Sabaf Group is a successful international reality whose constant mission has always been the balance between a high-level industrial activity, outstanding environment protection and quality of life and work. Therefore, also in this case, Sabaf’s first steps to face the emergency were aimed at protecting the health of employees in the various manufacturing units in Italy and in the world, starting from Chinese premises.
Nicola Belpietro, Executive Regional Sales Director of Sabaf, explains how they have done it: “First, we redesigned the entries to the company, to measure fever to all employees. According to the Chinese experience, too, we then defined measures and procedures to guarantee the highest safety: from the daily supply of masks, gloves and glasses, to the distancing of workstations, to environments’ sanitization at the end of each work shift. Moreover, we have reviewed the layout and the use modalities of changing rooms and of the canteen: arranging differentiated entries and exits, distancing personal cabinets and reducing the employees’ presence at each table to a single person”. Once reorganized the matters connected with the manufacturing world, we have also redevised offices’ activity, turning to smart working: employees have been enabled to work from remote, connecting with corporate servers and providing continuity to the service given to customers. Without forgetting the insurance aspect: “We have adopted an additional health insurance, specifically conceived for this situation, in favour of workers”, Belpietro in fact explains.
Thanks to its subsidiaries worldwide, Sabaf has always succeeded in supplying its customers abroad that have go on producing during the whole emergency.
“There are Countries that have never locked down, like United States, and others that have already started again, such as China – Belpietro explains- In any case, we have continued our supplies through our foreign factories, even when Italian plants stopped. We will see the impact, and we will understand its real extent, only in some months, when it will be clear how consumers will start buying again”.
The stop of many sectors caused by the emergency has implied notable changes in people’s routine, thus affecting the world of consumptions, of food purchases and the way of using them, too. Might this influence the market in the recovery phase for Sabaf? “In our sector, the so-called “revenge shopping” will not occur, probably, but it is clear that people, in this period of forced enclosure, have rediscovered the pleasure of cooking at home and of using the oven, a household appliance generally less exploited. This might result in the awareness of the need of replacing some household appliances”.
Meanwhile, Belpietro further explains, the forced stop can be an opportunity either to carry on designs and developments of products already in progress or to restart and upgrade those temporarily given up. This is what Sabaf has done, at the same time providing, where possible, and soliciting online updating courses.
Waiting for the recovery and the changes it will involve, as Nicola Belpietro explains: “The challenge is losing neither efficacy nor efficiency but on the contrary seizing cues of improvement to offer always something better and something more to our customers. Moreover, we believe it is essential to support the entire manufacturing chain. For this reason, we were among the first joining the initiative #iopagoifornitori by AIB (Associazione Industrie Bresciane) that binds the companies, participating on a volunteer basis, to comply with the payment terms established with suppliers, without modifying pre-existing agreements”.
