01.04.2020
A message from Wilo (IRL) Managing Director- Derek Elton:
With Ireland now in full ‘lockdown’ mode for the coming weeks, we wish to reassure you that Wilo Ireland, in partnership with our close colleagues at Wilo UK and Wilo SE group Germany, will give top priority to the safety and wellbeing of both our team and customers during this time.
We are very grateful to our suppliers, service partners and distributors for their valued support as we work together to keep Ireland’s water flowing during the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
Proactive Preparation
We have been preparing for a potential crisis of this magnitude for some time, well before the Covid-19 pandemic was declared. Last year we began to assess risk should a global crisis take place and how this would impact production and service at Wilo. Following our research, we instigated numerous precautionary measures including flexible manufacturing across our various production sites to enable us to move the production of some components between factories. In addition, stocks have been de-centralised where possible to support continuity of both production and delivery/logistics.
We specifically created the Wilo Corona Task Force in early January when the issue of Covid-19 was emerging with significance in China. The Task Force quickly reviewed the potential risk to our people, production facilities and supply chains with measures put in place to protect our people as a priority. To date, there have been no confirmed cases of Covid-19 across the 900+ Wilo employees in China.
As Coronavirus has spread across the world, the Task Force and subsequent contingency planning has been integral in ensuring we as a business are prepared as much as we possibly can for the pandemic.
We not only have available stock and manufacturing capability for some time ahead, but our IT infrastructure has allowed us to continue providing our high level of service; from remote working for our office-based teams to utilising the ‘Wilo-Live Assistant’, a web-based remote support tool that puts a Wilo Engineer in direct and live contact with the end-user via live video link.
In addition, as a sign of our gratitude and support, the Executive Board of Wilo SE is making significant donations to a Wilo solidarity fund set up specifically to help our teams exposed to particular risk during the Corona crisis.
Corporate Responsibility
In addition to our pumps now serving temporary Covid-19 test centres, such as Croke Park and Parc Ui Chaoimh, thousands of our pumps installed over 40 years in Ireland are located in government buildings and HSE sites. From hospitals, nursing homes, Garda Stations, prisons, Department of Defence facilities, and residential multi-occupancy accommodation blocks, our pumps provide essential drinking water, waste management and heating/cooling systems.
It is our responsibility in this time of crisis to continue providing our services in Ireland, with these locations as our top priority. We’d like to thank our logistics partner who continues to operate a full delivery service, recognising Wilo’s role in keeping Ireland’s water flowing in these key sites.
In the face of this adversity, we feel it is important to stand shoulder to shoulder with our market partners to collectively ensure that the nation’s basic services are provided as the situation continues to evolve.
The Wilo organisation is very well placed to mitigate risks, proactively manage the challenges and protect our people and our customers as we look to the future positively.
From us all at Wilo, stay safe and take care and we will continue to keep the water flowing.
Derek Elton
Managing Director, Wilo (Ireland)