Italian Companies Maintain Production During Lockdown

As Italy continues to battle the spread of COVID-19, a disease caused by the coronavirus that has infected more than 9,000 people in the country, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced on Monday that travel would be restricted across the country and public gatherings are now prohibited. Schools are closed and the country’s 60 million people will only be able to travel for work, medical reasons or emergencies until April 3, 2020. Several Italian glass industry companies are making an effort to prevent the spread of the virus while maintaining production.

“Italy has been severely hit by the Covid-19 epidemic. [It is] a healthcare emergency that we have confronted by adopting all the appropriate safety procedures to protect our employees and technicians working in our production facilities, as well as our commercial partners and customers,” says a statement from OmniDecor, based in Mosciano Sant’Angelo, Italy.

The company has encouraged working from home and has put into place strong measures to protect its employees. Truck drivers entering the company’s facility are required to wear appropriate masks and gloves.

“This allows us to ensure both uninterrupted production and order delivery. Our salespeople, both national and international, will follow up with customers via phone or email, as meeting in person is not safe at the moment,” reads the statement. “Thanks to the consciousness and collaboration of all of us, OmniDecor is open with [its] regular schedule of activity and production, and since there [are] no restrictions to goods circulation, we will continue to operate in safety. As ever, we are committed to doing even better what we love to do: to transform the best creative ideas into the best products.”

Biesse Group, headquartered in Pesaro, Italy, has strengthened measures to ensure the safety of its employees, customers and those interacting with the company, according to a company statement.

“At the same time, [Biesse Group] has drawn up an extraordinary back-up plan for strategic functions that ensures the regular shipments of spare parts and machines and the performance of all service and technical assistance activities aimed at ensuring business continuity for its customers worldwide,” reads the statement. “Operational measures have also been implemented, including remote collaboration and incentives for the use of video conferencing, in order to guarantee the performance of all commercial activities and support to the sales network. These allow Biesse Group to work synergistically and in an integrated manner with the group’s 39 branches and our dealers worldwide.”

The group has guaranteed the continued operation of its headquarters, Italian offices and worldwide subsidiaries.

“It does so with a great sense of responsibility and full confidence in the national health service, civil protection and the competent authorities, but above all with the cooperation of all Biesse Group personnel who will adopt the necessary behaviors and precautions in compliance with health regulations,” reads the statement. “The group will continue to communicate the Management Committee’s main decisions regarding COVID-19. It will do this both internally and externally and in total transparency, [with the] intention to protect employees and anyone interacting with the group worldwide.”

Salem Distributing Co., which partners with Italian machinery company Bovone, tells USGNN™ that Bovone will continue production.

“There should be no interruptions in the supply of parts, machinery and wheels. We are increasing our inventory, as we normally begin to do around this time in preparation of the summer ‘shut down,’ but do not feel that customers need to stockpile beyond normal inventory levels,” says Salem CEO Mike Willard. “This may cause quick depletion of current U.S. inventory levels and thus cause future delivery delays.”