DERBYSHIRE roofing firm Permaroof has taken unprecedented steps to protect its workforce by investing £2,000 in coronavirus safety equipment.
Permaroof has installed three Radikal Health systems – which purify and eliminate viruses and bacteria from the air – at its head office in Alfreton and will also carry out twice weekly Covid lateral flow testing for its 17 office-based employees.
The team includes both office and warehouse-based staff, ranging in roles from marketing and sales to warehouse operatives and delivery drivers.
Adrian Buttress, managing director of Permaroof and the wider PermaGroup, said: “Throughout the entire pandemic, the safety and wellbeing of every single member of our team has been of paramount importance.
“For those employees who are unable to work from home, we have implemented a strict set of Covid-19 measures, including restricting access to our headquarters to staff members only, regular temperature checks, and daily cleansing of all surfaces and door handles.
“This month, we also installed one Radikal Health anti-viral air and surface sanitising machine in our main sales rooms, which covers our staff on reception and those in customer services, and another in the accounts office. The third captures all of the air in corridors and remaining side offices.
“We want to eradicate as much risk as possible, which is why we have invested in the air purifying machines and regular testing, as well as placed a huge emphasis on creating a Covid-secure environment.
“Not only are we committed to keeping our staff and their families safe, some of whom are very vulnerable to the virus, we also want to protect the business as, if a breakout occurred at our head office, we would have to temporarily close, which would cost the business six-figure sums.”
In 2020, Permaroof celebrated its most successful year in its two-decade history after maximising the lockdown effect on the DIY market and quickly diversifying in the face of the pandemic.
The firm added products to its portfolio, including a disinfectant spray to help customers work safely. At the same time, it worked closely with modular companies for the first time, which included supplying fast flat roofing solutions to four emergency NHS projects during the first month of lockdown.
Simultaneously, the business recruited a new marketing co-ordinator to push out a formal communications strategy and partnered with a mindset and coaching programme for the sales team, which has helped them adapt and understand customers’ challenges and provide bespoke solutions.
Adrian attributes the success of the past year to a fast response to Covid-19, investment in an already solid team and diversification into new services and products. He said: “We had to rewrite our business plans, raise funds for the unknown and rework all our numbers while adapting the business to ensure it was Covid-secure for the Permaroof team and its customers.”
Permaroof offers products and services that provide “permanent solutions to age-old problems”. It offers this through a variety of products – its central offering of Firestone RubberCover EPDM roofing – as well as artificial grass through its PermaLawn brand and maintenance-free fencing via PermaFence. This is in addition to PermaTile promenade tiles, rooflights through The Skylight Company and, most recently, steel framed buildings.
For more information on Permaroof UK, please visit www.permaroof.co.uk or call 01773 608839.
