Mic Chaudoir, Ph.D., market manager with Alicat, shares how COVID-19 is affecting his job and company operations.
How has COVID-19 affected your operations?
“Alicat flowmeters are used in test stands for many respirator and ventilator manufacturers,” said Chaudoir. “Given the urgent need to scale up manufacturing of these devices, and Alicat’s engagement with many manufacturers, we have prioritized all production to these orders. Essentially, we are building flowmeters for ventilator, respirator and mask manufacturers before anything else. Given the large demand, production is working quickly to ship as much as we can, as fast as we can. We also play a role in bioreactors and are prioritizing shipments to vaccine and drug producers as well if the project is COVID related. This means that existing customers will have orders delayed until after April 30. So far, they have been understanding."
What changes has your company made as a result of COVID-19?
“Many nonproduction employees are working from home when possible, especially employees who have existing health conditions and relatives/family with same.”
What precautions has your company taken?
“Alicat is practicing social distancing and asking that all employees wear face masks when on site. Alicat has also deployed numerous hand sanitizer stations throughout our facility and is disinfecting surfaces on a daily basis.”
How has your job been affected?
“I am a market manager, so I have fingers in marketing, sales and engineering. I had planned to visit more customers on site in the coming year; obviously, this plan isn’t tenable presently. Many customers are also working from home and discouraging external visitors. This means I will shift more to content creation and forms of remote engagement. It’s also a good chance to help train and prepare our reps to hit the ground running when things return to normal. Personally, I am still coming into the office every day and trying to encourage my friends and colleagues to stay positive and well.”
