B & V Chemicals/Aquatreat continue to monitor the situation and will follow all guidance provided by the Government and NHS in the event of localised cases of Coronavirus.
We operate from one Head Office and Distribution Centre as well as satellite sites with interconnecting IT and telephone systems. If one single office is affected by the Coronavirus, B & V Chemicals/Aquatreat can transfer urgent and high priority works to the other distinct locations with minimal disruption. In the event of a case of Coronavirus, a risk assessment will be carried out and measures such as eliminating inter office travel will be considered until the event has passed.
The staff in the separate locations work distinctly in their own teams and therefore transmission of single cases of Coronavirus would be minimal. If cases of Coronavirus are confirmed, all gatherings/team meetings will be postponed until the event has passed.
We would expect our clients to advise us of cases of Coronavirus on the sites that we are expected to visit and work with us to detail precautions to be taken or alternately work to agree alternative service methodology or mitigation measures. All tasks completed by B & V Chemicals/Aquatreat delivery staff in the field are governed by a dynamic risk assessment and all staff have been advised to consider the Coronavirus in this assessment.
To minimise the risk of infection of other staff, our clients or their service users, all staff have been requested to notify appropriate personnel if:
- They have recently returned (within the last 2 weeks) from an affected country or been in close contact with someone who has;
- If the first point is true: that they suspect they may be infected (show symptoms).
All staff have also been given the information provided on gov.uk website. Should any staff become symptomatic we will investigate where they have been in the previous 2 weeks and notify customers accordingly. As already stated, B & V Chemicals/Aquatreat will continue to monitor the situation and we will continue to work hard to reduce any impact on our service and clients.
With regard to supply of raw materials, a very small proportion (<5%) are sourced from China at the present time. Alternative sources have been identified in the event that current supply lines are compromised by the measures put in place by a potential Coronavirus outbreak. The stocks of the potentially affected raw materials have already been increased significantly in order to initially counter any potential UK shortages. An extra shift has been put in place at our Daventry manufacturing site and all stock levels will be increased to maximum levels to ensure continuity of supply.
Yours sincerely,
Jill Cooper, Own Label Manager B&V Chemicals
Barbara Clearey, MD, Aquatreat Group Ltd
