WJI June 2020 Feature Sample

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Covid-19. It’s here: now what?

It’s back to business

Meeting agenda: • review current suppliers • p lan for OSHA inspection • complete maintenance review of equipment • check with production on new customer specs • finalize Covid-19 safety • adjust flexible shift schedule

O F F I C I A L P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E W I R E A S S O C I AT I O N I N T E R N AT I O N A L

F E AT U R E

Meeting agenda: • review current suppliers • p lan for OSHA inspection • complete maintenance review of equipment • check with production on new customer specs • finalize Covid-19 safety • adjust flexible shift schedule

Covid-19:

It’s still here, now what?

There is no crystal ball or past similar conditions to turn to for companies grappling with Covid-19, so this feature presents a sense of the industry taken in the form of comments from manufacturers, webinar panelists, CRU commentary, two industry bodies, a personnel expert and, for an international perspective, the view from a Russian industry association.

What’s the industry pulse? Thoughts from some manufacturers WJI posed three questions to a range of manufacturers, ferrous and nonferrous, large and small. Below are their responses.

WJI: Tariffs, floods, material shortages and the like are all challenging but understandable problems: how confident are you when it comes to planning for the months, and possibly years, ahead? Are you likely to delay any big decisions?

This is a very pertinent question, as SDI La Farga is in the midst of an expansion right now, so the choice of continuing or delaying is real. What makes continuing an easy choice is that we have been planning for years, with a focus on what will make us stronger in good times and in bad. This expansion was designed to deliver long-term benefits to our company and our customers. That’s why it is important to maintain our focus even amid temporary challenges. Downturns are an opportunity for us to continue to improve and help our customers.

Kurt Breischaft, president, SDI La Farga.

At this time, we are focused on a shorter time horizon than normal. We’re evaluating our approach to the entire supply chain in order to ensure the safety of our employKurt Breischaft

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ees, customers and suppliers. Our team is quite confident that we’ll be able to navigate through these turbulent times.

Larger scope decisions, such as expansion, will be pushed into FY 2021. We will have additional factors to consider before reaching any final conclusions. We are moving forward with our strategic plan for this year which includes hiring new employees. These moves were already set in motion and we will continue on that path. Edward Boyle, president, Imperial Wire & Cable Co. The economic forecast for the next few months and into the next year is no doubt uncertain. As we look at how Southwire will respond, we are analyzing an extremely wide range of scenarios. Plans are being formulated for each, and we will implement as market conditions dictate.

As we participate in many different markets, we do not expect that each will behave the same. Thus, flexibility is also an important consideration for us. In the meantime, we are exercising caution, as much about Covid-19 is still unknown. Charlie Murrah, executive vice president of metals, Southwire.

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In March, long-term planning was a month out. Lately, it seems like long-term planning is this afternoon. Overall, I’m still very bullish on our industry, and I think we have a very bright future. However, like most I would think, we have delayed several big decisions until things return to normal, and we understand what normal is. Jack Miller, president/CEO, Liberty Wire Johnstown.

I don’t have confidence in planning ahead these days.

I do have confidence in a strong balance sheet and a high-performing team. We focus on variables we can influence and try to stay lean and flexible to respond to those

we can’t. Large investments are on hold. Jarrett Martin, president, MAR-MAC Industries, Inc. There is a saying “The only constant is change.” Our planning process includes constantly challenging our business model, so we are as ready as possible for changes that we can see coming. It also makes us nimble in our response to surprises, manmade and otherwise. Our big decisions are formed in that process, so if a big decision is delayed, it is for good reason and not out of fear or reaction. Ted Bill, president of Pelican Wire/CEO of Wire Experts Group.

W A I : O P E R AT I O N A L B E S T P R A C T I C E S C O V I D - 1 9 W E B I N A R

Excerpt #1: WAI’s 2nd program, 3 new presenters, tops record WAI’s May 6th webinar—a follow-up panel discussion also moderated by WAI President Jan Sørige—topped the April 8th webinar audience (206). Panelists included: Southwire V.P. Cable and Wire Tom Heberling, Mid-South Wire Co. V.P. and General Manager Andy Talbot, and Niehoff Endex North America Pres. & CEO Robert Wild. Below are edited excerpts. The webinar (free) is available at wirenet.org.

Sørige: For most of us, we’re probably sitting here wondering what is to come? Can you tell the audience how you are preparing, both for the short term and the future?

Number one is, we don’t know what we don’t know.

None of us does, so we recognize that, number one, we have to be nimble. We have to be able to adjust in real time. Then, we have to educate ourselves, and that includes our employees. Finally, we have to guard Tom Heberling against complacency. You get into the new normal, and you get comfortable, and that’s what we have to guard against as a company. I align this with safety. We, as a company, have been on a safety journey. Our incident rate, as a company, is less than 1% now. It’s been a learning process, educating all of our employee base. I see the same thing here. We’ll continue protocols we have in place now, such as communication, temperature checks and social distancing sensitivity, and we’ll adjust as needed. Hopefully, that helps answer that short-term. Long-term, it’s forever adjustment.

Tom Heberling, Southwire.

We’re basically following the guidelines of the state of Tennessee. In different states, we are seeing some of our customers returning back to business. Going forward, we’re going to come up with some new policies. We’ve already started adopting some things that we feel will become more permanent, especially in the areas of expandW W W. W I R E N E T. O R G

ing our housekeeping efforts to focus on disinfecting. Also, without being overly invasive, being more attentive to the health of our fellow employees. If we see someone struggling with an illness, or something that could be contagious, we’llcheck and see if they need to work from home, or take a different approach, rather than spreading something in the facility. I think that’s something all of us will be more cognizant of going forward. We see Tennessee opening up. I’ve seen my hour commute to work drop to in as little as 23 minutes, but I’ve seen traffic get heavier as more people go to work, and I’m hoping that will translate to a resurgence in our economy. Andy Talbot, Mid-South Wire Co. First, we know that the foundations of our company are strong. We will continue to be a reliable employer and a solid business partner. Overall, we are hoping for the best, are prepared for the worst, and we are unsurprised by anything in-between. Whatever some overly optimistic politicians tell us, we will not immediately follow without hearing from the medical experts. As a minimum basis, we follow the guidelines from the New Jersey state legislation, which is restrictive compared to other states. What is also important is the market outlook. As a machine manufacturer, we depend on the growth in wire and cable demand, paired with a positive investment climate to facilitate any investments. We analyze the different markets, by region and product, and for each develop a worst-case scenario, a best-case scenario and what is the most probable scenario.

Out of this process, we try to prepare our company for the workload of the upcoming years! Robert Wild, NENA.

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