A FAMILY business in Leominster specialising in steel- frame buildings said it was worrying time during the coronavirus lockdown.

But now JM Construction feels it is going from strength-to-strength as the economy comes back to life after the strict lockdown first imposed.

The company, which designs, manufactures and builds bespoke steel frame buildings all over the UK, said there was a lot of uncertainty when the pandemic hit the country.

“Obviously, we were in the same boat as everyone when the strict lockdown measures were put into place,” office manager Meg Morris said.

“But we feel that we were some of the lucky ones as I was able to work from home, and my brother Jack, who owns the company, caught up on a lot of admin and new business ideas while he was no longer able to be workshop and site-based.

“Our other staff members were furloughed for a short period of time, and our self-employed staff took advantage of the self-employed income support scheme while they weren’t able to work. Luckily, this support was available.

“Unfortunately, a lot of our suppliers did have to shut during this difficult time, which was worrying as we didn’t know if or when they would open again and it was all just a waiting game.”

But since then, the company has been working through a backlog of work and now feels it is back on track.

JM Construction, which was founded in April 2019, is just one of the businesses the Hereford Times has supported with its Love Local Business campaign, which aims to help our independent businesses during the coronavirus crisis.

“Covid has made running the business hard, though, as it is now difficult to get hold of different materials, and the lead times are now exceptionally long. It means jobs are taking longer to complete than before lockdown times,” Ms Morris said.

“We hope that over time this will sort its self out, though, and look forward to being busier than ever.”