Casket producers around the world are feeling the impact of the coronavirus. Where many businesses have to shut their doors, casket producers have stepped up and increased production capacity to keep up with the demand.
Funeral homes are running through their stock of caskets 5 to 10 times faster than normal in the cities that are being hit hard by the coronavirus. Casket producers are doing everything they can to give the deceased the respect that they deserve and prevent situations like in Ecuador where bodies ended up in body bags on the streets.
Casket production is increasing in France
According to Emmanuel Garret, Manager of the French casket producer OGF in Jussey, they have to increase production from 360 to 410 caskets per day, adding an extra 50 caskets daily, which they will continue until the demand has been satisfied. The French casket producer is located within the epicenter of the coronavirus in France and a critical producer for the nation.
OGF is mainly scaling up the production of their low-end models. As no in-person ceremonies are being held, due to the government mandated lockdown, families are choosing the more economical casket options. The company also noticed that many funeral homes are stocking up extra in preparation of the projected rising death toll.
UK funeral homes are stockpiling caskets
The chief executive of the Funeral Furniture Makers Association (FFMA), Alun Tucker, said that casket producers in the UK have an adequate amount of supplies for the moment, but are working overtime in order to keep up with the demand of funeral homes who are preparing for worst case scenarios.
Mr Tucker stated: ‘There’s obviously a case where funeral directors are buying extra stocks and are stockpiling to a certain extent in preparation for an upsurge in deaths but it could be if the deaths don’t hit those big numbers, coffin manufacturers are going to have a very quiet summer because funeral directors are going to have all of this stock.’