Liberty Engineering factories, including two in Coventry, have resumed production with special Covid-19 safety measures in place.
Liberty has two operations in Coventry - Liberty Pressing Solutions and Liberty Aluminium Technologies.
The company is a major Jaguar Land Rover supplier, particularly via Liberty Pressing Solutions, formerly known as Covpress.
The Liberty Pressing Solutions factory in Canley makes a wide range of body parts for major car makers, including Jaguar Land Rover.
Production has re-started at Liberty’s Coventry sites after a two-month pause, with safety measures introduced to minimise the risk posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Liberty Pressing Solutions has resumed operations at a modest level for some customers.
Liberty employees are returning to work this week to produce components for the automotive sector at sites in Coventry and Witham, Essex, which are part of the Liberty Engineering group owned by Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance.
Measures put in place at factories include:
- Temperature checks on arrival
- Employee briefings on social distancing and Covid-19 safety
- Clearly marked one-way walking routes through facilities
- Perspex barriers between workstations where appropriate
- One person per table seating in rest areas
- Sanitation stations throughout the factory
- Closure of catering facilities
Get the latest Coventry headlines direct to your inbox for free
You can get your Coventry news straight to your email inbox - and it's FREE!
All you need to do is sign up here.
The emails come out twice a day with the latest news and what's on stories from across Coventry.
Liberty, as a tier 1 supplier, has been able to re-open because major car makers, which are the business’s key customers have resumed production.
Operations have begun at a modest level, with around 15% of employees back on site, but Liberty is ready to increase output in response to demand.
Douglas Dawson, chief executive, Liberty Industries, said: “Liberty Engineering which is a sizeable group and employs 1,600 staff, is a resilient business.
“The automotive industry has been the heart of UK manufacturing for decades."
Mr Dawson added: “We have as a business already overcome the challenges of dieselgate, Brexit uncertainty and we will not be defeated by the Covid-19 crisis.”
“This is a gradual, controlled restart but we hope to be able to bring more employees back to work soon.
“The safety of our workforce is our absolute top priority, so we’ve consulted with unions and put in place appropriate measures to ensure that we are Covid-ready.”
