March 2020 PerformancePost #3

Welcome to the third ÄLG PerformancePost - a monthly feature for 2020. Expect to hear about new products, offers, updates and announcements right here.

Coronavirus has hit Europe hard this month and we are unsure of what position we will be in the next few weeks. We are reliant on delivery and fulfilment services to operate, and a UK-wide lockdown is impacting our ability to trade. 

One of our biggest issues at the moment is international shipping. There are increased shipping rates due to the reduced capacity of freight services. We will be looking at alternative shipping options and contact customers about their options. At the moment, we are seeing an daily escalation of pricing, added surcharges, increased lead times and a growing list of restricted postcodes especially in Italy.

Nevertheless, we will continue to work though this time & we appreciate your patience as a customer. Dates have been continually pushed back since the virus first reared its head in January, but we please ask you to stick with us. 

A number of customers have cancelled their orders and this has a disproportionate effect on a small business in a time like this. In all cases so far, the product supplier has already been paid & so we end up out of pocket for double the amount. Please consider this when requesting cancellations, we are struggling.

PRODUCT NEWS

Volvo C30 Grilles

Production resumed at the factory as of Monday 24th Feb. As mentioned in last month's PerformancePost, we had an issue with the previous batch where the grilles were mis-shapen so we took the opportunity to have brand new moulds made. We hoped to deliver before the end of February, but Coronavirus reared it's head and shut down most of China. We have suffered a string of further delays as the virus left China and entered Europe and now the UK. However, we are pleased to announce that manufacture will complete this week and we are expecting to take delivery on the 13th April. Thank you for your continued patience.

Volvo V40 Grilles
All Volvo V40 Grilles completed manufacture and were loaded onto a shipment on the 28th March. We will have these shipped to us for inspection before being dispatched to customers. 

Additionally, we are including black vinyl strips to cover the bodywork exposed when fitting the grille. We haven't been able to test if the size is perfect but we will supply a different size if needed.

Thank you for your continued patience.

P1 Carbon Bonnets
The latest batch of Volvo C30/S40/V50 Carbon Bonnets are also complete and shipped in the same container load as the V40 Grilles. We have ordered the ISPM export crates and are awaiting delivery of the bonnets. 

C30 Halo Kits
Due to the Coronavirus shutting down our supply chain for the C30 Halo Kits, we suffered delays in delivering this product. Good news is that we have now replenished our stock, and more is on the way as this batch is selling out quickly.

Volvo C30 STCC-Style Arches
We took delivery of the prototypes this month and have been test fitting them. Development on the pop-clips is ongoing. A second prototype is likely as the shape is not completely perfect yet - but we are close.

So far, we have tested various 3D printed clip shapes and sizes and although some are effective, they are not very durable. Alternative methods of attachment are being developed in order to utilise the yellow Volvo rings. We must be aware that wind loading will stress these arches and if our attachment method is not secure enough, they could become loose. A number of cancellations has impacted our ability to develop on this as quickly as we'd like. But thank you to everyone that is sticking with us. 

AWD Fuel Pirate
A re-spin of the PCB was ordered this month to allow use of an alternative device and programming header. We are yet to receive the PCBs but they should be arriving this week.

This is a back-burner project so receives only a small amount of development each month but it is still progressing.

SUPPLIERS

We are reaching out to some interesting companies with the goal of expanding our product range to include flywheel & clutches, brake systems, oil coolers and suspension products. Can't reveal more at the moment but watch this space. 

As we mentioned last month, we teamed up with FulfilmentCrowd to streamline storage, handling & dispatch of products. FulfilmentCrowd have a warehouse local to us that we have products stored in. If an order is placed of a product we store there, it is automatically picked up by their computer system, packed and dispatched the same day (weekday orders before 3pm). Many UK orders are therefore available with Next Day or 2-Day delivery, fully tracked and insured. Currently, they stock our C30 Halo Kits, S40/V50 Halo Kits, Driveshaft Spacers and ÄLG Performance Lowering Springs. 

 EVENTS

Calendar for ÄLG Performance attended events this year so far looks like this:

• All event promotion is suspended for the next 6 weeks. 
• Events are being cancelled or dates moved all the time.
• We will re-release the schedule in 6 weeks if possible.

YouTube Channel
This year ÄLG Performance will begin producing video content for YouTube, including product installation guides, product test comparisons and performance tips. We will be working with local talent to record and professionally edit these videos, look forward to an announcement soon.