Glass shop pumping out Plexiglass

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This article was published 29/05/2020 (1816 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Steinbach glass shop is working hard to meet a sharp spike in demand for Plexiglas brought on by the coronavirus crisis.

Local businesses and organizations have scrambled to install barriers made of the durable, transparent material at checkouts and reception desks. The barriers protect those on both sides from respiratory droplets that can transmit the virus, without disrupting customer service.

All that Plexiglas has to come from somewhere, and in Steinbach, that somewhere is A.H. Glass Service.

Gold-N-Memories, Giant Tiger, Canadian Tire, and Harvest Insurance have all installed barriers made by A.H. Glass.

Owner Brent Friesen said the company has fulfilled 414 Plexiglas orders over the past two months.

Plexiglas accounted for about 80 percent of total orders during the first four weeks of the pandemic, making it the toilet paper of the glass industry, Friesen quipped.

Normally, that figure is around 10 percent, mostly in the form of windshields for ATVs and heavy machinery, and the odd specialty order, like a raffle bin.

While Friesen initially thought demand would taper off as quickly as it appeared, the province’s phased approach to reviving the economy means a new round of businesses are opening up every week.

That’s kept the shop hopping, especially now that regular glass orders have resumed. But you won’t hear Friesen complaining about the pace. When the pandemic arrived, he worried he’d run out of work for the company’s eight full-time employees.

As it turned out, he needn’t have worried. First Choice Convenience placed the first order for a Plexiglas checkout barrier.

“Then we had a couple more calls, and a couple more calls,” Friesen said.

Southern Health also ordered barriers for local health-care facilities, and Friesen gave them top priority.

The uptick in Plexiglas sales proved to be a life raft that allowed him to keep everyone employed. Window installers were temporarily reassigned to cut Plexiglas during a month-long lull in regular glass orders.

One large order, for 60 barriers, was subcontracted to Winnipeg for cutting then shipped to Steinbach for installation.

So far, Friesen has been able to keep the turnaround time for a Plexiglas barrier to under a week. Friesen said he knows how important the barriers are to businesses, which sometimes can’t operate until they receive their order.

Plexiglas is a brand name that, like Kleenex, has become synonymous with a product category.

Unlike glass, which is made from silica, Plexiglas is a thermoplastic derived from a synthetic polymer.

It comes in acrylic and polycarbonate versions. Friesen said the latter is more popular due to its superior shatter-resistance.

Plexiglas arrives at A.H. Glass in plywood-sized sheets from a Winnipeg supplier.

“We’ve bought way more sheets than we did last year,” Friesen said.

The Plexiglas supply chain is experiencing extraordinary pressure. Friesen said Canadian suppliers are relying more on U.S. manufacturers.

“There’s just nothing in Canada.”

A.H. Glass’s 40-year relationship with its Winnipeg supplier has allowed Friesen to avoid running out of Plexiglas.

He recalled the scene one of his delivery drivers encountered upon arriving at the supplier depot earlier in the pandemic.

“There was a lineup. We had to wait our turn.”

Limits were soon placed on the size of orders.

“Sometimes, they still can’t keep certain stuff in stock,” Friesen said.

Barriers are ordered in all shapes and sizes. Some are suspended from the ceiling while others require a freestanding base, which presented a bit of a design challenge at first.

“We got better as we went along,” Friesen said.

One local customer, Victoria Dental Centre, opted for a permanent glass barrier.

Friesen said he suspects the barriers may become a permanent fixture. Shoppers are already used to them and the future of the pandemic is uncertain.

Friesen said he’s thankful for customers who have ‘shopped local’ and allowed his business to play a role in Manitoba’s pandemic response effort.