The firm, a key supplier at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, has proactively responded by boosting its workforce in a number of strategic positions, including electrical maintenance, fabrication, CNC operation and die casting.
The company, which provides aluminium and zinc high pressure die castings and CNC machining services, supplies critical safety parts used in hospital beds and air filtration, as well as components for mobile sanitising equipment that is keeping medical facilities clean. It has also received instruction from the MoD to continue to produce specialist lighting parts that are used by vehicles taking part in logistics operations.
“I think we all need to do our bit in the national effort against Covid-19, however big or small that may be. MPD knew we had an important role to play and we wanted to ensure we had the capacity and skills in place to deliver current and future demand, delivering security of supply to our customers when they need it most,” explains MPD MD Ash Suman.
“We are currently supplying castings for clients working with the NHS and MoD, ensuring that there are enough hospital beds for patients and that critical supplies reach their destinations. With the full support of our staff, we have overcome a number of challenges since the start of the pandemic, such as altering our site layout and operations to ensure the safety of our workers and securing our supply chain in the face of a number of suppliers temporarily closing down as a result of Covid-19.
“The safety of our workforce is a priority and we’ve taken measures to increase social distancing by redesigning the factory to introduce more workstations so they are further apart, working from home where possible and staggering breaks and shifts so our staff always maintain a safe distance from each other.”
He continues: “This is a real team effort and MPD, like many Black Country manufacturers, is proud to do what we can to help the country get through these difficult times. We are fortunate to be in a position to hire skilled people when a lot of staff are being furloughed across the UK and this helps to secure both vital industrial knowledge and experience, whilst being a welcome boost for local employment. With production volumes continuing to increase, we will shortly be looking to create even more positions at the business.”