In March this year, Burnley based uPVC window system company VEKA made the difficult decision to temporarily close operations in the UK and place most of its staff on Furlough due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and following Government guidance. A family owned company, VEKA takes its responsibility during this Pandemic very seriously and as the situation changed rapidly the company responded quickly, to protect the wellbeing of the NHS, its employees, customers, suppliers and community.
This week however, following an urgent call from one of its customers, VEKA re-opened part of its factory to supply a material essential in the manufacture of building components used in establishing the temporary large-scale critical care hospitals following the Government’s plan in tackling the COVID-19 Pandemic.
VEKA has its own unique recipe of uPVC compound or ‘mix’ that goes into the creation of its high-quality products. Back in 2014 the company invested £5m in building the country’s most technically advanced mixing plant at their Burnley HQ, which has a potential capacity of 72,000 tonnes (as heavy as 4000 double decker buses). Typically, this is used to make uPVC profile that is the main component in the manufacture of windows and doors, however VEKA also mixes compound for non-fenestration customers and when the activity is so critical to supporting the UK’s current healthcare efforts, re-opening this part of the business was the right thing to do.
Managing Director of VEKA UK, Dave Jones said, “Despite these challenging times, we are proud that our mixing plant facility can be used to support the creation of new hospitals currently being created by the Government to protect the health and safety of the nation.
“For over 30 years, VEKA UK, our customers and our people have faced a fair few challenges. And we’ve come through them, by acting quickly, supporting each other and working together.
“I can only thank all our employees, their families and our suppliers for their incredible co-operation during these unprecedented times.”