Dürr Africa

A COVID Rebound

Operating a diverse portfolio of products in manufacturing

Despite the general downturn and COVID-19 pandemic, manufacturing is still very dynamic,” says Michael Broek, Managing Director of Dürr Africa.

Indeed, in March 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic tightened its grip on the world, Dürr Africa completely shut down its manufacturing operations.

“Our production went down to zero,” he admits. “Fortunately, we had the infrastructure in place to make that transition to home working smooth. All other aspects of the business, such as sales and finance carried on, it was just production that grounded to a halt.”

As restrictions began to lift in May 2020, Broek affirms that Dürr Africa were a bit stricter than what the government had ordered.

“We limited access for our employees within certain areas of the workplace to limit the consequence of an exposure to infections at our offices,” he recalls. “We also made sure we issued the proper PPE such as facemasks and hand sanitizers not just to our staff, but also to their families. These can be expensive commodities if you have extended family and a limited budget, and we wanted to ensure that the family units were safe too.”