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ADS Laser Cutting sees orders return to pre-Covid levels
Leicester-based ADS Laser Cutting has seen its order book return to pre-lockdown levels, after remaining open throughout the pandemic.
The laser cutting, folding, fabrication and metal finishers reacted quickly in order to maintain its customers supply chain, and adopted new ways of working to incorporate social distancing and the ability to work from home.
Starting with just 2 employees in 2005, the business has grown year-on-year to 66 employees in 2019. At the start of 2020, ADS invested £1m in a new metal laser cutting machine to expand its manufacturing capabilities.
ADS Laser Cutting managed to remain open during the peak of the Covid crisis, with its order book now returning to pre-lockdown levels / Picture: ADS Laser Cutting
Co-founder and director, Duncan Keates, said: “We looked at our current ways of working and how we could adapt some rules to allow for working from home, which was a big change for our company. We managed to implement changes which would normally take months in a matter of a week.
“Unfortunately, we witnessed a number of customers temporarily close, whilst demand went up for others – such as in the medical sector where we manufactured components which would go in the Nightingale hospital and ventilator parts.”
Duncan concluded: “By continuing to invest in marketing during this period, we identified opportunities in new sectors which has proven to be successful. We are now operating at pre-lockdown levels and are continuing to see brand new enquiries coming in from sectors we have not previously operated in.
“I feel by reacting the way we did, altering our way of working across the whole company and with our team taking to the changes so well, kept ADS not only from closing our doors but busy throughout and currently thriving.”