A message from our CEO regarding COVID-19
This post was originally published on March 13, 2020. It has been updated with more information and details surrounding the Primex Family of Companies' procedures around COVID-19.
Each day we are learning new information about COVID-19 and how it's impacting the communities where we live and work.
Beginning March 16, 2020, Primex Family of Companies (PFOC) has instituted "social distancing" for our employees. Every employee that can work remotely is doing so. For those employees that are unable to work remotely, we created a small crew on-site and encourage distance from one another to prevent the spread of germs, flu or COVID-19. We've provided prevention education to all associates, and advise them to stay home if they are not feeling well, or if circumstances might encourage them to do so, and to seek medical attention if they have symptoms.
We have created a COVID-19 Task Force to make sure that we are considering all internal and external factors as we decide how to handle the next few weeks as it impacts our employees, customers, visitors, and family members. Here is our current list of initiatives:
1. We have been sanitizing all surfaces throughout our premises every evening and will continue that practice.
2. We have put a hold on all international travel; and domestic business travel is restricted.
3. Employees are not permitted to attend trade shows or large group events.
4. Face-to-face meetings are replaced with video conferences.
5. Visitors are restricted at all PFOC buildings in Lake Geneva.
Like many manufacturers, PFOC receives components from a variety of local, national, and international sources. Because the COVID-19 virus has various surface life spans from one to seven days, we have instituted a quarantine policy for all shipments to assure our partners and customers our shipment containers and products are virus-free. Most products that are shipped in containers via sea take at least 30 days to arrive, which is well beyond the maximum seven-day life span on any surface. In instances where products are shipped inside the United States or via air, they are placed in a mandatory quarantine area at PFOC for ten days.
Finally, we have established an interdisciplinary sales and operations response team to identify, assess and manage the risk to the supply of materials and parts necessary to maintain production and quality for our valued customers and has been in place since early February. We are proactively working across the value chain with our supply chain partners to determine inventory levels, what potential components/parts may be or become in short supply, and what actions the suppliers are taking to prepare for potential disruption. We are well-positioned in the supply chain and are taking all prudent steps to mitigate risks and negative impacts from the coronavirus upon our customers.
We are assessing the situation daily, and we will continue to follow the guidelines set by the CDC and local health departments.