Minnesota factories still churning out goods despite coronavirus

Minnesota's factories are adjusting to "anything but normal" conditions as the novel coronavirus changes how businesses function.

Last week, the Doosan Bobcat plant 65 miles northwest of Minneapolis in Litchfield banned all visitors from inside the 100-worker plant and staggered lunch breaks as a way to limit the number of workers in close quarters at any given time, said Bobcat spokeswoman Stacey Breuer.

"It's crazy," she said. "But our focus is on communication and protecting the health and safety of our employees. That is our biggest goal. We are trying to take care of all the people who interact with us on a daily basis."

Daikin Applied Americas and Graco also are changing the floor rules and trying to figure out how to integrate the work of nonproduction employees from home.

At the same time companies are trying to reconfigure operations, they are also identifying costs to cut that will adjust to sudden drops in demand. Polaris and Winnebago closed plants on Monday as a result, after automakers said last week they would cease vehicle production in the U.S.

"We all have a little bit of tightness in our stomach," said Bob Kill, CEO of the statewide manufacturing consulting firm Enterprise Minnesota. "There will be really sad stories of weak balance sheets. We know that already. We saw that in 2008."

Enterprise Minnesota has a peer council program where production and human resources professionals from factories across Minnesota talk once a week or quarter to hash out issues and best practices. Since the outbreak, CEOs have wanted virtual meetings twice a week, Kill said.

Few factories know what to do "if your business is about to shrink from $12 million to $6 million," Kill said. "If you haven't lived through it before, it's hard to judge just how fast things will happen. And things are happening pretty fast right now."

Last week, Boston became the first major American city to halt construction projects, which unsettled workers, suppliers, delivery and logistics firms around the country.

The abrupt stoppage sent Plymouth-based Daikin Applied Americas scrambling to redirect a massive heating and air conditioning system delivery from one Boston construction site to a temporary holding yard.

"It's been a bit of a challenge," said Daikin operations head Marc Suarez. Elsewhere, "we have seen a slight uptick in challenges coordinating deliveries where [customer] sales offices are closed" because of virus concerns.

At the same time, the company has some IT issues to work out as it redirects office employees to newly work from home. Since the company canceled nonessential travel, it also has to adjust functions done on the road.

Any line workers who have had to self-quarantine because they live with a high-risk person have been told they will continue to be paid.

"And we intend to cover medical expenses for employees who need to get tested or treated. It's an uncertain time, but we're committed to doing the right thing to support employees," said Graco spokeswoman Charlotte Boyd.

Dee DePass • 612-673-7725