Brexit update – August 2019

On March 29th 2017, the United Kingdom declared its intention to withdraw from the European Union, a process which has become known as Brexit. In the ensuing period of economic uncertainty, Griflex would like to take this opportunity to clearly set out the company’s strategy to provide business continuity and minimise any possible disruption.

Safeguarded supply:

• Griflex’s continued growth has required further investment in both our manufacturing capacity and warehouse facilities; 50% and 40% respectively.
• Our increased manufacturing capacity is ready to cope with additional demand whilst maintaining service levels to our existing customer base. (The majority of our competitors import finished goods and may face potential difficulties in replenishing their local warehouses).
• In addition to extra finished goods, Griflex has increased our holdings of raw materials by a minimum of 4 months usage. This is above our standard inventory.
• Only a small proportion of our raw materials come from overseas and this additional buffer stock will secure our future manufacturing. We have also identified alternative UK suppliers for the same grades of material.
• As a privately-owned business, we are able to maintain these significant investments until commercial stability returns.

Forward planning:

• Our additional stock of raw materials provides Griflex with tremendous flexibility to service any of the 70 different product ranges.
• We would also recommend to our distributor partners that they consider their materials planning to cover any short-term projects or expected spikes in demand.
• Griflex can also accommodate forward orders or blanket orders with agreed call-off dates. Please contact our sales team to discuss your requirements and effectively reserve time in our scheduled production plans.
• Please consider any upcoming projects where Griflex can assist you as early as possible with confirmed lead-times.
• If you can provide any forecasts (especially with custom made products), this would be greatly appreciated.

International Trade:

• As a company well versed with the demands of international trade, we frequently have to accommodate changes to export shipments. Changes to letters of credit, certificates of conformity/origin, tariffs and/or export documentation can be easily accommodated.
• Once we understand the full implications of any changes required to comply with the terms of Brexit, we will action, implement and update our partners and customers accordingly.
• For our International Partners, one potential risk that we have no influence over is Border and Customs control. In a hard Brexit situation, it could be possible that we see delays at the ports. With this in mind, we would encourage our European customers to hold some additional inventory. Please call to discuss any supplementary orders and how Griflex can support you.

Griflex’s commitment to our UK and European customers remains at the heart of our business. This will continue during this period of uncertainty and long after the UK’s expected transition away from EU membership on the 31st of October. We will endeavor to provide further updates as we obtain more clarity.

If you require any further clarification, please contact our sales team or myself directly.

Yours sincerely,

Chris Poulton – Sales & Marketing Director

chris.poulton@griflex.com |+44 (0)7778 10 20 30

[A] Roman Way, Coleshill, Birmingham B46 1HG
[T] +44 (0)1675 464803
[F] +44 (0) 1675 465924
[E] sales@griflex.com
[W] www.griflex.com
Company Registered in England No. 3990483