Dear customers,

As promised, this is to update you on the current situation at Jacobi Carbons and the way we are managing the consequences of the Corona crisis, making sure our people are safe and that we serve you the best way we can. We believe that it is important to keep you updated regularly, as the situation is very dynamic, and communication is key to find solutions for the joint challenges we are facing. That is why I will continue my weekly updates until the situation has “normalised” again.

Asia
As you know, most of our production plants are in Asia. Our sites in India, Sri Lanka, China, Vietnam, the Philippines and Japan work closely together to make sure that we secure supply, within the strict constraints imposed by the local authorities, and the need to protect our employees.

 

India

• As the number of corona-cases continue to grow in India, the country wide lockdown is likely to continue after May 3rd. Having said that, certain activities will have to be allowed for the country to function and to allow daily workers to earn their living.
• In Tamil Nadu (the State where both our plants are located) the restrictions continue, the social tension is high and the charcoal supply chain has not restarted yet. A total local lockdown of the major cities was just announced for 26-29 April and will impact our plant in Coimbatore; we will continue to operate at a minimum level with our staff on site as no transport is allowed during this period.
• Right now, we are running limited operations and aim to sustain and stabilise current operations as the situation remains fragile.

 

Sri Lanka

• A country-wide curfew continues in Sri Lanka is going on, with Colombo and Nattandiya remaining among the most sensitive cities. We expect the situation to remain the same in May.
• We are running a skeleton operation with limited staff.
• Transport has improved, but the charcoal supply chain is still not operating.
• Also in Sri Lanka, we aim to sustain and stabilise current operations as the situation remains fragile.

 

The Philippines
Fortunately, there is no staff left in preventive quarantine. Still, community lockdowns continue in multiple regions and cities in the Philippines, like Davao. The main challenge remains charcoal availability.

 

Vietnam
The situation in Vietnam is well controlled. The self-isolation policy has ended as there were no new corona-cases this past week. Our plant in Vietnam is running normally.

 

China
Our plant in China is 100% operational. Public holidays are coming up and we are taking a very careful approach, advising our workforce to stay home for the holidays.

 

Malaysia
Lock down is extended and all team members of our Global Shared Service Center are still working from home.

 

EMEA
In most countries, preparations are being made to relax the lockdown situation. In the course of May, we expect business to increase gradually although some restrictions will still remain and will hinder our operations and logistics.

• Italy: preparations are undertaken to relax the lock down. In May, we expect to gradually increase operations.
• Germany; reactivation is expected to be interrupted due to supply transportation disruptions from outside Germany.
• France: preparations are undertaken to initiate field service work again, to start feeding the reactivation kilns.
• Our locations in Spain, the UK and Sweden are operational.

 

USA
Our production facility and warehouse operations remain fully operational.

 

“In all countries where we operate, we keep close relationships with the local authorities and communities. This enables us to work closely with them to help contain the spread of the virus and continue our operations in a safe manner. Overall, we are well-positioned to manage this difficult period and are preparing ourselves for a “new normal”. Our plants work closely together to back each other up. I am proud of our teams keeping up the work of serving our customers. We have a great team of people and a very robust supply chain. We can do this together!

I would also like to thank our customers for the intensive cooperation and support we get to continue meeting needs, as we all work together through this challenging period.”

 

Stay safe.
Take good care.

 

 

 

 

Remko Goudappel CEO
Jacobi Carbons AB