Christchurch steel firm restarts after three-week coronavirus closure

A CHRISTCHURCH steel company which exports to more than 140 countries is set to reopen today (27th April) after a three-week shutdown.

Reidsteel, which employs 130 people, will allow those who cannot work from home to return to its manufacturing facility in Reid Street while adhering to strict hygiene and social distancing practices.

It is also working on plans that will allow its teams, including subcontractors, to return to construction sites.

Managing director Simon Boyd said: “The health, safety and wellbeing of our people is our utmost priority.

“When the lockdown was announced, we immediately took the decision to send all our people home to stop any potential spread of the virus and to give us time to consider alternative measures.

“As the government has advised we should do, we have been working on plans to find a way to reopen the factory and our construction sites to allow those who cannot work from home back to work.”

He added: “It is a great relief that we are able to announce that we have found a way forward to meet the requirements and reopen our factory and works on 27th April.

“My thanks go to all of our people for their help and understanding during these difficult and challenging times. There may be further challenges ahead but we are confident that we have put in place robust safety procedures to allow our operations to get back up to full productivity as quickly as possible.”

Reidsteel was founded in 1919 by Colonel John Reid. It designs, makes, ships and erects steel buildings around the world, from factories in Mauritius and bridges in Africa to aircraft hangars and industrial buildings in the UK.

It specialises in designing for extreme weather such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes and tsunamis.