Dear customers and partners,
First and foremost , I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy . Following-up on my last message, I would like to update you on how Hillebrand is coping with the crisis that has by now reached a global scale. The outbreak of coronavirus is not only having a human impact, but a massive effect on the economy worldwide, and also on global trade.
At Hillebrand, ensuring the health and well-being of our employees, their families and supporting our customer’s needs remain our number one priority . Therefore, we are taking all the necessary measures to keep our employees safe and your goods moving with the minimum amount of disruption. Despite the many challenges we are facing, our organization is fully operational, even with the vast majority of our office-based employees working from home. In the interest of easing your logistics, we encourage you to make full use of our available digital platforms, such as myHillebrand to get global visibility on your quotes, shipments, invoices and inventory and receive push notifications when you need.
Although our organization is running smoothly , most governments worldwide have established some form of lockdown, which forces us to face disruptions outside of our control. Our teams will proactively reach out to you and provide alternative solutions if any unexpected delays occur. Whether you may need to pull some orders forward, warehouse repositioning, expediting smaller quantities through our groupage or airfreight services, or providing insulation protection as an alternative to reefer containers to safeguard your cargo from thermal shocks and possible contamination. Whatever the issue is, we are determined to support you through these unprecedented times.
Hillebrand is currently collaborating with several local initiatives around the world to support the communities we operate in. In the past few weeks we have shipped 80,000 masks from China to France, 80,000 liters of alcohol from Scotland to Wales for the production of sanitizer, and delivered 70,000 liters of hydro alcoholic gel to Niagara, Canada; these are only a few examples of how crucial our role is at keeping the supply chain running.
Now more than ever, we understand the importance of keeping goods moving and the value of our continuous team effort to ensure the supply chain keeps on going. Hillebrand’s expertise plays a key role in supporting the entire system, especially when any given cargo could contain crisisessential material. Only by working together will we be able to overcome this situation, sooner rather than later.
Finally , we wish to personally thank you for your ongoing support and loyalty . As previously stated, we will continue to keep you updated on our website regarding the operational disruptions in most affected areas.
I hope you, your colleagues and families are staying safe and healthy,
Cees van Gent
CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board
