Southwire recently released a statement to its customers regarding the COVID-19 outbreak:
At Southwire, the health and well-being of our employees, our customers, our communities and all of our stakeholders is a top priority. As such, I’d like to provide you an update on our response to the current coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Our efforts as a company focus on reducing risk of exposure and keeping everyone as safe as possible, while at the same time providing the leading products and service you expect from Southwire.
Since COVID-19 first appeared in December, we’ve had a special appointed team of Southwire leaders from across our business meeting regularly to proactively manage our response. This team is monitoring the situation very closely, utilizing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), World Health Organization and other international and local health authorities. We are working diligently to ensure we are ready to respond in the event of any potential impact to Southwire.
Our business continues to operate, and, at this time, there have been no major interruptions to our business as a result of the virus. We are in contact with our suppliers and are working to prioritize pending orders and work in process, as well as investigating alternative sources of supply and assessing our safety stock of inventory.
Currently, we believe any impact we might experience in the coming weeks due to tightness in our supply chain would be minimal. However, we remain proactive and will continue the following preventative measures:
- Restricting all non-essential work travel
- Limiting on-site visits from external parties
- Ensuring compliance with CDC guidelines by vendors and contractors
- Implementing remote work for employees where possible
- Postponing all job site trainings and temporarily closing our Thorn Customer Solutions Center
- Instituting additional sanitization of frequently touched areas in all our facilities
- Providing employees with additional hand sanitizer and information on best practices for health and wellness
- Encouraging our employees to stay home and seek medical attention if they are sick
- Waiving our attendance policy for COVID-19 related absence
- Asking employees not to attend large trade shows, conferences or similar large events
- Refining and strengthening our business continuity plans to mitigate any potential impact
As the situation evolves, we are committed to keeping you updated on our actions and the steps we are taking to help keep us all safe. If you have specific questions, please reach out to your Southwire representative.
Thank you for your business and continued support.
Rich Stinson
President and CEO