Business In Time of COVID-19

As many of our readers will have learned by now, Italy has been heavily impacted in the past few days by the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, especially within three regions in the North: Lombardia, Veneto and Emilia Romagna. Perhaps not surprisingly, given the number of business people traveling daily in these areas, the three regions are Italy’s main clusters for several industries including mechanics, electronics, and hydraulics to name just a few.

An area of 10 local communities in Lombardia, around the town of Codogno, has been completely isolated and all activities within the area have been stopped.

Codogno is the headquarter of a company our publications are quite familiar with: MTA, a renowned supplier of electromechanical and electronic products for main OEMs in automotive and off-highway markets.

MTA’s manufacturing plant in Codogno, which employs about 600 workers, is closed since Monday 24 February until a date still to be defined.

On that same day, the company has issued an official note saying that this closure represents an important damage for the company that serves main OEMs globally. MTA said that, not delivering their components will cause the stop of production lines at several manufacturer of passenger cars and off-highway vehicles.

MTA, with the utmost respect for initiatives aimed at limiting the spread of the virus, has officially asked to the relevant authorities to be able to allow 10% of its workforce (approximately 60 people) to return to production activities. The return would take place on a large covered area of 40 000 square meters and subject to daily verification of the health status of each worker, with regards to the symptoms and signs of COVID19.

MTA has already dealt with the virus emergency in its Chinese production plant in Shanghai, and therefore knows all the procedures necessary to continue producing in total safety of its workers.

A phone call this morning with MTA’s Marketing Manager, Maria Vittoria Falchetti, confirmed that the authorities have not yet replied to this request either way.