At a time when many businesses and manufacturers across the nation have had to cut back or temporarily cease operations, one Bradford manufacturer is going strong.
For one, the local plant has maintained the same level of staffing over the past two months, as their work is considered essential, according to Tom Strother and Eric Abercrombie, spokesmen from Georgia-Pacific’s public affairs and communications department.
“Because the Bradford facility makes corrugated products serving the e-commerce and food product industries, its products were deemed to be essential to keeping the nation’s supply chain moving,” they said in a statement answering questions The Era had about their operations. “Our Bradford team takes great pride in being deemed essential and are happy that our customers and society value the products we make.”
Georgia-Pacific manufactures a number of different paper products at plants across the country, but the Bradford plant focuses only on corrugated boxes.
When asked whether a rumor that the Bradford plant received a large order this spring from a well known global retailer, they could not provide specifics but indicated that business has been positive.
“Georgia-Pacific does not provide details about who our customers are, or any specific detail about their business,” they stated. “However, the GP Bradford facility continues to effectively serve its existing customers and has also added a variety of new customers in recent weeks.”
Like all businesses, the facility has had to put in place a safety plan for the protection of employees and customers. At Georgia-Pacific, they followed the guidance set forth from local, state and national agencies.
“The safety of our employees is our highest priority and we will continue to keep them frequently updated throughout this situation,” they stated. “As such, operations at the Bradford facility have adjusted to meet the challenges presented by COVID-19.”
Employees’ work days have been adjusted to allow them to keep distant from each other.
“One example is the staggering of shifts for our operations employees and asking our office employees to work from home when possible.”
The operations team leaves 30 minutes before the next shift comes in, lessening the risk of in-person encounters.
Employees are taking extra care to stay clean, too, Strother and Abercrombie said.
“Our team continues to do a great job supporting the health and safety of everyone through self-assessments, social distancing, effective and frequent cleanings and self-quarantining at home when needed,” they explained. “Following CDC guidance, regular cleaning takes place each day at our facility, including employee workstations and all common areas shared by employees. That practice has been in place for some time and will continue.”
Georgia-Pacific’s Bradford employees have stayed safe during the pandemic.
“To date, no positive COVID-19 cases have been reported in our Bradford facility,” they said.
