Philip Law Addresses Manchester Polymer Group

Director General of the British Plastics Federation, Philip Law, gave a talk to the Manchester Polymer Group’s AGM last Wednesday evening on the impact of coronavirus on the UK plastics industry.

His speech covered the range of pressing issues the industry now faces in the circumstances presented by Brexit and COVID-19, including how the BPF has been responding over these last few months.

Please see below for selected highlights from the speech, by the issues addressed:

On the impact of COVID-19 on different segments of the plastics industry:

“In the pre Covid 19 world we were emerging from  Brexit uncertainty and companies were beginning to invest again. There were some underlying problems particularly the poor performance of the automotive industry but, generally, confidence was creeping back into the UK’s  plastics business. Its clear that Covid 19 had a varied impact on the plastics industry. Packaging was a short term beneficiary as volumes increased due to the panic buying in March. Demand for bottles for the packaging of sanitizers, household cleaning agents and disinfectants surged although generally demand for plastics packaging has returned to more normal levels. Healthcare, needless to say , enjoyed a high level of demand partly through increased  the need for Personal Protective Equipment. Suppliers to the automotive and aerospace industries have been hard hit with new car registrations at extremely low levels and air traffic being savagely reduced. Probably the worst hit sector has been construction. Builders merchants began to stop functioning and then building sites stopped. Pipe and window manufacturers were particularly badly hit.”

On the BPF’s Supply Chain Monitor

“The BPF closely monitored the ravage of the virus on its members and carried out what we described as a Supply Chain Monitor. By April 17^th 15% of companies had had to close one or more sites and capacity utilisation across the whole of the BPF was 54%. 23% of staff had been furloughed and a further 4% were off due to virus related factors such as schools closures , self isolation or looking after vulnerable relatives.”

On the BPF’s Response to Requests for PPE

“The BPF itself was hit by a very large number of enquiries for supplies of PPE from several branches of government – the NHS in England, Scotland and Wales, BEIS, the Cabinet Office and the Scottish Executive. To this was added the difficulty of member firms in sourcing PPE. On April 17^th 70% of our sector were having difficulty sourcing face masks. The BPF has constructed a web page detailing suppliers of PPE in the UK. This covers suppliers of visors, gloves, surgical aprons and space dividers.”

On the plastics industry’s recovery post-lockdown

“Happily there are strong signs that recovery is on its way. A BPF Survey just carried out a few days ago produced a happier picture. Only 1% of firms had any sites closed down, capacity  utilisation was higher and the number of furloughed staff was down to 17%. May saw more building sites opening. Housebuilders such as Taylor Wimpy, Lovell and Persimmon were re-opening, alongside a the whole network of B&Q outlets and car manufacturers began to show signs of life – Aston Martin, JLR and BMW.”