Due to Covid-19 outbreak, Tadano has announced it will be temporarily halting production at its Lauf and Zweibrücken sites in Germany, highlighting that the main aim is to fulfil the Group’s responsibility towards society as a whole.
“The safety of our employees, customers and business partners is a top priority in Tadano’s company philosophy. In view of the current situation in which Covid-19 is uncontrollable, we must protect people’s health and hence the health of society as a whole and prioritise this above all else,” said Jens Ennen, CEO of Tadano Demag GmbH and Tadano Faun GmbH. He also thanked all Tadano employees who had approved a voluntary agreement stipulating a general company holiday in the last week of March.
“That will help us get production and support going again quickly with full staffing levels after the crisis, so that we will be able to catch up rapidly on the backlog. We very much appreciate this magnificent commitment by our workforce,” added Mr Ennen.
Short-time operations in April
Starting from 1 April 2020, Tadano will also implement short-time working hours for large parts of its sites in Lauf and Zweibrücken.
In its statement, the Group explained that the temporary cessation of production is unavoidable, because the international situation is increasingly leading to necessary deliveries failing to arrive and is also making the delivery of cranes considerably more difficult. Delays in delivery - of a length that is at present impossible to calculate - must therefore be expected. However, Tadano said it has introduced home working in many areas in order to maintain necessary business operations. Business trips, training and face-to-face meetings of all kinds are currently suspended until further notice to protect the health of employees and customers.
Tadano further mentioned that it will strive to maintain service and spare parts supply as far as possible. Most of the usual contacts will continue to be available to customers by telephone and email. However, there will be unavoidable restrictions on cross-border deliveries and service operations, and the Group is doing its utmost to minimise this disruption.
“The management team will continuously monitor developments and adapt its approach and business operations to the situation as it unfolds,” said Mr Ennen. He also stressed that the integration of Demag into the Tadano Group would continue to be pursued even in these difficult times. According to Tadano, this is a major strategic step for the Group, and the integration teams will remain focused on their tasks in order to emerge from the crisis in a stronger position to serve its customers.
“No one can yet foresee how the situation will develop and when we can return to normal operations. However, we are preparing ourselves to be fully available for our customers and ramp up production quickly, as soon as the situation changes,” said Mr Ennen.
Until then, the Tadano Group sincerely hopes that all of its employees, customers and business partners keep well and stay safe throughout the crisis.
