ICG Members (CONT’D FROM PAGE 1 )
travels home, it was obvious that everyone had been in contact with those at home and work and that plans were in the works for how their companies were going to cope with whatever was to come. By mid April, ICG members were adapting to the “new normal” in many ways. By this time it was readily apparent that their businesses were critical for a functional society during the COVID-19 crisis and deemed by the government as “essential businesses” allowing workers to travel empty streets and report to work. Some had to shut down for 24 to 48 hours to sanitize their facilities and get re-entry plans in place, which included taking employee’s temperatures prior to their entry into the building through a new, one- way traffic pattern. Staggered shifts were implemented to keep passing contact at a minimum and working compart- ments were designated with break rooms for each depart- ment, again to minimize contact and many office workers were shifted to working from home. Serving Customers As the country began hitting its stride adjusting to the challenges of working in various stages of social dis- tancing and quarantine, ICG members were busy serving the needs of their customers, many of which are supply- ing critical medical and food products. Outlook Group in Neenah, Wisconsin, were focused on meeting the spike in demand to deliver packaging for critical customers pro- ducing food for our homes and medical products, such as thermometers for our healthcare workers. “We have add- ed hourly workers, most of whom were laid off from local businesses, and added overtime to our schedules to meet the needs of critical customers,” said Jim Woller, Market Development Manager for Outlook Group. “As well, we’ve taken on first priority business from companies converting to the production of hand sanitizing products in our flexi- ble packaging and folding carton categories.”
In one of the hardest hit areas of the country, Accurate Box in Paterson, New Jersey, and its 300 employees were working hard to keep their customers, many in the club store food sector, supplied in critical packaging. “Many of our customers are struggling to manage their needs and many are ordering 30 percent more than normal while we are producing with many of our employees out due to the
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www.boardconvertingnews.com
May 18, 2020
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