March 13, 2020 – On Jan. 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) is a public health emergency of international concern. Consequently, public authorities throughout the world have taken precautionary measures to limit the spread of the virus.
Northern Metal Fab is deeply concerned about our employees, our customers, and our suppliers, and we have implemented preemptive policies and procedures. In particular, Northern Metal Fab employees are limited to travel for essential services only and are requesting clearance from our clients on a case-by-case basis before any planned visit.
Additionally, all visitors to our facilities must be scheduled in advance. While onsite, interactions with our employees will be limited to only those necessary and conducted from an appropriate distance. We are restricting visitors to essential functions required by our projects. These functions are primarily related to inspections by customers and their third-party inspectors and any assembly work performed on Northern Metal Fab’s premises by our customers. All third-party personnel must be accompanied by a customer representative unless agreed to in advance.
We are monitoring this situation closely and working very hard to maintain schedules for all new and existing orders. We are in constant communication with our supply chain to evaluate and mitigate any potential delays. Unfortunately, the full impact of this situation on the world market, the economy, and our supply chain is not yet known.
While we expect that this will negatively impact Northern Metal Fab’s ability to deliver equipment, products, and/or services, we consider these delays to be due to an extraordinary situation resulting from factors that are clearly outside of our control – a Force Majeure event. The intent of this notice is to be forthright and candid as a partner on your project, and we remain cautiously optimistic that delays from the pandemic will be minimal.
As soon as we are aware of any impacts to your specific project, we will communicate with you promptly. We are truly concerned about this situation and its resulting impacts. Most of all, we hope that your families and employees are safe as we move forward in the face of these uncertainties.
Stay safe.
John Hehre
Northern Metal Fab President