07 April 2020
Synlait update: Uniting against COVID-19
Over the past few weeks the world has changed very quickly as we behave differently and work collectively to eliminate COVID-19. This rapid change creates uncertainty and we hope you and your family are managing okay.
Our goal at Synlait is to keep our people safe, keep their families safe, keep our facilities running, and keep COVID-19 away – not just for us, but for all New Zealanders, and our friends in the global community.
We are experiencing an unprecedented event, a global pandemic, that we are all stepping up to fight following official advice about personal hygiene, physical distancing and staying home.
During this time Synlait has been entrusted with a responsibility to help keep New Zealanders fed, and our global export sector in business. We take this responsibility very seriously. We want to update you on measures we have taken at Synlait to protect our people, our suppliers, and our customers for the foreseeable future.
OPERATING AS AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE IS A PRIVILEGE AND RESPONSIBILITY WE TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY
From our beginnings, food safety and quality have been part of Synlait’s DNA. The products we manufacture for New Zealanders, and the world, provide us with a strong foundation to build on as we introduce further measures to ensure we keep operating. Collectively, across Synlait, we have implemented these additional steps to protect everyone:
• limited all site access to teams essential to running and maintaining our operations;
• introduced daily declarations as a prerequisite for anyone entering our sites. This includes confirming health and travel status and that physical
distancing practices are always adhered to, including at home;
• increased hygienic cleaning and sanitation practices across non-production workspaces, bringing all areas up to red-line levels;
• extended advanced personal protection equipment controls already in place in infant formula manufacture more widely across sites; and
• introduced two-meter physical distancing controls across our production processes and supply chains, including break-out areas.
OUR PURPOSE IS TAKING US TO A NEW LEVEL
Our purpose Doing Milk Differently For A Healthier World shapes who we are, what we stand for, and what we do. Organisations can be their most creative in times of uncertainty, and when the future is difficult to predict being adaptable and resilient is a real asset.
People and planet underpin all that we do at Synlait. The choices we make must help all to thrive. We can’t think of another moment when leadership at all levels needs to keep stepping-up to deliver on this promise.
As a member of our whanau, you can be proud of how our people responded to COVID-19. Our teams moved with pace and innovation to ensure we were well prepared for this pandemic and are continuing to adjust operations as the situation changes.
Synlait has been entrusted with a responsibility to keep supporting our people, our industry, and our economy. Not all New Zealanders are able to work, and many businesses are struggling. We therefore take on this responsibility with great care and pride. This is an unprecedented and challenging time for New Zealand and the world. We must work together to get through this.
Please continue to look after yourselves and each other. Be kind.
Kia kaha
The Synlait Team