Proximity Malt’s COVID 19 Preparedness Statement

March 13, 2020

Dear Customers and Partners of Proximity Malt,

By now we are certain you are fully aware of the ongoing issue with the spread of COVID-19 disease.  We would like to explain to you the additional measures that Proximity Malt has enacted to keep our employees and our customers healthy and safe, as well as to ensure an uninterrupted supply of our products to you.

We have been conducting daily Tool Box talks with all of our production employees at our plants in Monte Vista, CO and Laurel, DE.  The topics of these talks are to ensure our employees are receiving factual information and instructions provided by the CDC and WHO to help prevent the spread of this (and any) virus.  We are reiterating our existing and robust Food Safety processes and programs.  We have added additional frequency to our Master Cleaning Schedules to ensure the safest possible work environment and safety of the products we produce.  We are making sure our employees have adequate resources such as approved disinfecting agents and hand sanitizers.  We have stepped up the frequency of cleaning in our common areas such as offices, control rooms, restrooms and break areas and are encouraging our employees to practice social distancing during their work hours.

Fortunately, our facilities naturally allow our production and management employees to be able to distance themselves from one another due to the physical size and highly automated nature of our operations and equipment.  In addition, we are counseling all employees to immediately report to their supervisor if they begin to experience the symptoms of COVID-19 as defined by CDC and WHO. Employees have also been instructed to stay home if they are caring for a family member that has symptoms or tests positive.  We offer all of our employees a generous health insurance package as well as a paid time off program.  Should an employee be tested positive for this virus, we will work with them to ensure they are allowed adequate time away to fully recover before returning to work.

With respect to supply disruptions, Proximity Malt’s cross-training procedures and fairly automated manufacturing processes lessens the impact employee sick leave might have on production and shipping.  Nearly all of our grains are sourced from growers who are very close to our malting plants, which mitigates the risk of raw material supply disruptions.  We are working on increasing our finished goods and packaging materials inventories to ensure an adequate future supply of our full range of malts.

Our thoughts are with you, your families, and the entire brewing, distilling, and food manufacturing communities that you all remain safe and healthy as our nation works through these challenging times.  We appreciate the trust that you place in Proximity Malt. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and take actions necessary to help keep our employees and customers safe while providing the products you need to run your business.

Sincerely,

Dave Kuske
Vice President of Quality, Processing and Innovation