I think it’s fair to say we finally see a light at the end of the tunnel!
After a year of negative COVID news we can at least begin to return to a life more like the one we lived in the year 2019AD! We may have to brush up on our social skills and eventually overcome the fear of someone coughing or not wearing a mask but I assure you life will be great!
I hope many who are now reading this have gotten their first vaccine dose or are fully vaccinated. Since we all work in an essential manufacturing business our vaccine priority was high.
The majority of us probably will remember 2020 as a busy and challenging year to conduct business. At CTI we had roughly 70% of our programming, accounting and sales departments working from home. Luckily we had many of these people already set up to work from home so the transition was not difficult. I actually think most of the employees enjoy working from home and do not miss the commute. In fact I might never physically see them again!
As I mentioned in my last newsletter we used the travel restricted time to launch our new website and began advertising on social media. As a middle-aged gentleman I still can’t fully appreciate the benefits of social media but my son who works for a large advertising agency assures me it’s the future.
COVID related raw material shortages and price increases are now starting to effect many manufacturers including CTI. We are working closely with all of our major suppliers and transport companies to minimize the impact on material shortages and price increases. If we are not able to purchase a certain brand of rule, punch or die base material we will substitute with the nearest brand available. Since our average turnaround time is 3.4 days it’s imperative we have the ability to substitute materials so the impact of this current material availability issue on product delivery dates is minimal.
We installed our new Elcede laser the week of March 15th. This machine will give us increased capacity. We will continue to add new equipment later this year.
As always, I thank you for your continued loyalty. I look forward to seeing you in the near future as visit restrictions ease. Enjoy the end of winter!
Sincerely,
John Norgard, President
