Zero Point 8 recently came to the aid of a number of dental practices in the West Midlands during the Coronavirus epidemic by fitting out reception areas in ten Bhandal dental practices with acrylic protection screens.
The screens – designed, manufactured and installed from Zero Point 8’s Netherton based factory – are there to protect the public using the practices and the staff who work there. Each screen has been tailor-made for the individual reception areas, providing a wider security element as well as helping fight the virus.
Zero Point 8 has over 40 years established a reputation as specialists in the design, manufacture and installation of bespoke furniture across a range of sectors such as hospitality, retail, healthcare, commercial and education.
But they had never worked in the dental sector until an urgent request from the Bhandal group, who wanted to put the screens in place quickly to do their bit of help to slow the spread of Covid-19.
Mark Baker, CEO of Zero Point 8, said the company had, like many others, been hit by the uncertainty brought on by the Coronavirus, but were finding ways to innovate and operate differently in order to keep trading and to support other companies across the Midlands and the UK to fight the virus.
He said: “We’re proud to be working with the healthcare sector. As well as screens, we’re able to provide hand sanitiser stations, NHS and private hospital isolation units, pods and much more.
“The requirement from Bhandals was very specific and the turnaround very quick, but we had the supply chain contacts, knowledge and experience to be sure we could turn it around quickly. We went to ten sites so far, measured, quoted, fabricated the acrylic, manufactured the screens and fitted them – all within seven days.”
“We are a proud Black Country and British business. We’ve been hit hard by this crisis, but we are not alone in that and we are determined to do all we can to come back from this stronger, which means huge flexibility on our part but also a quick, efficient and clean process for those who use our services at the same time.”
Mark said innovating meant providing an end-to-end turnkey solution working not just with businesses but in people’s homes too, installing bespoke kitchens, bedroom and bathroom furniture.
Zero Point 8 had sales set to approach £4m annually before Covid 19 struck. The company, which has more than 40 employees, manufactures and installs bespoke furniture for leading brands, and has been quick to come to the aid of the medical sector when the crisis hit. As well as the dental practice screens, the company is providing isolation screens for Sandwell Hospital, City Hospital in Birmingham and West Bromwich Hospital.
Mark added: “We know that we are able to mobilise and adapt to any given situation, and by doing that we can help the wonderful effort being undertaken by key workers everywhere by doing our bit to repurpose production to help fight the virus, and that includes interior fittings and temporary and permanent facilities for hospitals and the wider medical sector. Everything we do is bespoke, which means people who use us get a full turnkey solution through the whole process – design, manufacture, install.”
He said companies needed to begin to think long-term, in order to prepare for a “new world” we were all facing when isolation comes to an end. “All businesses will be looking to tap into new markets and develop their offering, and to be able to do that we need to think not just about the here and now but what the landscape is going to look like in five to ten years’ time. It is the businesses that do that best who will prosper.”
Kerrie O’Leary, practice manager at Bhandal Dental Practice, said: “The whole process was done quickly and efficiently. We needed the work to be done against quite a tight deadline as we were keen to put the right measures in place, and provide the right protection. At the same time, we still needed to run our practices, so it was great that the whole thing was undertaken with the minimum of disruption. The work was carried out to a high standard and we would definitely recommend to others and plan to use Zero Point 8 again in the future.”