between 2000 and 3000 machines every day , some of which use as many semi-conductors as a car . Average car factories only produce maybe 300 to 400 cars per day , so in terms of the volume of consumption , we are one of the largest in France . One of the good decisions we made , was to purchase two years ’ worth of stock to see us through the pandemic . This has enabled the continuation of our steady growth throughout the last few years and also meant that our customers were not affected by delays . “ Besides our use of initiative , we had the opportunity to learn from our counterparts in China , who shut down first and then reopened before us , which gave us time to plan and acquire the necessary PPE ,” Bruno adds . “ As a group , we have always made limiting disruption a top priority , so in some ways we were prepared for such a huge occurrence . We operate out of a very large warehouse , so when the factory closed , we were still able to ship pallets for quite some time . This helped us to win over new clientele , as we ’ ve established
more distributors during the last three years than in the entire prior history of the company . On top of all this , we signed into a new capped energy contract at the start of 2020 . This means that none of our operations or costs have been affected by the recent changes and we haven ’ t had to pass any price increases onto our customers . It has all been very positive of late .”
Problem solver
Alongside its expertise in welding equipment , GYS is the largest player in the professional automotive sector for battery chargers . The company has gained extensive knowledge on battery charging through continued R & D , which it is now applying to new markets across different industries . As Neil explains : “ We have 50 years of experience in producing battery charging equipment , mostly for the automotive sector . As the technology in your vehicle has outgrown its traditional 12-volt battery , car manufacturers have been presented with a number of new challenges ,
26