LCI Industries has announced that it will temporarily suspend production at select manufacturing facilities across the U.S. and Europe, effective various days through the end of the week, due to COVID-19.
The temporary suspension of production is on a plant by plant basis, consistent with government mandates or due to customer closures. Production at facilities, which are considered essential, will continue, utilizing reduced staff in conjunction with heightened cleaning and sanitization processes.
“As the impact of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic continues, we are suspending production at certain manufacturing facilities, with 15 of our sites anticipated to remain open after the end of the week,” said Jason Lippert, LCI president and CEO. “We have also implemented a number of actions to ensure we are adhering to guidelines set forth by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We are monitoring the situation closely and are poised to promptly re-start production at closed facilities as soon as OEM and dealer partners see a less restricted consumer environment.”
“Our team’s ability to come together and react quickly to increasing regulatory mandates and production suspensions by our key customers is a testament to the strength of LCI as an organization and the culture we have built,” said Ryan Smith, LCI Industries’ senior VP of operations. “I could not be prouder of the extraordinary effort from our executive leadership to the men and women leading on the front lines of our operations.”
In the meantime, Lippert Components has partnered with Beacon Health System and Saint Joseph Medical Center to donate 1,000 masks for medical staff members.
Surgical gowns for the interiors division also are in production.
“While we had a strong start to the first quarter, the uncertainties around the ultimate impact of COVID-19 are not clear at this point. As a result, we are making quick and prudent changes to the business to ensure we remain nimble as an organization to mitigate downside risk in a lower demand environment,” said Lippert. “We believe that our cash flow generation capabilities, coupled with a strong and flexible balance sheet, supported by current cash on hand and available borrowings on our existing revolving credit facility of approximately $240 million, will enable us to enhance our position as the leader in the various markets we serve during these difficult times.
“I remain extremely confident in our team’s ability to operate efficiently through this crisis,” he added. “This leadership team has been together more than 20 years and has a proven ability to navigate challenging operating environments, such as 9/11 and the 2008 Great Recession. In those times, we have always emerged faster and stronger than our supply side peers. Rest assured, we are taking the necessary steps to protect our team members, provide excellent support for our customers and dealers, and preserve long-term value for our shareholders.”