We are on the cusp of another year, which is a bit surreal - it only seems like five minutes ago that we were looking back on 2020! We guess it's not surprising as, despite an easing of restrictions throughout 2021, we are all still experiencing the fallout of the pandemic and the resulting additional pressures. Let’s hope the recent tightening of the rules to counter the new Omicron variant doesn’t set us back again!
Happily, we have continued to see our food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry customers rise to the occasion and surmount the ever-evolving challenges Covid-19 has presented. As restrictions have eased, these challenges have morphed from manufacturers dealing with the logistics of lockdown to adapting to altered consumer behaviour.
We reported a lockdown drive from companies to ‘put their house in order’ in order to bounce back better and this has definitely continued through 2021. New customer enquiries are high and almost all from companies that are specifically looking to engage a knowledgeable lubrication partner to guide them to ‘best practice’.
Improving reliability and asset life, while reducing downtime and maintenance costs, are the main motivators as customers switch on to pro-active, preventative lubrication regimes (as opposed to the reactive practices they have traditionally followed). Being beyond reproach with regard to their processes and the perception of their customers (and their customers’ customers) is a desire that has come to the fore over the last couple of years.
The Activate team have been back to 'normal' for quite some time now but we have carried on some lockdown processes to enable an even more comprehensive customer service.
Our online training platform, developed during lockdown as a remote solution to replace face-to-face sessions, has become a firm favourite with engineers and we hope to expand this in the future to make a comprehensive resource for 'best practice' knowledge.
We have also developed our very own Lean Lubrication App, exclusively for Activate customers, which provides at-a-glance operational guides, task scheduling, condition monitoring, conformance reporting and more, to elevate the lubrication culture to a new level of effectiveness and simplicity.
We’ve made it easier than ever to engage with us and establish an ongoing relationship that improves reliability, saves time, hassle and money, and guarantees lubrication audit compliance. If you employ a food grade lubrication culture, please contact us to discuss how you can make your production site a well-oiled machine in 2022!
2021 has been a good year and we have enjoyed seeing the industry progress following the huge challenges of lockdown. We are ever proud to be a part of our customers' journeys and are always on hand to advise and support when things get tough. All here are trusting you manage to take a very well-earned rest from two extremely challenging years, ahead of a busy 2022!