Tractor and agricultural machinery manufacturer Fendt has revealed that production has resumed this week at a number of its assembly lines in Germany which had been forced to shut down temporarily due to Covid-19.
The AGCO brand revealed that its locations in Marktoberdorf, Asbach-Bäumenheim, Waldstetten and Hohenmölsen are all re-opening.
This, the machinery giant says, is possible because important suppliers in Europe and worldwide are now delivering parts again on schedule and reliably after an interruption of several weeks due to coronavirus issues.
After intensive discussions between the management, works council, company physicians, health management and the occupational safety officers, numerous measures for the protection of Fendt employees at the assembly lines, the parts production and in the offices have been implemented.
These measures include adopting a two-shift work model for assembly line employees, while desks have been rearranged and plexiglass panels have been installed.
In addition, the German giant says meeting and social rooms have been limited to comply with a minimum distance of 1.5m, while hand disinfectant and strict hygiene practices have also been rolled out.
Commenting, Christoph Gröblinghoff, chairman at AGCO/Fendt management, said:
“We are very pleased that the supply chains are intact again and that our highly motivated Fendt team can get back to work in a concentrated manner.
“This week the assembly lines with high daily production rates are starting again.
The changeover of the tractor assembly to a two-shift model is protecting our employees and it also brings, together with other measures, additional production capacities to work up the backlog partly or if necessary completely.
“This enables us to deliver the ordered Fendt tractors and Fendt Full-Line machines to our customers via the Fendt sales partners as soon as possible and contribute to securing the food production that is classified as system relevant,” the chairman concluded.
