Upturn saves some jobs at Doncaster firm Polypipe - but over 100 still lost

But despite the giant problems they have faced through the coronavirus crisis, boss Martin Payne feels he has some things to be optimistic about at Polypipe.

At one point, it was feared 250 jobs at the Edlington-based firm could be lost.

In total, 104 have lost their employment there – which has left chief executive Mr Payne disappointed – but an upturn over the last couple of months has meant more than half of those posts were saved, compared to the numbers that were originally feared likely to be lost.

And while working in the world of protective personal equipment may not be as comfortable as conditions were seven months ago, he is proud of how Polypipe’s workers dealt with the crisis, and how they did their bit to help the wider community in Doncaster.

Although the future is still unclear because of uncertainty over the economy, he thinks there are things to be optimistic about with some of the new products Polypipe has on the way to its production lines likely to help solve some of society’s major problems.

The firm runs three bases in Doncaster – the main headquarters at Broomhouse Lane in Edlington, and at Kirk Sandall and Wheatley Hall Road.

The sites are high tech, with robots carrying out much of the work, but the firm still employs over 1,000 people in the borough.

Mr Payne said: “The jobs that have been lost have been spread pretty much all around the business, including Doncaster, and we are disappointed to have had to make 104 redundant.

"We have managed to find around half of those through voluntary means, and we have resized the business to what we can see around us, and the number was much lower than the 250 that had been at risk.

"What we have found generally, and in Doncaster, is that the business has recovered in July and August perhaps better than we anticipated. We have kept our eye on the markets and seen markets come back in residential and commercial construction.

"But there is still a lot of uncertainty and we don’t know what is going to happen to other firms after the Government’s furlough scheme closes, and what will happen in 2021.”

The concern is that if other firms struggle, it could mean they are less likely to buy the pipes made on the Doncaster production lines.

At its lowest point, Polypipe had 1,771 of its own employees furloughed. Of those, 1,667 are now back at work. Only those who lost their jobs have not returned now.

But those who are back in the factory have come back to big changes as working methods have been re-arranged to make the place Covid safe.

The changes are apparent as soon as they arrive. Equipment at the entrance to the factory has been installed to automatically check the temperature of employees as they arrive, to indicate if they potentially have the virus.

"We’ve taken the safety and well being of our staff as a key priority and we’ve managed to continue operating right through the crisis,” said Mr Payne

"We’ve had 2m distancing in place and that has meant we have had to make changes to work practices and layouts.

"We have hired out extra factory space in Edlington to separate people out on the manual assembly space, so that people can make sure they can keep 2m apart.

"We have automatic temperature testing on all sites, which has been well received, and personal protective equipment is mandatory on all sites. That does raise issues over comfort.

"At some of our sites, we’ve tried proximity sensors to make sure people stay 2m apart. We’re testing those out and if they’re successful we could bring them in in Doncaster.

“We’re very grateful to our staff and colleagues because the last six months have been challenging times for them. Throughout this, they have been extremely supportive and flexible.

"They have also got involved in a great response to help the community, re-purposing some of our machinery to make visors as personal protective equipment for local hospitals and care homes.

“We redirected one of our vans to support local food banks, moving food around.

"We are very proud of the contribution our staff have made locally to the crisis.

“There have been Covid cases among staff, but by our testing system we have stopped people with symptoms coming in and prevented any spread.”

The factory also contributed to the development of the Nightingale hospitals that were developed at the height of the crisis, manufacturing some of the pipes that were needed to for medical purposes operate them.

Looking to the future, Mr Payne believes it is important that the Government supports construction, potentially with schemes to encourage people to buy property or with infrastructure projects, which would keep Polypipe’s customers in those industries busy.

He is also optimistic for the firm’s future products. He sees some of the challenges that are facing the country as being suited to Polypipe finding the solutions, and feels there will be opportunities for business after the crisis.

For instance, they are developing pipes that will help create flood resilience, after a time that has seen problems with flooding, like that in Bentley and Fishlake last November. They have also been developing pipes that will be used to help improve ventilation, which he expects to be a big issue as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

"We are doing a lot around the group to design solutions to challenges that the world is facing,” he said.

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