The director of a Frome-based manufacturing firm with major interests in China has spoken about the impact of coronavirus on the business.
Sino Manufacturing Solutions’ factory in Shenzen, which employs more than 100 people, was not operational for five weeks earlier this year after enforced closure following the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. 
The facility specialises in engineering components for a range of sectors including the automotive, lighting and waste management industries.
Sino Manufacturing received permission from the Chinese government to start production again on February 24.
But some employees who returned home to Wuhan – the city were the initial outbreak of coronavirus occurred – for the traditional Chinese New Year break have been prevented from returning to work.
Sino Manufacturing director Rob Harris, pictured, said: “I flew back via Hong Kong from our factory before the start of the annual Chinese Spring Festival.
“At this point we didn’t realise there was going to be such a major issue. Within a few days the media reports about Coronavirus started to surface.”
He said many of the factory’s employees were migrant workers from all over China, often with homes hundreds of miles away where they went to visit family and friends.
“It was at this time that the virus took hold in Wuhan – where seven of our staff returned to. They are still under lockdown, unable to leave to return to work,” he said.
At the end of the annual holiday the Chinese government decided to ban migrant workers from returning to the major manufacturing hubs across the country. 
“At this point we were forced to close our entire operation and had to develop a business continuity plan to minimise the impact on our customers faced with delays in their component deliveries.
“There has been a big focus on maintaining regular communication with our customers. We relied on limited information from official sources because no government has ever experienced anything on this scale,” said Rob.
“The unprecedented spread of this infection is not something anyone has ever dealt with and things were changing on a daily basis.”
Now the factory has reopened there are specific conditions for its workers, including making sure everyone wears a mask and changes it twice a day.
“This means, with 100 workers, we have had to source supplies of 1,000 masks a week, which has been a struggle,” said Rob.
“We ended up finding a UK supplier and shipping to China. All employees are required to sit two metres apart from each other at mealtimes. We have a staff canteen that everyone used to eat together in, but the extenuating circumstances has meant we have to operate several different sittings.”
With local restaurants mostly closed, meals eaten at work have become vital as for many of the factory’s employees as it is often their main or only meal of the day.
“Thankfully none of our staff have been affected to date and our focus has been on maintaining their welfare and providing stability during uncertain times,” said Rob.
For the firm’s small UK team, the virus has hindered their ability to travel – Sino has several contracts throughout Europe and in the US and it is now hard to get flights.
Rob added: “All of our business contacts have been extremely understanding because it’s been so widely reported in the news.
“Our customers have shown concern for our workers and we have felt a strong sense of goodwill in our commercial relationships.
“We have also seen some new opportunities as a result. A new customer of ours realised that their supply chain was vulnerable because they only had one major supplier. So, they approached Sino to be an additional supplier.
“We’re finding we need to adapt and be flexible to the changing needs of our market and customers to get through what has been, and is likely to be, an exceptional set of challenging circumstances.”
The 17-year-old company, based on Frome’s Marston Trading Estate, has been working closely with its specialist legal advisers at Bristol-based law firm Gregg Latchams, which has extensive knowledge of China.
