Page 162 - PCMI Journal December 2020

COVID-19 Group Discussion — Impact on Business
Michael Lynch United Western Enterprises
Mike Lynch noted that he is mostly working at home now, which he never would have done in the past. Even when he goes to the office, he noted that he interacts with people who are wearing masks and socially distanced.
Mike Soble Chemcut Corporation
Mike Soble reported that his discussion team consisted of metal supplies, equipment manufacturers and etchers.
All noted that they had endured some lockdowns challenges, but as exempt businesses, they have continued to work throughout the pandemic.
He and his staff miss the impromptu meetings and conversations that occurred in the hallways before COVID-19. Plus, people no longer meet in the cafeteria for meals at his company, so social interaction is limited.
Mike noted that a significant challenge for his and other US companies was the additional government payments that those on unemployment assistance received. He said that this infusion of extra money was difficult to compete with because some made more money not working.
This group noted that sales for the last few years were outstanding and even at the start of the pandemic, there was an upturn in sales for medical products, mainly ventilators.
Those sales have since leveled off, and since medical procedures in general have been postponed, related product development has stalled. While this is not yet catastrophic, current production is down across the industry.
Mike noted that his group is also challenged by the cancelation or postponement of sales calls because of travel restrictions His staff is not only wearing masks, but also walking one way down reconfigured aisles to maintain social distancing.
He also noted that people are not getting sick with colds or minor cases of the flu. Moving forward,
the continued practice of washing hands and the changes in personal hygiene may make for a healthier workforce.
Mike summarized how COVID-19 affected his company, noting that total production shut down for three months. They then split their workforce into two teams and changed the work hours from five, eight-hour shifts to four, ten-hour shifts to accommodate social distancing protocols.
Everyone in this group has people working at home. While the etching companies indicate that business is back to normal, the suppliers have suffered a slowdown because of reduced capital equipment purchases. On the other hand, there is hope that pent up demand will increase business next year.
One attendee noted that their company had created a crisis team during the pandemic, which focused
on communication and reacting quickly to rapidly changing industry situations. Others split their workforce to ensure that the entire employee base did not contract COVID-19 at the same time.
This group also noted that training new employees remotely poses a challenge. Overall, there is a feeling of losing team spirit because of the separation imposed by remote working environments.
Mike noted that some remote workers are lonely. Others have received hazard pay because they worked during a dangerous timeframe. Also, the United States and European government-funded programs did help their respective economies.
Issue 136 December 2020 PCMI Journal 162