COVID-19: Company announcements

Fri Mar 20 16:57:07 CST 2020 Source: Refrigeration Indust... Collect Reading Volume: 10255
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ASHRAE

COVID-19 Update for Registrants

ASHRAE continues to monitor the outbreak globally and is committed to the safety of its members, staff, course registrants and the general public. ASHRAE Learning Institute will postpone all in-person, public courses scheduled for March, April and May. ASHRAE will continue to monitor the circumstances for courses scheduled for June 2020 and beyond. Should you have questions or concerns related to your attendance or travel plans, please contact edu@ashrae.org. ASHRAE has developed proactive guidance to help address concerns related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with respect to the operation and maintenance of heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems, which can be viewed at ashrae.org/covid19.
 

REHVA

COVID-19 Guidance

As response to the coronavirus (COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, REHVA experts drafted a guidance document on how to operate and use building services in areas with a coronavirus outbreak to prevent the spread of COVID-19 depending on HVAC or plumbing systems related factors.

This REHVA document considers the best available evidence and knowledge to date, utilizing an ongoing Dutch literature review elaborated by dr. Francesco Franchimon, complemented by international REHVA experts as a joint effort.

Due to the ever-changing information about the disease, the document will be updated and complemented with new evidence when it becomes available. REHVA thanks the co-authors of this document for their much-appreciated contribution.
 

TEKO

Dear business partners,

we are dealing very seriously the situation regarding corona virus. Therefore, we have established a crisis team beginning of last week, which, in addition to the already implemented hygienic regulations, has dealt with necessary further measures.

TEKO has implemented the following comprehensive measures in order to maintain production and business operations.

• Production employees and production related divisions have been divided into two completely separated shifts. They work from 06,00 am to 10,00 pm, including a time gap for changeover. (Furthermore, we are able to produce at our subsidiary Frigopol).

• Employees from other departments such as Sales, Engineering, Purchasing, Quality & Service, Telephone Centre and Management have been split into two groups. They are physically separated from each other. (Old and new building in Altenstadt 50 m apart)

• Physical contact between separated colleagues is not permitted. Fortunately, we introduced the MS Teams communication tool six months ago and are able to maintain extensive communication, also with you.

• The canteen and social facilities are closed, lunch breaks are only allowed separately at workplaces or outside.

• Our sales representatives has to work in their home offices and are not allowed to visit any TEKO offices until further notice. For this reason, there is no ban on business trips for them. The same applies to a part of our aftersales service.

• We have already increased our stock of components (which amounts an average of about 10% of our annual turnover) to an even higher level one month ago to provide you with the best possible service.

So far, there have been no delays in deliveries from our national and international suppliers.

• Additionally we have set up two more warehouses for WURM components in Germany (North and South) in order to ensure the availability in any case of emergency.

All measures are taken to ensure the ability to deliver and to provide customer service, as well as to protect the health of our employees. Of course, nobody can foresee the development of such a situation. The crisis team will permanently monitor the corona situation and, if necessary, correct measures. We wish all of you health and strength in this challenging and unknown situation.

Kind regards, TEKO Refrigeration

 

Officine Mario Dorin SpA

We are experiencing turbulent times, we must face sudden and continuous changes in our plans and in our habits, but we don’t give up! Our values and our beliefs are stronger than ever! We are sure of winning this battle, all together! Deeply proud to represent, with all our staff, a century of history and excellence of the Italian industry, we don’t stop! It will not be the meters or the kilometres of distance that stop us! The methods change but not the prompt response to the needs of our customers.

 

WIlliams

We recognise the continuing impacts arising from the spread of Coronavirus are of great concern for our customers, our staff and our stakeholders. We would however like to reassure you that we at Williams Refrigeration are continually monitoring developments to ensure all our worldwide facilities remain open and fully operational to provide you with continuing expert advice and product availability. 
 

Maintaining our Production Capabilities

Our UK, China and Australian factories all remain fully operational and working normal hours to maintain production capabilities across all product lines.

Our Inventory Investment

Our investment commitments see each facility holding an extensive inventory of finished goods, materials and spare part. We hold over 6000 appliances in stock drawn from across our extensive range of cabinets counters and multi deck display cases, as well as a similar modular panel inventory to meet the needs of almost any cold room, bakery or blast chiller configuration. Our factories also carry parts and materials to meet a flexible 3 months forward production plan.

Increased Stock of Genuine Spare Parts

We have increased our spare parts Inventory to help further support our service partner network. Contact us with the appliance serial number and we will do our very best to have genuine Williams Refrigeration parts with you on next day delivery.

Our Customer Service Commitment

We have carefully reviewed our risk management protocols to ensure business continuity for the coming months, ensuring all of our commercial, administrative and after sales support activities remain open and accessible to you.

Keeping in Touch and Here to Help

We appreciate that there are increasing restrictions on travel and face to face meetings, with a number of people working from home. All our team are individually contactable by phone, email and video conferencing. Details are available on our web sites and social media channels.

Delivery and Logistics

We are also working closely with our delivery and logistics partners to ensure frequent and flexible delivery and installation options remain available from all our UK and International Offices.

Here to Help and Support You

We appreciate that the continuing spread of Coronavirus brings some of the greatest challenges ever seen in the foodservice and hospitality industry. We remain fully committed and are here to help all our customers, colleagues and service partners stay safe and weather these unprecedented times.

 

Danfoss

Safety comes first at Danfoss, and as the confirmed cases of Covid-19 (Coronavirus) continue to grow and spread worldwide we think first and foremost about the safety of our Danfoss employees and all other people visiting our sites.

The situation varies from country to country and even from province to province within the countries.

To prevent the spreading of Covid-19, Danfoss follows the rules and guidelines recommended by international and local authorities around the world.

All Danfoss factories and offices are in operation globally, but we have implemented visitor guidelines and imposed access restrictions to all locations.

Danfoss locations will not accept any visitors who are residents in or have been to any of the below mentioned areas within the past 14 days:

  • China Mainland and Hong Kong
  • Singapore
  • South Korea
  • Italy
  • Federal State of Tyrol, Austria
  • Iran
  • France, specifically the regions: Corsica, Alsace and the departments: Oise and Val d’Oise North of Paris
  • Germany, specifically the regions: Bayern and Nordrhein-Westfalen
  • Spain, specifically the regions: Madrid, La Rioja and Basque Country
  • Switzerland, specifically the city Samnaun (Kanton Graubünden) and the city Zermatt
  • Palestine, specifically the West Bank and East Jerusalem
  • Israel
  • Turkey
  • Thailand
  • Egypt
  • Vietnam

If you are planning a visit to a Danfoss location, please reach out to your contact person to ensure your visit can take place in accordance with our visitor guidelines.

 

Systemair

Currently we do not see any significant impact on our ability to deliver or service our customers.

All functions within the organisations are in operation. We are constantly evaluating the situation and work to mitigate risks where necessary.

If you have any questions, please contact your local sales office:

systemair.com/contact/

 

Alfa Laval

The first quarter of 2020 has started in line with Alfa Laval’s expectations, with invoicing and order intake during January and February on about the same level as last year. Although the macro-economic conditions have deteriorated in March, the company believes the impact on its financial performance during the first quarter will be limited.

With the global outbreak of COVID-19 and an increasing number of countries under lock-down, negative effects are expected in the global economy going forward. In this context the company has decided to launch a cost reduction program to proactively address the expected weaker conditions in the next few quarters.

“After a three-year period of major investments in our manufacturing footprint, in a new product program, and in strengthening our global service organization we are prepared to meet a more challenging business environment,” says Tom Erixon, President and CEO of the Alfa Laval Group. “Our priority at this point will be to continue to serve our customers and to protect our strong global team of employees. Our cost reduction program is designed with this focus.”

The program is expected to start having an effect from April 1 and gradually reach fixed costs savings of above SEK 1 billion on twelve months rolling basis. It includes several key components; work time reduction initiatives, aggressively reduce travel costs, other discretionary spending, and external consultants by putting initiatives on hold. As always, the company will adjust its capacity and variable production cost to prevailing market conditions.

Tom Erixon continues, “In the next quarters, several Alfa Laval employees around the world will participate in various work time reduction initiatives. Consequently, they will also experience a reduction of their compensation package during a transition period. In this context the members of Group Management have decided to implement a reduction of 10 percent of their fixed compensation during the period the cost program is in place.”

The implementation of the program is expected to be swift and largely without restructuring charges. The business situation will be monitored continuously, with a new assessment of the cost reduction program planned for the third quarter.

 

Tower Tech USA

NOTICE:WE ARE CURRENTLY OPERATING UNDER OUR NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS.

Per recommendations of our Safety Departments, Hill & Smith Holdings PLC and the Center for Disease Control (CDC), we are limiting any “nonessential visitation” to any of our facilities regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the United States. This applies to all Creative Composites Group Companies … Creative Pultrusions, Kenway Composites, Tower Tech & Composite Advantage.

Essential Visitors– Visitation that is essential to continue business practices as needed.

Nonessential Visitors– If the visit is not essential and can be conducted over the phone or web media applications such as Skype, Go-To-Meeting, etc.

1. PURPOSE:

In order to assure the safety and security of Company associates, its visitors, and its property and to ensure that only authorized personnel has access to the Company facilities, the following policies have been adopted:

2. POLICY & PROCEDURE:

A. Passes: All non-associates on company property must be issued a pass by the appropriate administrative associate or receptionist at lobby area at all locations (Alum Bank, Augusta, Oklahoma City, Dayton). Passes shall be properly designated as “Visitor”.

B. Off-duty Associates: No Associates are permitted access to the interior of the facility and other working areas during their off-duty hours.

C. Visitors:

1. All visitors to the Plants or Offices must sign in and out according to the prescribed register.

2. All visitors will be issued a visitor’s pass which should be returned to the issuing party when signing out.

3. Any unauthorized visitor failing to secure a pass will be asked to leave.

D. Suppliers, Contractors, Delivery Personnel

1. Truck drivers will use their Bill of Lading as an acceptable ID; however, such persons shall not be permitted outside their normal areas of pick-up and delivery without being escorted by an appropriate associate.

2. Delivery personnel (i.e., UPS, Federal Express, etc.) will be permitted to make their deliveries to the appropriate areas without a badge or pass, provided they do not go outside normal areas of pickup or delivery.

3. Individuals entering Company grounds for the purpose of picking up or dropping off individuals will not be allowed outside of their vehicles unless they have been provided an appropriate pass.

E. Safety: All associates and non-associates are to comply with all safety rules, regulations, and policies while on company property or in Company vehicles.

As we work through this issue, things are subject to change so please be patient and understanding of the issues at hand.

 

Daikin Applied

The spread of Covid-19, commonly known as the coronavirus, continues to pick up pace globally and is increasingly a key priority and in view of the growing concern we would like to reassure our customers that Daikin Applied (UK) Ltd & Daikin Applied Service have adopted a risk-minimisation approach to ensure minimum disruption to business. Unfortunately the onset of the Coronavirus has caused many industry implications, this is a brief update on our supply chain, operations and the measures undertaken to ensure the continuation of our business and support to our customers.

We have issued our employees with information to take precautionary measures as advised by GOV.UK and NHS and will monitor any changes and advise accordingly. 

As a business we have implemented further precautions:

  • Business trips to and from Category 1 countries and regions are prohibited until further notice. Travel to other countries should be avoided unless deemed essential and approval given by Senior Management.
  • Meetings where possible to be conducted via video conferencing, Skype, GoTo Meetings etc.
  • Communal areas are being given extra cleaning, e.g. rest rooms, canteens, door handles etc.
  • Staff are being asked to self-isolate in accordance with government guidelines if they have been in direct contact with someone with the virus or travelled to a category 1 country (see below) within the last 14 days.
  • We are considering the introduction of temporary smart working arrangements to allow more flexibility and to help reduce risk.
  • Everyone should practise good hygiene to protect against infections.

 

AHU & CHILLER ORDERS

Currently our factories both in the UK and Italy are working at normal capacity and we are taking steps to ensure this continues. However it is possible that the current situation will affect our business in the coming weeks and we will keep all customers updated if the situation changes.
At present, we have not seen any reduction in the level of service we get from our suppliers with this under constant review and our procurement department is in regular contact with the factories and suppliers, checking lead times and supply issues.

DAIKIN APPLIED SERVICE

  • Remote workers such as our engineering teams have mobile phones and all have access to office servers via their tablets and laptops.
  • As our in-field engineers are generally lone workers, we would consider that their contact with the office and other engineers will be limited and, we will continue to monitor the situation.

 

DAIKIN ON SITE

Clients with chillers capable of supporting our Daikin On Site remote monitoring, and with maintenance contracts already set up to utilise this, will continue to be monitored regularly. To reduce site attendance however, should faults occur where generally a call out may be required, then these faults will be reset (where possible) via the DoS system and monitored accordingly by one of our remote monitoring team. The frequency of virtual visits may increase (and actual visits decrease) should a reduced workforce through self-isolation occur.

SPARES

As well as our own locally stored spares we source of spares from our factories across Europe, we purchase spare parts and materials across a range of suppliers who will in turn, purchase materials from across the globe.
We continue to monitor the health and wellbeing of our workforce along with our supply chain. We remain, as always, committed to our customers with our teams ready to assist on order-specific questions, and we will continue to do our upmost to serve you our customers. We will keep you informed on this matter with ongoing updates as appropriate.

 

LAUDA

The global situation regarding the coronavirus has changed dramatically and has reached unexpected proportions. Today, we have once again defined important measures within the company that also have an impact on our business operations. We have drawn up a plan that will keep our business operations going for as long as possible. However, there may be certain restrictions on accessibility.

We have decided that from 17 March 2020, all business trips from Germany to other countries will be prohibited. In addition, we will not receive any business visits from abroad from 17 March until further notice. We ask for your understanding. It is important to us to emphasize that the health of our employees is always our top priority.

Furthermore, we try to conduct our business in such a way that our customers are affected as little as possible. However, certain effects cannot be avoided due to the epidemic. We thank you for your understanding and are available to answer your questions.

 

A-GAS

As Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to impact the global community, I want to personally update you on the steps we have taken to ensure business continuity for all our customers around the world.

Based on guidance from the World Health Organization and information from local government/health authorities in all our regions, we have augmented our already robust Business Continuity Plan with specific steps to account for COVID-19.

The health and safety of our employees, customers and partners remains to be at the forefront of everything we do. We have reviewed our current operations and made changes to specifically cater for the impact of COVID-19.

We have asked our teams worldwide to work remotely were possible. We still have operational team members onsite to ensure our customers remain supported, however we are operating shift patterns to help manage risk and best protect our team.

We have also put in place a number of travel measures for both employees and visitors as far as possible to limit face to face meetings.

We have also taken extra precautions such as enhanced cleaning regimes and sanitization across our sites and offices to help protect our staff.

Our Customer Services Teams worldwide are available to take calls and emails to support you with your requirements. You can find the contact details for your local A-Gas teams on our website.

Please let us know if our team should be aware of any requirements you have put in place for your organisation. We are keen to work closely together with a shared focus on ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the people in our respective organisations.

The current situation is dynamic, but we are committed to maintaining our business operations and ensuring you continue to receive the highest quality service without disruption.

Yours sincerely, Andrew Ambrose, Group Chief Executive Officer

 

Dantherm

The global markets are currently affected by the continued spread of COVID-19 throughout the world. Unfortunately, we are seeing no signs of improvement in the short term. To ensure timely deliveries and ongoing information as much as we can, Dantherm has formed an internal task force responsible for monitoring the situation closely on a daily basis.

We have already taken several steps to minimise the risk of infection. The purpose of these initiatives is to protect our employees, customers and partners while ensuring a continued high level of service and delivery reliability.

The situation is highly unusual, and many factors are unknown and can affect or significantly change our ability to deliver in the short and long term. We’re still receiving supplies from our suppliers, and our factory is following the scheduled production. We have internal coordination meetings several times a week to align the demand/supply situation between our sales, logistics and production departments.

In case of delivery delays and other significant changes, we will inform affected parties as soon as we can.
Our external sales teams have been asked not to participate in any physical meetings. Instead, we recommend that planned and future meetings be held on the telephone, via Skype or similarly.

Many employees will be working from home. But all key functions remain manned. Therefore, we encourage you to do business with us as usual by contacting your normal Dantherm contact by email or telephone.

 

ADVANSOR

Dear business partner

The COVID-19 situation is now declared a pandemic by WHO, and most EU countries are initiating necessary and far-reaching measures to protect their citizens.

Advansor takes this very seriously, and we act with a global social mind. We feel obliged to take responsibility for the weaker and elderly people. We sympathise with those who are ill or otherwise influenced by the situation.

We are doing our best to protect our employees, the local & global community, and our operations.

Situation as is:

  • No Advansor employees are infected or in quarantine
  • Our operations are fully up and running
  • There are no delays now or expected with what we can foresee now
     

Preventive efforts
We have taken all possible precautions during the past weeks to ensure good health and to keep the production undisturbed:

  • All non-crucial white collars are working from home
  • Physical events are cancelled, and when possible moved to digital platforms
  • All employees are available on phone, e-mail of course the preferred MS Teams where we have no personal contact but video interface
  • Our production is running on two split production sites in Denmark and Poland, and all is running fully and on schedule
  • We have done a significant component build up and secured supply channels for a prolonged period
  • We stock a significant amount of finished CO2 racks, gascoolers, enclosures and spare parts
     

Protecting our customers and our business
All our people are ready to handle your inquiries, orders and aftersales requests, and we do our outmost to continue like that.

Cooling is vital
Advansor is part of an important value chain together with our business partners. Without cooling the supply of food, medicine and data would simply break down.

We stay dedicated to deliver as promised, and we run according to plan unless you are contacted directly concerning changes.

Take care and have trust in us.

 

J & E Hall

J & E Hall continue to closely monitor developments with respect to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). We have been taking steps to ensure the safety and wellness of our employees and put in place several measures to ensure that we have business continuity. We are confident in our preparation and contingency planning for the situation and will continue to provide update as we learn more.

Coronavirus Customer Information

 

Scotsman

Market-leading manufacturer’s Italian and Chinese factories are working as normal.

Following the Italian government’s decision to lockdown the country, Scotsman has confirmed that all its staff are safe and well and that production at the factory is unaffected.

The lockdown restrictions still allow the population to go to work, and the factory is permitted to ship and deliver goods as usual.  The working environment in the Scotsman factory is a safe area due to its very strict sanitation procedures.  In addition, all finished products are disinfected before being despatched.

Meanwhile the Scotsman factory in China has resumed manufacturing, following the all-clear from the Chinese authorities.  Currently it is running at 75% capacity and the company is supplying all orders in a timely fashion.  China has imposed stringent operational safety and hygiene procedures on all businesses and Scotsman has taken what it describes as ‘extreme measures’ to ensure all its products are contamination-free.  As in Italy, all finished products are disinfected before dispatch from the factory.

“Scotsman has worked very hard to minimise the impact of the Covid 19 virus on its customers around the world,” says David Rees, marketing manager of Hubbard Systems, which markets the Scotsman range in the UK.  “Their commitment means we can assure our UK partners and customers not only that there is a ready stock of Scotsman products available, but also that we will continue to be able to supply machines and spares as we move into the busy summer months.”

 

Climalife

Dear customers,

In order to limit the spread of Covid-19, Climalife has now activated its business continuity plan.

Our priority is :

- to preserve the health and safety of our employees, customers and partners,

- ensure the continuity of our business and service, which are essential to some of the vital sectors of the economy.

As a result, all preventative measures; work organisation and business continuity, are now operational at our production sites and within our sales, sales administration, logistics and support teams. We can be contacted by e-mail or telephone to answer all your requests.

The situation can change very quickly, we invite you to follow us via our website or on our social networks LinkedIn or Twitter.

We thank you for your patience in this difficult time and assure you that all our teams will do whatever is necessary to ensure the continuity of our service.

 

Blue Cube

We want to reassure our customers that with the latest updates from the government, Blue Cube IT systems are set up on a cloud based system meaning that during this changing situation the team are able to work from home to provide account management and service support if needed. Our engineers are currently still out on the road able to attend breakdowns, and we also work with a network of trusted suppliers and contractors who we are receiving regular updates from.

Each site that our engineers attend will have their own systems in place, and we will work with your requirements. Please ensure that you communicate any changes of protocol to the service team as soon as possible so they can let our engineers know before they arrive to site.

As usual, the team can be contacted on 0333 3202620.

 

Hitema 

We kindly inform you that, despite the global emergency due to COVID-19, HITEMA continues its activity regularly.

Production department, shipping area, technical and accounting department, after sales and purchasing department are working in full force as usual.

Hitema International is working following the directives of the government authorities, to avoid any the risk of contagion.

In addition, to further protect its customers, suppliers and partners, HITEMA has completed a new security protocol which provides for restrictive controls on its production and suppliers, in order to guarantee high quality and safety of its products to its customers.

We remain at your complete disposal for any doubt or clarification.

 

CAREL

CAREL Italian factories are currently working at full capacity.

With reference to the emergency linked to COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the CAREL Group had already launched in recent weeks a series of initiatives in its own offices and in those of its Italian subsidiaries (Recuperator SpA), aimed primarily at limiting both employee commuting and the number of employees inside the workplace and this in order to decrease infections likelihood. This was mainly implemented through the so-called "Smart-working", that is, the opportunity of working from home for two days a week, an opportunity that currently about 80% of white-collars can take advantage of. To this must be added a series of other measures including the substantial ban on travel abroad and the reduction of visits by external visitors only to cases of actual need. These initiatives are perfectly consistent also with the new Decree issued by the Government and will therefore be maintained and, if necessary, further reinforced in the coming days.

At the moment, in any case, the full operation of all Italian plants is confirmed. Moreover, CAREL highlights that the vast majority of its products is produced in, at least, two production plants. Besides, please note that yesterday, March 8th, an explanatory note of the aforementioned Decree was published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in which it is specified that: "the goods can enter and leave the territories concerned. The transport of goods is considered as a work requirement: the personnel who drives the means of transport can therefore enter and leave the territories concerned and move within them, limited to the needs of delivery or collection of the goods."

CAREL is highly focused on the management of this emergency and will put in place all the necessary measures in order to better protect the health of its employees both in Italy and abroad.
 

LU-VE Group

LU-VE Group states that all activities in Italy proceed at normal pace:

• production and delivery of orders continue to follow the normal timeframe;

• all factories of the Group can be reached, all roads are open and can be used by trucks;

• carriers can load and unload (in compliance with the safety instructions prepared by the Company for entrance to the facilities);

• procurement of raw materials is regular, and stocks ensure us of an adequate safety margin.

All the Companies in the Group (in Italy and abroad) and all employees adhere to the guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization concerning the precautions to be taken, as well as indications supplied by Assolombarda/Confindustria.

LU-VE Group is in constant contact and collaboration with local and national public authorities to maintain safety levels at the maximum. Concerning this point, some preventive measures have been increased, as indicated by the Italian Health Authorities:

• deep sanitation of offices, facilities and communal areas;

• rigorous checks of access areas for external suppliers, drivers etc,;

• meeting, courses, and business trips reduced to the minimum;

• maximization of teleconferencing, Skype meetings;

• maximization of on-line home working.

 

LU-VE GROUP

Dear colleagues,

I thought I would write to you all now in these difficult and chaotic times to keep you informed and to let you know how I see things.

Faced with such an unpredictable event, unprecedented in modern times, we are doing everything possible to protect the health and safety of everyone and, at the same time, safeguard our future in Italy and in all the countries where we operate.

Our “Crisis Committee” in Italy, created specifically to manage the emergency, has already been hard at work for the last few days. It has taken decisions and put into action some extraordinary measures for the protection of all of us; measures which are often in advance of, and more stringent than, the ordinances issued by the competent Government authorities.

We should be proud of what we’ve done so far to protect our health and our work.

I’m especially pleased to point out that “smart working” got off to a great start at our headquarters in Uboldo; we very quickly exceeded our expectations and overcame every limitation.

A special thank-you also goes to everyone who remained at their place of work, with a great sense of sacrifice and responsibility, to guarantee continued production. Special thanks also go to all those people who have recently been sanitizing and making safe all the communal areas to guarantee the highest levels of hygiene and sterility.

For the benefit of our colleagues outside Italy, we are preparing a detailed list of the actions that we have put in place. In this way, we can share our experience and simplify their work in the worst-case scenario that they also have to confront an identical emergency.

In the next few days, we can expect our activities to slow down as a result of increasing difficulties with transportation of goods and the halting of production at some important customers and suppliers. So today is absolutely the right time to get working together to find flexible, creative solutions.

This is the moment to keep up our resistance in the hope, perhaps in vain, that the European Union will finally be able to coordinate measures to fight this battle as a single unit, putting an end to a series of errors and omissions that have unfortunately also allowed the occurrence of shameful episodes of commercial malpractice by some of our competitors who are active in countries not yet affected by this emergency.

We will all have to be prepared to sacrifice something and adapt to events and circumstances that are difficult to predict. But I am sure that once again, despite these difficulties, we will be able to demonstrate the best of ourselves with passion, commitment, courage and determination.

In these dark hours the light of inspiration can be seen emanating from the experience of our Chinese colleagues in Tianmen who, after finding themselves in the eye of the storm in the area of the country hardest hit by Coronavirus, have returned to work in recent days.

I hope to be able to meet you again in person very soon. I would really like to embrace you, but you know that we all have to keep a minimum distance of at least one metre. So, in the meantime, I can at least send my very best personal wishes to you and your families.

 

Matteo Liberali


 

CRIOCABIN

Italian Government is implementing measures which mainly impact on the social aspects of daily life. There is no restriction for manufacturing activities nor for the circulation of goods and transport. 
Having provided for all individual protection procedures and implemented all the internal measures aimed at preventing the spread of the virus, CRIOCABIN continues its manufacturing, technical, administrative and commercial activities without disruptions. 
At the moment, we are not facing problems with the provision of outsourced materials and remain as focused as ever on assisting our customers, granting the usual efficiency with respect to sales, aftersales and delivery times. 
We are confident that the situation will soon have a positive outcome and keep our commitment to assisting you in the best possible way.

 

Arneg Group

To all Arneg Group employees and business partners

In this difficult moment, we are addressing all our employees, business partners and stakeholders, a few hours after the issuance of the Prime Ministerial Decree 08/03/2020 concerning further measures to prevent the spread of COVID 19.

In these hours, we are in constant contact with our Trade Association to learn in greater detail the rules for the application of the new provisions and we are comforted by the fact that, at the moment, the production activities are not compromised by the current limitations. We will therefore be able to continue our work while striving to ensure the safety of all interactions with our activities, internally and externally, putting the health of employees, suppliers and customers first.

Our support and thanks go to all the companies - whether large or small - that continue to make their contribution to the production sector in Northern Italy, to which the Arneg Group belongs.

The Arneg Group does not stop, Italy does not stop.

We move forward, with responsibility and sense of civic duty, always respecting our corporate values.

The President, Luigi Finco

 

RectorSeal

A Message From our Vice President

Amidst concerns surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19), I wanted to send you a quick update to let you know how RectorSeal is navigating the situation. As always, our goal is to ensure that we provide a safe work environment for our team, as well as to provide you with a consistent supply of high quality products.

As you may know, we manufacture many of our products at our two U.S. facilities located in Houston, Texas, and Fall River, Massachusetts. As COVID-19 moves to communities in areas where we manufacture, we have taken additional precautions to limit the likelihood of the virus impacting our teams’ well-being and our operational capabilities, including:

  • Enhanced handwashing and sanitation for the overall facility;
  • Monitoring employee health, including not allowing any team members who are sick to come on-site;
  • Shifting most non-manufacturing and non-shipping employees to work from home; and
  • Changing operational workflows to allow for appropriate spacing of team members

We are following guidance from local, state and federal authorities on how best to operate while providing a safe work environment for our team.

In conjunction with these efforts, we have worked to ensure a strong supply of imported finished goods and raw material components, having increased our inventory positions prior to the Chinese New Year. In recent weeks, we have begun receiving imports, with our suppliers continuing to ramp up operations. At this time, we are well within our target weeks of stock for key products.

As it pertains to the RectorSeal sales team, we have limited travel, especially for large gatherings and for meetings that would require air travel. We have also reinforced that our team and our manufacturer representatives should follow appropriate guidance from distributors and local health authorities.

We are carefully and continually monitoring this situation. As information evolves, we will keep you updated. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you might have or anything that we can do to support your business and your team.

Best, Jeff Underwood, Vice President – Sales & Marketing

 

Capital Cooling

The recent outbreak of the Coronavirus has affected people’s lives in unimaginable ways across the globe and the situation is changing at a fast pace.

At Capital Cooling we are doing our part in making sure, first and foremost, our employees and their families are as safe and well as possible.

We also retain our commitment to serving our customers the best way we know how given the difficult circumstances that some companies  and businesses are currently facing.  

Our manufacturing and supply chain currently remains uninterrupted and we are putting measures in place to ensure that we minimise the potential for any future product shortages over the coming weeks and months.

We will try our very best to continue to serve every planned delivery and installation and should any changes to these conditions arise, Capital Cooling Refrigeration will provide updates to our customers and distributors as the situation evolves.

Thank you for your support. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any queries.

Yours Sincerely, Steve Steadman, CEO Capital Cooling Refrigeration

 

Viessmann Refrigeration Solutions


Dear Customer and Business Partner,

Viessmann Refrigeration Solutions first focus is on ensuring our customers and our employees’ safety in the rapidly changing COVID-19 epidemic and do our part to help prevent the spread of this illness.

Viessmann follows closely the recommendations and instructions of local authorities and World Health Organization (WHO), and we will adjust our actions accordingly when needed.

We would like to inform of our current company contingency plans as follows:

  1. We have instructed all personnel to reduce physical contacts to minimum and work from home-office when possible.
  2. We have instructed all personnel with any symptoms of flu to immediately stay at home and follow the instructions of the local health authorities.
  3. We have instructed all personnel to pay high attention to hand hygiene and provided hand disinfectants as well as increased our facilities’ cleaning frequency.
  4. Employees with an increased risk-profile have been separately consulted.
  5. We have limited all non-essential business travel and hold all meetings via phone or using online conferencing systems. All sales people as well as our office teams have easy access to online meetings which they can use to consult with any topic, share information and review documents.
  6. We do not allow external visitors at our premises in sales offices or factories excluding business critical visitors, such as maintenance people, who are allowed upon the approval of the local MD and by following our health and safety regulations on-site. Instead of the physical meetings we use conferencing systems as a suitable alternative to face-to-face contact.
  7. Our installation, service and maintenance personnel have been instructed to follow the on-site health and safety instructions and reduce all physical contacts to minimum. During lunch and coffee breaks, mechanics are instructed to take breaks in shifts in the canteen or site hut or preferably in the company car.
  8. Director’s approval is required for any exceptions to the above in order to manage the changing risks during this uncertain period.
  9. We proactively follow-up with all our suppliers, sub-contractors, logistic providers and partners to keep us informed of their own contingency plans and to keep us updated on the delivery of core services.

These contingency plans apply until further notice and are updated if required.
 

Delivering of products and services

We aim to protect and support our staff during this uncertain period and continue to deliver core products and services to our loyal customer base. No external visitors, including logistics people, are allowed to enter our production facilities unless approved by the local MD. We will continue to work together in partnership with our supply chain to secure continuous production flow and in case of disruption have soonest communication to all parties involved as a top priority.

Some governmental measures might have an impact on the transportation routines. In case of delays in deliveries or missing parts our local sales representative will keep you informed.

Postponing projects or deliveries

We will individually review the status of the projects or deliveries upon your requests. If you implement additional health and safety measures, we kindly ask you to contact our sales responsible.

This information is based on the current situation. Changes in the outbreak pattern, government measures or other matters may have a significant impact and we will take additional actions if needed.
 

Yours truly, Frank Winters, CEO, Viessmann Refrigeration Solutions

 

KeepRite Refrigeration

To Our Valued Customers: 

At KeepRite Refrigeration, we consider ourselves a key partner in the commercial refrigeration industry, serving the food and healthcare sectors. As such, we remain open to support you, your business, and your clients, through this critical period. 

Since the very beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, we have been in close contact with our partners to ensure our supply chain and inventory levels remain strong and that we will be able to fulfill existing and future orders. In addition to these proactive measures, we are reviewing the situation on a daily basis and responding as required. 

Over 2 weeks ago, KeepRite Refrigeration began implementing a number of steps to prepare for and prevent the COVID19 virus at our facilities: 
- Implemented governmental guidelines for hand washing, avoiding close contact and staying at home if we are sick. 
- Increased frequency of sanitizing with disinfecting wipes/spray of common touch point items such as phones, computer keyboards, door handles and light switches, etc. 
- Prohibited access to our buildings by any individual who traveled to or through a designated hot spot country. 
- Following federal government travel recommendations regarding isolation of employees returning from international travel. 
- Postponed all in person meetings and utilizing teleconferences and webinars in order to conduct business. 
- Daily assessment of these steps and implementing new best practices as they are identified. 

These precautionary measures have been taken to limit the potential spread of the virus, to support our employees in this challenging time and to ensure we maintain our ability to serve you, our customer, for the long term. Our senior leadership team remains vigilant and is monitoring the situation in real time and responding rapidly as conditions evolve. 

We will continue to update you as the situation warrants and we encourage you to contact us if we can help in any way. 

Please be safe and stay healthy. David Teeter, President

 

Kirby

Please see the following customer service update in light of the current situation with COVID19 in relation to Kirby branch operations. We are following the specific advice from Government authorities and will keep you abreast of any immediate changes as they occur and will continue to trade taking necessary precautions.

We have instructed our staff to practice social distancing minimising contact through the following basic measures / proactive steps;

  • Maintaining a distance of 1.5 metres between people wherever possible
  • Avoiding shaking hands or other greetings involving physical contact
  • Encouraging customers to pre-order online, via phone, email or via smart@ccess
  • Non-essential catering has been removed and meetings / events will be postponed
  • We have also taken proactive steps to limit non-essential presence in our branches prioritising the customers, sales staff and transport providers

Effective immediately we are suspending Saturday trade in all of our branches but will maintain our after-hours support for urgent access outside of regular trading hours. Dial 13 23 50 and your call will be redirected to your local branch after-hours service.

Our manufacturing facilities in Wuxi, China and Milperra, Australia remain operational along with our distribution warehouses and refrigerant decanting facility. We continually review our inventory and vendor shipment plans, and do not foresee any significant disruption. If there is any change to this we will advise accordingly.

To help minimise contact time in our branches we encourage customers to use the Kirby smart@ccess Click & Collect facility. Users of this system can place orders and check stock availability through this facility. Online orders will be made ready for collection or delivery pending your requirements as coordinated with the branch.

All customers can gain access to our smart@ccess portal by registering through http://www.kirbyhvacr.com.au/2013-01-31-04-15-26 or making contact with your local representative.

 

Airedale

Due to the rapidly evolving and serious nature of COVID-19 (coronavirus), Airedale have been actively working on measures to reduce risks to employees and to maintain current business service levels.

Airedale has suspended all unnecessary overseas business travel for employees. Border crossing and regional restrictions imposed by governments will be adhered to, and at times this will result in cancelled travel to certain locations.

We have suspended non-critical face-to-face meetings, and inward visits to our UK sites have been postponed or rearranged to be either a tele-conference or a video-conference. Where visits are classed as business critical they may still go ahead with all the necessary precautions in place to minimise risk of transmission (Symptom checking, hand washing, distancing, avoiding main staff population areas).

At our sites and in our field teams we have provided hand sanitisers and antiseptic wipes and encouraged employees to adopt the WHO guidelines on hygiene. Levels of cleaning in communal areas has been increased and areas of separation increased between delivery drivers and our UK employees.

We are constantly reviewing our parts inventory with our suppliers to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, our orders, build times for products, and our availability of spare parts remain unaffected. We would also ask that customers with open orders with us keep us informed as much as possible regarding delivery dates, which we understand can be dynamic in times like these.

We have a high number of laptop users within the support functions of our business that can work from home and steps have already been taken to implement this. We are also implementing alternative working patterns elsewhere in the business.

Our Service and Commissioning team have over 70 engineers located throughout the UK. The spread of their locations greatly increases our resilience should the virus spread. Each of these engineers has been provided with hand sanitisers, antiseptic wipes and WHO guidance on protecting themselves and others.

We understand the severity of this issue and want to ensure that we play our part and take appropriate action. We continue to monitor the situation daily and will respond to events if and when they occur. Maintaining a high level of service to our customers is of paramount importance, as is the safety of people in and outside our organisation. Communication is key to that so If you have any concerns or questions please do not hesitate to direct them via your usual Airedale contact.


Anthony Cole, Managing Director, Airedale International

 

Beijer Ref


As covid-19 has impacted numerous industries worldwide, Beijer Ref is determined to keep its business running as much as possible.

A significant part of our end customers work in the food retail industry. As society as a whole, now more than ever, rely on them serving us with essentials, it is vital that they are provided with refrigeration technique, products and components in order to be able to run their businesses without any disruptions.

Today, Beijer Ref has more than 400 branches in Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific. Our ambition is to keep as many of them open as possible, fully stocked with products. Added to that, we have made efforts to increase our level of e-commerce, and we have expanded our delivery service.

Our OEM site in Wuxi, China, has been running as usual since a month back. Our site in Italy is also open and is delivering products to our European branches.

Naturally, Beijer Ref takes all precautions necessary to stop spreading the covid-19 virus with increased hygiene and cleaning measures at our sites and branches. The safety of our employees is our top priority, and we carefully monitor regulations in each local market.

This is a time for commitment and standing united as a whole. I am proud of the fighting spirit of the entire staff at Beijer Ref. We will keep doing our utmost to be the reliable partner to our customers, suppliers and end users.
 

Regards, Per Bertland, CEO, Beijer Ref AB

 

Güntner

We all find ourselves in a situation that has never occurred before. The Corona virus pandemic affects us all equally, be it in private life or business. It is against that background that we would like to give you a brief update on how we at Güntner deal with the current challenges.

First of all, we would like to express our sympathy to all those who are directly or indirectly affected by the Corona virus. And, in particular, we wish all those a speedy recovery who suffer from Covid-19. Health is our greatest asset, and at the moment one thing has top priority: to protect it. Hence, we have been focussing on the health and safety of our employees and families for some time already, as you will probably be doing, too.

We decided to come up with comprehensive prevention measures already at the beginning of March in order to protect our employees and to ensure ongoing production. This included to offer the option of "smart working" as of March 5 to the majority of the office workers, meaning that they can work from home. Thanks to the active support of our IT Department, this switch to working from home was no problem so that operations continue as usual – we process orders, manufacture units, schedule delivery dates and ship products. Meanwhile, most of our office staff worldwide work from home. For those employees who continue to work at our sites, comprehensive safety precautions have been implemented.

To name but one example: administration and production are fully separate from one another regarding both the use of all premises and the structure of time. In order to reduce possible contacts also in the production area to a minimum, production employees work in two completely separate shifts.

Also in the area of procurement, our globally acting Task Force that was founded in January ensures continuity and security. The responsible employees maintain contact with our suppliers to monitor our supply chains and to secure our supply. Our stock levels have been further increased as a precautionary measure; in addition to this, we have second-source suppliers in several countries for our most important component parts. This means the spread of the Corona virus has had no impact at all on our production so far.

We owe the fact that our usual operations continue to run as smoothly as before not least to the untiring commitment of our staff: no matter what kind of individual measure was taken, they all pulled in the same direction to ensure maximum safety for themselves and the whole Güntner family. We will continue to do everything we can to ensure their safety, our operating ability and on-time delivery to you.

 

Editor: Amy Ge