The decision made by the UK to leave the European Union, or ‘Brexit’ as it has become known, means that we must embrace the challenges that this decision will bring.
Inevitably there is still a great deal of uncertainty as the Brexit negotiations take place and therefore our plans are intended to allow for a degree of flexibility in the interim period. Assurances have been made by the Government regarding Brexit, yet it is impossible to predict the final outcome.
In the unlikely event of a no deal, the UK have committed to ensure UK legislation replaces EU legislation via the EU Withdrawal Act, establish a UK regulatory framework and build domestic capacity to deliver the functions currently performed by ECHA. The legislation would preserve REACH as far as possible, while making technical changes that would need to be made because the UK has left the EU.
The vast majority of our suppliers are UK based and we have reviewed their plans around Brexit to ensure that we can maintain continuity of supply. We have also increased our stock levels by 20% to mitigate for any slowdown in deliveries. We are asking that our customers work with us by forecasting demand and plan in advance for major projects in 2019 where possible. PPSPower have multiple relationships with suppliers for similar parts and remain confident that these relationships will continue to be able to support us in the same way they do today.
It is recognised that as Brexit unfolds a number of parties will be concerned, including our customers and European based suppliers. We have therefore considered, amongst a number of areas, the potential impact of changes to tariffs and Customs borders, the potential impact on our costs, administrative workload and our employees, but also the effect of increased volatility of exchange rates.
PPSPower also supply fuel through our trusted partners. All fuel supplied is not from the EU, but from places such as the Middle East and Russia so we do not expect supply to change when any Brexit deals are put in place. The only possible impact Brexit could have is on price due to changes in import duty. This possible change will affect all fuel supplies nationwide.
PPSPower will be able to maintain the prices we have agreed with our contracted customers for their maintenance packages. We have always been in an enviable position when it comes to the purchase of parts for repairs and upgrade projects due to the wider group we are part of. This advantage remains and our costs for these types of works will remain as competitive as they always have been in todays market.
We do not have any employees that are not UK residents and we do not foresee any changes to our staffing levels due to Brexit.
We hope that this statement covers the main concerns that you may have during this period of uncertainty. If you have additional queries or would like clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours faithfully,
Stephen Peal
Managing Director
PPSPower