Detmold Group Coronavirus Update
February 25, 2020
The Detmold Group is committed to keeping its customers, staff and stakeholders informed about the business impacts of the Coronavirus outbreak.
Product Supply
We are pleased to advise that the majority of Detmold staff in China have returned to work, and our China production facilities are fully operational. Key raw material suppliers are also unrestricted and our manufacturing operations have full capability and available capacity.
Travel restrictions, freight delays and some minor product lines still require management, however for the most part Detmold Group customers should experience minimal disruption.
Product Safety and Security
Health authorities continue to reinforce that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) does not pose a risk of infection through products or food. Therefore control measures remain focused on people to people contact and hygiene practices.
Safety of our People
The Detmold Group is continuing its elevated vigilance in sanitation and hygiene as well as restricting travel to minimize the risk of exposure.
Should you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact your Detmold, Detpak or PaperPak business manager.
Regards
Detmold Global Coronavirus Response Team
Detmold Group Coronavirus Update
February 18, 2020
The Detmold Group is committed to keeping its customers, staff and stakeholders informed about the business impacts of the Coronavirus outbreak.
Product Supply
The dedicated and professional efforts of our China Management and Operations team have enabled production levels in the Heshan facilities to continue to increase over the past week. The Detmold Group dispatched over 50 containers of product for export in the past 7 days, so the majority of our local and export customers should experience minimal disruption or delays.
Supply issues are being experienced in specific instances due to particular materials or capabilities being impacted. The categories most at risk are paper bowls and lids, some plastic cold cups and lids, bespoke plastics, premium gift packaging, bagasse & PLA lined cartons. The timelines for resumption of normal operations for these ranges will vary, and we will therefore continue to explore contingency plans as this situation evolves.
Travel restrictions within China and globally are affecting businesses. The introduction of 14 day isolation measures and increased vigilance and controls on people movements between Chinese provinces, as well as China and overseas destinations, is creating some delays to delivery, shipping and customs clearance.
The Detmold Group has been able to assist some businesses who have not been able to access product from other suppliers. We will continue to support our customers in the first instance, and will seek to also assist other businesses with supply from our fully owned facilities in Vietnam, Indonesia, China, the Philippines, India and Australia.
Product Safety and Security
Health authorities continue to report that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) does not pose a risk of infection through products or food. Therefore control measures remain focused on people to people contact and hygiene practices.
Safety of our People
The Detmold Group continues to be vigilant in ensuring the health and welfare of our staff. We are monitoring and restricting people movements both internationally and within China and ensuring heightened sanitation and hygiene practices are maintained in all facilities.
Should you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact your Detmold, Detpak or PaperPak business manager.
Regards
Detmold Global Coronavirus Response Team
Detmold Group Coronavirus Update
February 11, 2020
The Detmold Group is committed to keeping its customers, staff and stakeholders informed about the business impacts of the Coronavirus outbreak.
Product Supply
Detmold operations have received Chinese Government approval to scale up partial manufacturing operations in Heshan from today, to support both local and export customer requirements. We have commenced dispatching export containers to port & are looking forward to receiving confirmation of ship sailings in the coming days.
Product Safety and Security
A number of countries have stipulated that products exported from China must be outside of China for at least 14 days before containers can be unloaded to their ports. This is causing some shipping delays within Asia, but the full effect is still to be determined. Most of Detmold’s raw material suppliers in China are in production so the short-term outlook is for manufacturing outputs to continue to build over the next few weeks.
Restrictions in travel within China are complicating the road transport of goods between provinces. This represents some risk in the timeliness of domestic China logistics.
Safety of our People
Stringent controls on people movements, sanitation and hygiene are in place throughout China. We have implemented many of the same practical control steps within other Detmold manufacturing sites, and travel controls and heightened health checks are in place across our business globally.
Should you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact your Detmold, Detpak or PaperPak business manager.
Regards
Detmold Global Coronavirus Response Team
Detmold Group Coronavirus Update
February 3, 2020
The Detmold Group is committed to keeping its customers, staff and stakeholders informed about the business impacts of the Coronavirus outbreak.
In our last communication we highlighted that we had sought Government approval to re-commence manufacturing operations in China prior to the February 10th extended shut down as instigated by the Government. That approval was granted and we have already resumed production on multiple machines to support customer requirements. Detmold China operations will remain scaled down until the situation changes to reduce the number of staff on site and minimise the risk for our people and the community.
Product Safety and Security
The World Health Organisation issued a statement on 1st February via Twitter confirming that packages and objects from China are safe, and stating “we know coronaviruses do not survive long on objects, such as letters or packages.” They also confirmed that “People receiving packages from China are not at risk of contracting #2019nCoV”. The focus is therefore centered on people’s health and ensuring the spread of the virus through human to human contact is contained.
Safety of our People
In our China manufacturing operations, we are ensuring full compliance with any government agreed guidelines, for example all staff and visitors are subject to daily temperature checks, medical face masks are issued every 4 hours to everyone on site, and any staff that are able to operate remotely are instructed to work from home until further notice. The Government sanitation requirements for manufacturing during this high risk period are extensive and subject to daily inspections and audits, all of which have been successfully passed by Detmold’s China operations.
We are also providing additional support to the team in China who have been overseeing the stringent requirements.
Supply Security
With restrictions in travel and general manufacturing there remains a risk of future supply interruptions. Whilst daily updates have confirmed that key raw material suppliers are in production, Detmold’s China operations have access to all the services, staff and processes required and export ports are open for business, there are indications that shipping and ground transport will be affected in the coming weeks. Detmold Group has activated contingency plans to transfer the manufacture of some key export items to its Vietnam, Indonesia and Australian plants, and daily monitoring of the situation by a cross functional global team, and detailed daily demand reviews ensure that we are protecting our customer’s packaging supply chains. With pre-qualified material grades from non-China sources, our other operations are not facing immediate supply or operating risks. The China and global cross border control measures will impact shipping and container availability in coming weeks and months, however the real impact of that is not yet clear.
As previously stated the Detmold Group has been operating in China for over 25 years, and our team on the ground has done an excellent job in protecting our staff and supplying our customers through this difficult period. Should you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact your Detmold, Detpak or PaperPak business manager.
Regards
Detmold Global Coronavirus Response Team
Detmold Group response to Coronavirus
January 28, 2020
There is currently significant global attention focused on the Coronavirus in China. Detpak has been manufacturing and operating in China for over 25 years, and we have a large team of loyal employees, based mainly in the Heshan and Shanghai districts. These areas are positioned well away from the Hubei province, where the virus emerged.
We are pleased to confirm that to date our China staff are all healthy and none have been infected by the virus. Our priority remains ensuring the health and welfare of our people and assisting our customers through this challenging time.
As part of the Chinese Government’s quarantine efforts, the Chinese New Year Holiday period has been prolonged nationally, with a compulsory return to work date extended initially to February 3rd. This date has now been extended to 10th February in some areas, and we are awaiting a response to our application for exemption to re-commence manufacturing on the 3rd February, given that we are a food related enterprise. Provided we are granted permission to commence operations on the 3rd of February we expect minimal impact on supply. There is however still some potential risk of disruption in local transport and export activities.
We have triggered contingency plans in case we need to leverage our manufacturing footprint across Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia, the Philippines and India to address supply needs. Whilst there are currently no forecasted supply shortfalls from the situation, we are monitoring all developments closely.
We can also confirm that there is no known risk to the quality and safety of our products from this virus. Our raw material suppliers and manufacturing operations are outside of the quarantined provinces and do not present any risk of carrying or spreading the virus.
Government quarantine guidelines have restricted the movement of product and people in certain regions in China and Detpak is working with China customers to assist them where their warehousing or transportation are affected. If the Government mandated return to work is further delayed, or quarantine measures extended, we will keep you fully informed and do everything possible to ensure continuity of supply.
Should you have any further questions in this regard please do not hesitate to contact your Detpak business manager.
Regards,
Alf Ianniello
Chief Executive Officer