A hose maker in the heart of the COVID-19 storm

Andrea Deregibus and the 100-plus staff members at his specialty hose company have seen firsthand the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Padua, Italy.

While no employees of Tubigomma Deregibus srl, located in Padua in the northeastern part of Italy, have tested positive for coronavirus — nor have members of their families — neither have they been immune to the impact of the virus.

"All of us, we know someone who is either ill or in the hospital, or is dead," said Deregibus, general manager and chief operating officer of the firm, which does business as Tudertechnica. "One friend, who worked with us in the past, we found out last week died from coronavirus. Yesterday, we talked with another friend, who has been in the hospital three weeks."

As of April 2, the country had seen more than 105,000 positive cases and in excess of 12,000 deaths. The nationwide lockdown was set to last until at least April 13.

Yet through it all, the company has remained operational as it appeals an order that came down March 25 from Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, which Deregibus said effectively shut down virtually all rubber manufacturing in Italy.

Tudertechnica appealed the ruling March 26, asking for an exemption since 94 percent of its hoses are used in such strategic sectors as pharmaceutical, chemical, food and beverage, energy and others, said Deregibus. He discussed the situation in a March 30 telephone interview with Rubber & Plastics News, along with Andrea Compostella, the firm's marketing and sales manager, and Pete Cannon, the hose maker's marketing consultant in North America.

In support of its appeal, Tudertechnica collected 83 letters from distributors around the world, asking the Italian government to keep the factory operational to "continue to fill the supply chain of our essential products," Deregibus said.

One letter came from a distributor in China, saying Tudertechnica's rubber-covered polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) hoses are used by the company to make a raw material which is used in a medicine to help fight coronavirus in China. Without it, Deregibus said the Chinese company would have to stop production.

As of April 2, Tudertechnica still was awaiting word on the appeal, and its 100,000-square-foot factory remains operational.

Cannon said the firm's distributors in North America — the hose maker does business exclusively through distribution — have been extremely supportive, and were among those who drafted letters in support of the appeal.

"From a North American perspective, our customers are very aware of the severity of the outbreak affecting Italy," Cannon said. "The one word I would say is 'concern.' They are concerned about health, safety and recovery.

"They also indicated that it is critical for them to continue filling the pipeline and supply chain because Tudertechnica products are used in strategic and critical industries."

He added that the distributors in the U.S. with whom the hose maker works are in the "essential category," able to continue operations amid the flurry of shutdowns across many parts of the nation.

As Tudertechnica's specialty hoses are used in critical industries, Compostella said they also are not easily replaced. "Some products have really kind of unique constructions," he said, adding that other producers don't have equivalent products for substitution.

Deregibus said the pandemic really began to hit home in early March, when the Italian prime minister went on television to announce that everything in Italy would be shut down.

"At the time, I was out with my wife on bicycles," he said. "We were seeing all the bars and restaurants full of people. I was saying, 'I don't know if people understand there is something wrong here.' "

Some of the spread likely is because Italians are "social animals," he said.

"They go to restaurants, they go to bars, they go to discos," Deregibus said. "And they stay in the square. We live in the square. Now we live at home."

Little by little, Italy shut down. First it was the shops, then the companies.

Now the only allowable destinations are food stores, pharmacies and newsstands.

From a personal perspective, Deregibus said he has not seen his 83-year-old mother in about a month, since the day the country was locked down. He has kept his distance because the majority of the fatalities in Italy have involved elderly people, and he fears spreading the virus to his mother.

"We are losing the people who really created and made Italy strong in the world," Deregibus said. "I just bring the food and take out the trash. I do not get in her house, but I do have a lady staying with her. It's never been like this before. Normally I see her every other day."

At the hose maker's headquarters and factory in Padua, an internal committee has been formed to put in place measures to make operations safer, Deregibus said.

Members of the committee include Deregibus, a representative from the workers' union at the factory, and staff members from the safety, production and quality units.

He said it was imperative that the committee comprise of people who are familiar with day-to-day operations and processes at the facility, because they are experienced in the changes that can make the most difference.

For example, one change involved limiting the number of people allowed in the locker room at the plant to no more than seven at a time. Another suggestion led to a new process of entering and exiting the facility, to limit contact between people.

"I am very proud of my people," Deregibus said. "They are the ones in operations."

Compostella stressed that team members worry most about the future. While much of the country is confined to their homes, those at the hose company are strangely lucky, he said, in that they are still working, so their routines haven't changed as much.

"People are worried about the situation, but what they are discussing is the future," he said.

What they may not be of aware of, he added, is that when the nation opens back up, things won't be exactly the same. Travel likely will remain restricted, and the economy will take a hit, especially in a nation where the economy already was struggling. It will be especially difficult for companies that do the majority of their business in Italy. "In our case, we are lucky because we are exporting more than 80 percent of our products," Compostella said. "So yes, Italy is an important market, but it's just one of the markets."

Deregibus hopes others around the world are learning from Italy's early-front battle with COVID-19. "We made mistakes, but the hospitals are working," he said. "But this is a situation where we were not prepared. It is worse than a war, because in a war you can see your enemy. Here you don't know."