Gary Brickell is the president of eSIGNS Canada, located in Bradford, Ontario.
These days, his company is working at 150 percent capacity to help manufacture and distribute protection shields for retailers across the country as they slowly prepare to open up for business again amid the COVID-19 shutdowns.
"Many businesses have approached us to build custom fitted barriers, so we engineered an elegant single system solution that adapts to virtually every counter, from dental counters to auto service shops," said Brickell.
The company is currently using their laser cutter to help fill an order for a Canadian retailer with 150 stores across the country.
The transition from making signs to shields was quite easy, said Brickell, since they have all the machines and tools in their shop already for making acrylic displays for their pharmacy clients.
"The key was designing a systems approach, sort of like Lego, whereby all the units could work together to adapt to any type or size of counter," he said.
He noted that most of their clients right now are based out of Ontario, including many local businesses that are about to re-open, and even have some coming in from the west coast of the country.
The biggest challenge they are facing right now is sourcing acrylic sheeting supplies. As of May 8, their national wholesale supply chain is out of stock due to high demand, but thankfully Brickell secured a large inventory beforehand which will help them get through the next few months.
"Our customers report that our prices are among the lowest on the market, which pleases me," explained Brickell. "We are making a modest return at these prices and I detest the thought of taking advantage under these difficult circumstances."
eSIGNS Canada opened in Bradford in 1985, and is a family run business with four employees known for their work in signs, billboards, banners, and store front covers.
"We are fortunate to have the technology and skills to quickly pivot into the PPE (personal protective equipment) supply chain, but personally I will be glad to get back to normal making signs again."
