GAINSBOROUGH: Some of the worst weather for decades didn’t stop production and deliveries for long at John Brash’s Lincolnshire headquarters.
More than half a metre of snow fell in the Gainsborough area where the storage and production unit is based, this was followed by bitingly cold weather which saw temperatures plummeting to around minus 14 degrees centigrade.
Although it was impossible to continue with ‘business as usual’ John Brash’s staff struggled through the snow and ice to get to work and keep customer orders flowing – and within less than a week all scheduled deliveries had been made.
As soon as Health and Safety managers agreed that the site could be re-opened, a heroic band of staff turned up to dig out and defrost the site. Deliveries were resumed within two days of the worst snowfalls, after staff and a local farmer with a JCB cleared the mile-long approach road leading to the site and removed snow from much of the 15-acre site.
The worst snow fell midweek between Tuesday November 30th and Thursday December 2nd. By the Friday lorries were leaving the yard again to supply as many customers as possible and additional deliveries were made on the Saturday. Then on the following Monday morning some staff were at work by 4am, enabling wagons to be loaded at the crack of dawn for another full day of deliveries.
The company also managed to maintain its sales availability throughout the entire period, accepting new orders and keeping customers informed of deliveries.
Mike Hartley, chairman and managing director of John Brash added: “It was fantastic to see the way staff pulled together to keep deliveries going out. I know several customers who were very happy to receive their products at a time when most of the region seemed to have shut up shop. We take our commitment to customer service very seriously, and staff take a real pride in ensuring customers receive their orders on time, whatever the weather.”
