Business View Magazine | September 2022

58 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 9 of the pandemic, the company instituted a raft of measures to protect its employees while continuing to serve customers. “We do a lot of contracting work for the DoT and other federal projects, so we were able to stay open,” says Hand II. “We focused on the safety of our employees through disinfectants, wiping down, and providing them additional PPE.” Fortunately for the company, it had already invested a lot in digital and online tools due to its remote team in Karachi, Pakistan, so adopting remote working and WFH protocols in the US on the back of restrictions was easy. On a negative note, the pandemic increased competition for already-scarce talent, which has made it problematic to get new employees and retain existing ones. Hand II admits, “Turnover is high because everybody wants employees, and at the same time, it is tough to find well-skilled workers.” Baig agrees. “The takeoff of COVID in March 2020 was one of the toughest times I’ve ever gone through in the business because there was so much confusion. Pennsylvania had shut down multiple businesses; a couple of them were key suppliers, and we could not find alternate sources quickly. It started stabilizing towards summer 2020, and we began streamlining our suppliers, but we continued having issues with employees getting sick and trying to keep everybody safe. Thankfully, we didn’t have a widespread COVID impact on both facilities throughout the pandemic.” Jersey Precast operates out of a large facility with 230,000 square feet of manufacturing space, while Concrete Safety Systems operates out of a slightly smaller facility. Both facilities are PCI (Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute) and NPCA (National Precast Concrete Association) certified, conforming to industry best practice standards. One standout feature of both facilities is that they do indoor manufacturing, making them all- weather, year-round facilities. Recent investments have also provided additional manufacturing Hot Dip Galvanizing Experts! For over a century New Jersey Galvanizing has been a leader in our industry. New Jersey Galvanizing is an active member of numerous trade associations and is on the cutting edge of new technologies that improves productivity and quality galvanizing. www.newjerseygalvanizing.com 1.800.631.9044 139 Haynes Aveune, Newark, NJ 07114