Well I hope they & other companies can survive this era in History.

Steve.

This whole miserable time is going to cascade for so many years. With companies going under & of course new enterprise starting up. It has happened a few times before has it not. Recessions etc.

Steve.

Sad times but understandable; but when you think about it where do all/most of their supplies come from… China !!

George.

Are they sending out orders recieved before they shut down?

I have no doubt that my reply will invoke the usual suspects ranting about "Elfin Safety" however.

Every business has a duty of care to all its employees, Part of the duty of care is the production of a risk assessment which considers how "an event" may impact either directly or indirectly on an employee or employer. I work for a company manufacturing large special purpose vehicles and on the face of it one would think we would be able to carry on as business as usual, but it isn't that simple.

Consider the basic advice offered by the Government and Medical advisers:-

1) Maintain 2m separation at all times.

2) Provide means of hand washing and sanitising.

3) Only continue to work if it is essential.

In the environment I work, the 2m separation cannot be maintained at all times – we have doors with no visibility panels – two persons could meet. Large components need two or more to handle, tools are used by more than one person, items need to be collected and delivered from stores, first aid needs to be provided, Washrooms would need rearranging, we would need to be sanitising constantly.

Is our work essential – in terms of the shareholders yes – in terms of the end users yes – but essential enough to put persons at risk? No.

Now although I have used ARC on numerous occasions and I must admit that I have never actually visited Ketan's premises, I have the greatest respect for him. Is model engineering equipment "essential" hardly. Will he be able to satisfy a realistic risk assessment? Hardly.

In the end, why expose himself or his staff to any potential risk?

I will now get my tin hat on, ready for a verbal onslaught!

Stay safe.

Grum

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Absolutely right. Commercial recovery can occur after damaging interruption, but it's Game Over for anybody croaking from the virus.

Yes, ARC will continue to process and dispatch all orders received before the site is shut down, to the best of our ability.

There may be a small handful of orders we may find difficult to execute for some reason, which we will come to know at time of execution. Those customers will be contacted, provided the reason, and such payment authorisations will be cancelled.

I have monitored the developments in China, carrying out pro-active discussions with our main suppliers since around the 20th of January this year, to date. I have watched, listened and learned from them. I have also consulted them on this subject, debated the various points mentioned above with myself, discussed this with my team, and came to the decision to close on Tuesday 31st March by midday. This will allow us enough time to deal with orders and all the issues involved with the closing procedure.

Ketan at ARC

I endorse that sentiment heartily!

Ketan,

Best wishes to you and all the staff at ARC from France where we are further into the infection curve than you guys. Hang in there and I'm sure I'll have a shopping list for you when you can re-open.

Russell

Hi Vic,

I totally understand where you are coming from.

In 1995, I travelled around in the Congo during the Ebola outbreak. I was the sales guy in a two man business – young and a little carefree. We sold bearings, textile fabric, related dyes, chemicals and textile machinery parts at the time. From 1994 to around 2004, it was a turbulent time dealing with challenging logistics resulting from the Rwandan genocide link and Ugandan and Rwandan wars in the region, in and around the town of Kisangani link where my main customer was located. Ebola still remains an issue in the region link

During the above period, I lost two friends from that region… both lost to AIDS rather than being shot dead or from Ebola. One died in Durban – South Africa, and the other at his home in U.K.. The guy from U.K. was a fabric printer with specialist knowledge who I had known for many years. Once he lost his job here, I helped him to get a job in the factory in Kisangani. Whilst he survived stray bullets and threats to his life, he and his second wife (who he met out there) lost their lives to AIDS. So there is some sadness in wondering what if ?… even though the decisions taken were his own.

I later travelled to China as a buyer, during the SARS outbreak, on a plane with only five passengers on-board. This time I was equipped with hand sanitisers, and 3M FFP3 face masks, visiting an almost empty exhibition. I had knocked on SIEGs door on previous occasions, only to be turned away politely. On this occasion, the General Manager agreed to supply goods to me. I wore a mask, he didn't. At the time, he shrugged and said what ever will be will be. At the time, I was now a sole trader – one man band.

Fast forward January 2020 to date, SIEG GMs and my thinking have developed, and our circumstances have changed. He and I are are both 16 years older than we were back then. We both have greater responsibilities to consider, to include the heath of our teams, their families, our families. Each one of us have to consider our own health too, explore the probabilities, weigh up the pros and cons, and make our own decision, regardless of how big or small a company is.

I am aware of the loss of business, as well as future uncertainty. I understand, respect and commend the other business owners decision to continue on his own. That is his personal decision to make… in the same way as I did from 1995 to 2004. At the same time, after reading the above, I hope you will understand some of the factors which I took into consideration to reach my decision.

Ketan at ARC