDI needed for foam production is having a major impact on the foam industry.
Over the last 8 weeks, prices have dramatically increased as manufacturers buy up what little material remained available. The timescales of the Force Majeure declarations made by the TDI producers has lasted longer than anticipated and foam producers are now being forced to close production to allow stocks of raw materials to be replenished. Currently these closures are planned to run for 5 days from 27th October and will undoubtably impact lead times.
The factory maintains stock provisions of faster moving material, and through close collaboration with our supply chain partners we remain confident that we can deliver to plan for the next 10 days, and for certain product lines we have enough foam material to continue producing for the next few weeks. However, it’s clear that over the coming weeks production dates and lead times could be affected as a result of these recent announcements.
We will continue to work closely with you and keep you informed of any possible delays.
Any existing customers and orders should already have been contacted by the sales department of Merlin Industrial Products Ltd and we will update you on any further industry changes.