Lenzingers show resilience
Surviving a pandemic, supporting our people, protecting the planet
Aligning the global perspective of our strategy with the reality of putting it into practice on the ground has continued to be a challenge in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This achievement has been one of our defining successes. We cannot separate our business from the impact it has on our people, contractors and communities any more than we can separate our business from the environment we seek to protect. In calibrating our strategic approach to serve both people and planet during the pandemic, we have paved the way for a future where we will thrive, not just survive.
Lenzingers in Nanjing (China) pulled together to provide donations during the pandemic.
A gesture of affection denotes the ongoing dedication and resilience of our people.
There is a lot of emotional investment in our work, which creates a level of credibility. It also translates to the bottom line by introducing passion and motivation.”
Gernot Salcher
Senior Director Human Resources Lenzing
“There is a sweet spot between maintaining sight of the global strategy and investing in it at a local level. Finding it has been a challenge, but we have achieved real alignment between our global and local commitments,” said Gernot Salcher, Senior Director Human Resources. While the long-term impact of the pandemic may not yet be understood, we have remained strategically on track. Construction has progressed well on our major projects in Brazil and Thailand, and both are close to completion thanks to our teams who have navigated the complexities of maintaining health and safety standards on site.
Local learning informs global solutions
Bernhard Lintner is Vice President of Quality, Environmental Safety & Health Management. He leads the global crisis team coordinating our response to the pandemic. “We are not just one team telling all our colleagues what to do, we have been working with local teams to establish measures together.” Different risk levels across the business triggered different actions, ranging from wearing masks to the creation of team ‘bubbles’ that could work safely in isolation and maintain critical operations in production plants.
“Communication and cross-learning is how we succeeded,” Bernhard added. “We have a lot of creative people, sitting all over the world, facing the same problem, but not at the same time, so we had an opportunity to learn from each other. We asked sites to share their biggest issues and it was through this collaboration that we could minimize the risk to our people and their families.”
Managing the impact of the pandemic on site in Brazil and Thailand was no small task. With more than 9,000 workers employed in the construction of the mill in Brazil, we reported close to zero COVID-19 cases as of the end of 2021, with 95 percent of workers vaccinated. The challenge was no less daunting with nearly 4,500 working on site in Thailand when the Delta variant hit in the middle of the year.
“We were in the middle of construction,” explained Ismail Abdullah, Site Director in Thailand. “So, we had to work hard to keep our contractors and employees safe and motivated. We implemented stringent safety and COVID-19 control measures in order to make the workplace safe for everyone. We also issued care packages for workers’ families and procured vaccinations for those who would have otherwise had to wait months for them.”
Investment in our people is investment in our future
The construction of large sites in Thailand and Brazil in the midst of a pandemic called for an unparalleled approach to recruitment and training. Bernhard Lintner explained, “Much of what we do is unique, so we set up training programs online to find the best fit for our teams. Where possible, colleagues from Thailand came to Austria for training, or vice versa.”
Investing in our people means investing in the future of both our business and planet.”
Gernot Salcher
Senior Director Human Resources Lenzing
Investing in our people means investing in the future of both our business and the planet. Gernot added, “Despite challenges our people continued to keep the faith in our strategic vision and to work as effectively as they could within unusual conditions. That is because I believe we are creating synergies between company values and employee values.”
“The needs of the environment and the needs of the people are inherent in the DNA of the company. People are emotionally invested in their work, which creates a level of credibility. It also translates to the bottom line by introducing passion and motivation. That gives us great strategic focus.”
Stephan Sielaff, Member of the Managing Board, received a warm welcome in Prachinburi (Thailand).
