As Raseiniai becomes a hotbed for coronavirus, the district’s biggest employer is concerned: We’re still holding out, we have some reserve

Part – always in self-isolation

Speaking about the pandemic and the very beginning of the quarantine, the businessman explained that the biggest problem for the business is and was the existing uncertainty.

“So you can’t plan anything and you feel like you’ve been thrown out of the way. “This uncertainty is for all companies, because market prices are also changing, and then the question of what help will be received,” he said.

J. Kenstavičius said he had heard from his partners in Germany and Belgium that the authorities in these countries invested a lot of money in the economy in an emergency situation and did everything possible to save the business.

“When we spoke to the Germans, they even said that there was competition between states that would help business more and would be there if there were problems.

As for Lithuania, something similar happened to us too. If we compare the old crisis, in 2007-2008, then there was a great shortage of money, and now those conditions are given to companies ”, evaluated the assistance of our government to companies.

At the beginning of the pandemic and quarantine, according to J. Kenstavičius, the most difficult thing for the company was dealing with the sudden problems caused by logistics.

“When Poland and other countries closed, it was an obstacle. We had difficulties to export our products because we have short expiration dates. It was in this place from the beginning, we had a problem, but then after 5-6 days, the problem was it solved and we didn’t feel any major problems, “he said.

In general, as he assured, the epidemic in the company itself did not change life much.

“It is not that the epidemic was a tragedy for us, because we work and we work with masks all the time, we always have order, cleanliness, washing.

People within the company said that nothing had changed for them because the way they work with a mask works that way. We just observe people a lot, let’s say if there was any contact, many were isolated, that is, often around 15 percent. the employees were still out of work. We separate them all into groups, ”said the manager.

The situation is worrying

Despite the fact that no cases of coronavirus infection have been registered in the company so far, the current situation in Raseiniai, according to J. Kenstavičius, is worrying.

“As for Raseiniai, it is worrying, because when there are so many sick people, we are very worried.

Our main production is there, and today the situation is quite complicated. Until now, we are still standing firm, which says a lot about people’s consciences, because we haven’t had cases yet, but they can always happen.

There were a lot of our competitors in, say, Poland who faced the problem and had cases of coronavirus, so they had to stop production, ”he said, emphasizing that it was important not to be in a position where the company had orders but he could not fulfill them.

When asked if the company has a plan to carry out production and continue operations in the event of illness, the manager explained that it would be easier to handle this situation because the company has production facilities at various locations.

“It just came to our attention then. We also have a little to spare, with about a week of production, but if there were cases like this and they continued for a long time, it would be difficult to have a high percentage of people like that.

In general, we have divided the company into 3-4 divisions, so if something happened, it would not affect all divisions. With us, sales are in completely separate premises, and if someone gets sick, even with us, people walk to the dining room at different times, “said the manager, explaining that the temperature is measured daily in the company and they have been taken all other measures to ensure safety.

Production will decrease by 10%.

When information emerged that Raseiniai residents were refusing to test for the coronavirus, and there were also employers who did not allow employees to do so, J. Kenstavičius confirmed that he had heard such speeches, but according to him, the procedure in his company was different.

“If there was any doubt, in the initial stage we transported a lot, we organized tests.

Of course, if a person had no contact, nothing, then, of course, it’s everyone’s business to investigate, ”he said, but assured such speeches about people’s reluctance to investigate while listening on Raseiniai. According to the manager, he supports the willingness of employees to be tested if they suspect they may have coronavirus.

“If our employees were in a group of people, somewhere involved, where they were sick, or if someone’s parents or relatives got sick, we wouldn’t allow those people to go into production until they were examined,” he said.

For private companies in Raseiniai, the municipality recommends switching to work remotely, but the manager says his company is not ready for that yet.

“We are not ready to work remotely today, but if a person needs it, we always spend it.

It is only necessary to understand that now is the time when our main production begins, starting from September, October. We are getting off to a good start and increasing our capacity to produce as much as possible, ”he said.

When asked to calculate how the pandemic will affect the company’s annual results, J. Kenstavičius confirmed that they will definitely be affected.

“In the initial stage, part of our production, which was transported to restaurants in Italy, Belgium, that sector fell sharply and we felt it strongly. In Lithuania, we work less with restaurants and we have had fewer losses.

But we were somewhat compensated by supermarkets, where there was an increase in orders, so I would think that we will decrease this year and our production will fall by around 10% ”, he predicted.

It is true that NS Consulting, a company owned by the owners of the Norvelita fish production and marketing group, also acquired the Hotel Conti in the Old Town of the capital in July 2020, as BNS had already announced.

The manager, when asked if the pandemic was a good time for such an investment, was open.

“I think the hotel sector is the weakest today and we looked, we were interested, that deal was interesting for us, we received an offer and we took advantage of it. It has been a good year, but only after a while will we know if it was a good move, “he added.