Hardie Polymers Praised in Battle with Material Shortages
Hardie Polymers, the UK’s leading independent and award-winning polymer distributor in the injection moulding sector, shares how it has been coping with such a challenging market.
The polymer market is observing unprecedented market shortages of all the major material types and many of the most popular grades. This has been caused by a variety of factors, with Covid-19 and Brexit being the main reasons. The market was observing vibrant growth before the recent two game-changing seismic events.
Covid-19
The pandemic placed plastics at the heart of the fight in our homes and hospitals with unprecedented global demand for ventilators, masks, and personal protective equipment. Plastics were rightly recognised as being the safer and cleaner option to manufacture the tools needed to fight the contagion. But the unprecedented global crisis of coronavirus has disrupted society and work patterns, severely upsetting global supply chains and badly extending lead times.
Brexit
Plastics are one of the UK’s top ten imports and exports. Each year the UK imports £13bn of plastics material, products and machinery and exports £8.4bn[i]. The recent Brexit deal had a significant impact on how goods are manufactured in the UK. Many manufacturers are still dealing with rebuilding their supply chains following the impact of Covid-19. They must now also consider how they adapt to reflect the new EU-UK trading relationship. Due to Brexit, many businesses are considering their supply chain footprints and assessing the impact of border disruptions, increased transport costs and non-tariff barriers.
Fighting against this maelstrom of polymer shortages is Hardie Polymers. Hardie’s can source any brand, grade or quantity from their network of over 350 international suppliers, making them the UK’s leading independent distributor of engineering polymers. Despite all the difficulties with these challenges, Hardie continues to use all their supply contacts to help where others cannot.
Fergus Hardie, Managing Director at Hardie Polymers, commented: “We continue to be inundated with requests for engineering polymers across all sectors. With unprecedented material shortages, our team is working incredibly hard to find any available materials in Europe and get them to our customers. In this current climate even we can’t help everyone, but with companies really struggling post-Brexit, the team are now frequently being called ‘heroes’ and ‘saviours’!”
Hardie Polymers 2.0
Recently, Hardie Polymers undertook a re-branding exercise. A fresh, new dynamic logo reflected the evolution of their polymer business. The independent material supplier built upon its strong growth in sales of thermoplastics over the last few years with the combined launch of a new logo and new website. The new strapline helps injection moulders clearly understand what Hardie Polymers has to offer.
Fergus Hardie said: “Our new website has a modern, confident new look and message, ANY BRAND. ANY GRADE. ANY QUANTITY., highlighting to UK injection moulders that they now have more choice on where to source their OEM-specified grades. The website clearly demonstrates they have an opportunity to reduce their current prices and improve on lead times with flexibility around minimum order quantities.”
Quote Request Button and Live Chat
The new Hardie Polymer website features an immediate Quote Request button that goes straight to the sales team. This allows customers to get a quote back quickly for the exact grade of material they need or even just to compare against their existing supply route. To make it even easier for customers searching for a particular grade of material, there is a live chat function. This allows customers to interact directly with staff and get questions answered straight away during office hours.
Why Hardie Polymers is different
As a deliberately unauthorised distributor, Hardie’s are not handcuffed by only supplying specific brands. They have the flexibility to source virtually any polymer in the world, saving you time and money in the process. This is explained in the video found on their homepage, where you will also find details of the polymers supplied. Hardie’s are proud to be a customer-focused company. This is reflected in their collection of industry awards. You can find just a few of the words of appreciation received from delighted customers on their website.
Get in touch
Perhaps you wish to review your purchasing strategy and discover a smarter way to buy. Hardie Polymers can help you price check your current material through their extensive global supplier network.
Call today on 0141 952 1900 or email sales@hardiepolymers.com.
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