“Although this emergency was really unpredictable, in terms of impact and extension, our reaction was so quick that even our super-organized German producers and shareholders were amazed.…”
Walter Crescenzi
Managing director, HOMAG ITALIA (Giussano, Monza Brianza)
www.homag.com/it/contatto/homag-italia
- How are you reacting to this emergency?
“Although this emergency was really unpredictable, in terms of impact and extension, our reaction was so quick that even our super-organized German producers and shareholders were amazed.
In early March – exactly on March 10 – everyone at Homag Italia had already switched to smart working, a practice we had never heard about before then. Each employee was immediately able to work from home, both for our customer service hotline and for all administration and sales tasks. Such organization has enabled us to comply with all government directives immediately and to instruct everyone to stay at home, giving priority to the health of our employees and their families.
- What do you think is changing or will change radically?
“While it is clear that personal relations with other people, for business and entertainment, cannot be replaced by a video conference or similar tools, the events we are experiencing will give a boost to digital interactions, accelerating a transition that was going to happen anyway. Personally, I consider these video calls very useful, we will save a lot on travel, food and hotel expenses, but limited to non-critical meetings, while preliminary contacts and finalization meetings will still have to be in person.”
- What should the authorities and all of us do?
“Let me ask the second question first, that’s easier: we must comply with the directives and instructions of authorities. And that takes me back to the first question: to comply with directives, they must be clear. Unfortunately, that was not the case, and independently of implementation speed and instructions, the authorities have left wide margins for interpretation, causing widespread confusion that has not helped achieve the expected results within the planned time.
In spite of this, my inborn optimism makes me believe that, once again, Italians will get out of this crisis even stronger than before, leveraging our ability to carry on despite the unsolved issues of our unique country and to make the best out of impossible situations. But meanwhile, everyone at Homag Italia will stay home!!!“
