Over the last days I have been overwhelmed with questions and messages from our dealers, customers, partners and suppliers, who are checking how we are coping with the lockdown.
So let me first say: luckily, everyone at our Italian 3T head office & factory is safe.
We have 2 people in self-quarantine and almost everyone works from home. We have taken measures to ensure the safety of everyone at the company. To keep a sense of normality, we start every day with a hangout call at 9.00, where we all share what we plan to achieve during that day. The spirit is positive and we work all really well together. Everyone is trying to help the other to move forward and to support each other also at an emotional level.
In the last days we have also had to face some very sad news. The grandmother of one of our colleagues and the father-in-law of another colleague passed away due to the Corona virus. Our hearts go out to our colleagues for their losses and for having to deal with this in solitude. It is heart warming to see how the team is supporting each other, both at work and also in private to get through this difficult period.
Italy has rapildy become the epicenter of the global Corona virus outbreak. Especially Bergamo, located in the Lombardia region and the place of our Italian head office & factory, is heavily impacted. The number of people who died in our city and the villages around is staggering, hospitals are totally overwhelmed and we constantly hear the ambulances passing by.
In the picture below you can see one of our ambassadors (Nicolo) who has planned all Jeroboam Franciacorta routes the last years. Other than an avid gravelist, he is also a doctor. He and his team are currently working day and night to save lives: they deserve a big applause for the work they are doing. Here you can see them as they just received some well-deserved pizza from the local restaurant.
Many of you have offered support and asked ‘how can we help’. And honestly the best way to help is to give us sense of normality; keep riding your bikes, keep ordering the Exploro and Strada. Edi & I (I’m not allowing anybody else to come into our office/warehouse) will be happy to ship out your orders. Nothing like packing and moving boxes all day to keep your mind off the situation. And of course our US warehouse still ships too.
We will continue to operate and this week we will even be launching some new bikes. We weren’t sure if we should or not, but we really have no choice. This region of Italy is not only the epicenter of Corona but also its industrial epicenter, and although there are some big companies like Fiat, Pirelli and Brembo, the core here are small family companies like 3T.
Just doing nothing for a few months isn’t an option for small companies; our responsibility is to keep our employees safe but also employed. And so day-by-day we figure out the best way to do that.
We will also shortly announce an initiative to support the local hospitals financially in collaboration with a few other bike companies.
During this last week all childeren sitting at home have been invited to make a colorful drawing, and show this in front of their house. The text on all drawings reads:
Pensiamo positivo, andrà tutto bene (Let us think positive, everything will be fine).
Thank you and best of luck to everybody out there who is affected.