Commited to our workers and clients
At CMPC we are committed to continue our production chain to supply society with all those products derived from cellulose that today, more than ever, are of first need for people. None of this would be possible without the commitment and effort of all those workers who continue to operate in the plants. To all of them, thank you very much!
At Empresas CMPC we are concerned and constantly monitoring the sanitary alarm situation that the world is experiencing as a result of the risk of contagion of the so-called Coronavirus (COVID-19).
As a global and interconnected company, at CMPC we have taken on the dual challenge of caring for our workers and responding to demand for our products, so we are committed to maintaining the company’s productive capacity in all countries where we are present.
The continuity of our operations is of utmost importance, since the products we manufacture – such as cellulose, tissue products, cardboard, wood, among others – are key to the elaboration of articles that are so necessary for society today, such as masks , diapers, toilet paper, food or medicine packaging, etc.
The company has deployed progressive internal management protocols since February to ensure full compliance with the recommendations of health authorities worldwide and locally. These protocols have been regularly updated.
In fact, preventively, we are taking steps to operate with as few people as possible, aware that minimizing the risk of exposure and contagion requires avoiding as much contact as possible between people.
The care and protection measures for the entire CMPC team, in all the countries where we operate, include the implementation of a home office for administrative personnel -a measure that has been carried out since March 16 and which has had very good results-, adequacy of operational shifts to minimize contact within our plants and implementation of protocols for cleaning, food and transport services.
Among the measures that have been taken in each plant are intense and permanent tasks of sanitation, control that conglomerations are avoided in public spaces, distance demarcations have been established to avoid physical contact between collaborators, an increase in the number of buses so that less people congregate within them, among others. New measures are constantly being analyzed to be incorporated and thus decrease the risk of contagion from the virus.
Without the daily work of all the collaborators who continue to work in the factories – under all the safety and hygiene measures imposed by the protocols – it would not be possible to continue the operations to maintain the productive chain at the service of society. To them, thank you very much!
Additionally, we have taken other precautionary measures that help minimize opportunities for contact with the virus. Domestic and international travel have been cancelled, privileging virtual meetings, either by phone or videoconference. Event attendance has also been suspended until further notice.
On the other hand, continuing with CMPC’s commitment to its neighbors, the company will take sanitary measures in the Chilean communes of Nacimiento, Laja, Los Angeles and Mulchén (Biobío region) and Villa Mininco in La Araucanía, such as disinfection in public spaces, entrances of health centers, entrances of the plants of the company, and in the busiest streets.
In addition, CMPC committed to the Biobío Intendency its former corporate building in the city of Los Angeles, so that it can be used as a field hospital for sick people without major complications, and thus help decongest the health centers of the Biobío province and allow more space and equipment for those who need to be hospitalized because they are infected with coronavirus.
To keep the company’s employees informed, CMPC’s CEO, Francisco Ruiz-Tagle, has conducted Dialogues via videoconference, accompanied by Dr. Carlos Pérez, dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the San Sebastian University, and specialist in infectious diseases, with collaborators of the plants in Osorno and Til-Til of Corrugados; Sack Kraft Chillán; Boxboard Maule and Valdivia (Biopackaging); Santa Fe, Laja, Pacífico, Plywood and Guaiba (Cellulose). This initiative will be repeated with workers from other plants.
In addition, from the Dialogues, the CEO visited CMPC Cellulose plants in southern Chile (Pacífico, Santa Fe and Plywood) to personally that the safety and hygiene measures are being complied, as well as he had some time to talk to the workers and to answer to their doubts or concerns.
The company remains very attentive to the evolution and impact of Coronavirus in the different markets where it operates, in order to generate the measures that allow to face this situation quickly and responsibly.
