- Do you need to close your plants after the latest national activity restrictions imposed by the Italian government?
NO, manufacturing of chemical products is classified as essential for the country. As a result, we are allowed to continue our operations. We will regularly monitor market demand and real necessity for specific product lines, and balance that with the risk we expose our employees to by being obliged to continue to operate our production lines. This may result in closing parts of the plant or a reduction of the number of shifts.
- Is the supply of raw materials at risk?
NO, based on latest information that we received from our suppliers, we have no problems in the short to medium term. We are monitoring the situation closely with our suppliers in order to prevent potential longer-term problems. None of our strategic raw materials is originated from China.
- Are you monitoring outbound drivers?
Truck drivers can enter and leave our Italian facilities. Drivers are formally obliged to carry a mask. A strict 2-meter distance rule is implemented for all visitors. We ask drivers to perform a self-evaluation, checking if their physical conditions have gotten worse during the last 15 days. If so, we ask them to not enter the site.
- Do you have any shipping limitations for products going out?
Officially all borders within EU are open for goods, however, some countries are increasing border controls or demand specific local requirements to enter or transit. Biggest bottlenecks we see are in Central European countries, being:
• Romania,
• Hungary,
• Czech Republic,
• Poland,
• Slovenia,
• Croatia and
• Albania (non EU).
We are trying to increase the use of rail or intermodal, but these alternative lanes are saturated. Please be prepared for supply delays, especially in Eastern Europe. We will do our up most to keep you informed on the status of our deliveries.
- What are you doing to minimize the risk of further infections?
All employees are requested to minimize contact with other people as much as possible, by avoiding public transport and avoiding restaurants by bringing lunch from home.
All meetings are changed to Skype, all internal travel between sites is banned.
Changing clothes and showering has been banned on site. Operators are asked to do this at home.
Shift transitions are done with minimal interaction between the shifts.
People not performing operational activities are asked to work from home.
All customer visits (inbound and outbound) are suspended. We will try to find an alternative date as soon as possible.
- Do you have employees affected by the virus?
No, we do not have any employee confirmed with the Covid19 virus.