Rostech on Challenges During the Pandemic

By Rostech Engineering
schedule24th Sep 20

Made in Yorkshire sat down with Chris Rosindale, Director at Rostech Engineering, to discuss their current challenges due to COVID- 19 and how the business overcame them. Chris tells the group how the firm stayed open during the lockdown and used the pandemic as an opportunity to evaluate their business. 

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses have suffered due to lack of sales and disruptions in the supply chain. However, some businesses, including Rostech Engineering, took the opportunity to invest in equipment to increase capabilities and efficiencies. 

Rostech Engineering is a family-run engineering, fabrication and maintenance company established in 2017. Based in Ferrybridge, West Yorkshire, their team have the knowledge, skills and experience to offer clients a professional engineering service from design through to installation and commissioning. The firm specialises in the design, fabrication and installation of vessels, tanks, pipework systems, structural or access steelwork and general fabrication work. 

Rostech Engineering saw a very busy period during the lockdown in March 2020. With clients in the Recycling industry, such as domestic and household recycling, the firm was repairing infrastructure and breakdowns at their customers' facilities. 

On top of this, the team also carried out work for the Ministry of Defence (MOD)  installing an access staircase at the MOD base. This was regarded as essential during the height of the pandemic. 

As an engineering company with production staff who had no capability for working from home, Chris tells Made in Yorkshire what their biggest challenges were regarding this:

“Though it may not be regarded as a challenge as such, one of the biggest issues during the pandemic has been keeping up with social distancing measures and cleaning routines at our facility. 

As engineering specialists, we are often required to go out to the site to install heavy equipment, and due to social distancing measures, some customers can only allow two people at a time. 

However, as a result of these challenges and the time of a less busy period than usual during the lockdown, the team took the chance to look at maintenance and equipment. Chris told the group that the firm invested in new equipment including a steelworker and general overhauling equipment on top of reworking the factory layout. They also created a new website to highlight their capabilities in a broader format. 

Chris concluded:

“The business is very busy now and everything that we have done over the course of the pandemic has seen huge success. We have also managed to work with new sectors as a result, so it has taught us to expand our horizons wherever possible.”