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Strength in the Face of Adversity

To all Kymera International Employees,

The Coronavirus is alive and well. Many are talking about a “second-wave”, but have we really seen the end of the first round? While many countries have done a remarkable job in limiting the spread by quarantining, practicing social distancing and following CDC/WHO hygiene recommendations, the United States is still struggling in several states.

When U.S. governors “opened-up” their economies and relaxed restrictions, many people returned to the way they interacted in the past, ignoring the fact that we are still deep in the midst of a global pandemic. To complicate things, mass gatherings from people protesting the brutal killing of George Floyd (and those before and after him) has potentially further increased the chance of the virus spreading. The good news is that many protesters are wearing masks, which will no doubt help reduce the likelihood of transmission from one-person to another.

Now let’s talk about masks. It is clear that people differ in opinion as to the efficacy of wearing masks. Simply covering your nose and mouth with a piece of fabric is not going to stop the spread of the virus, but scientists have shown that the chance of spreading is reduced by 50% when two people, both wearing masks, interact with one another. At Kymera, we will continue following local and federal guidelines around wearing masks, but I do encourage you to wear them, especially when social distancing is not possible.

Because of the uncertainty surrounding a COVID-19 “cure” (vaccine, treatment, herd immunity, or a combination of these three remedies), the global economies will continue to be volatile. This is especially true if we see a resurgence in the number of COVID-19 cases (such as in the U.S., and today in China). As such, our customers’ demand will continue to be unpredictable. There is no doubt that we are seeing an improvement in our order demand and we are hopeful that by the end of June we will start seeing a steady pick-up in order volumes. However, I do not expect us to get back to pre-COVID-19 volume levels for several months.

We truly believe that the strength in our Company lies within our dedicated and loyal workforce. As such we are doing all we can to ensure that the economic burden put on our employees is minimized. Because the government assistance programs (particularly in the U.S.) were developed quickly, the information we were given regarding compensation was not completely accurate and so it is understandable that some employees may feel frustrated. Rest assured that when we emerge from this pandemic, we will resume full operations, return to pre-COVID-19 salaries, and review additional means of compensation to try to partially offset lost wages.

For those who go into the plants each and every day to produce materials for our customers, maintain our equipment, develop new products for tomorrow and give support to the operations, I would like to express my personal gratitude for your dedication. For those working remotely, our success relies on personal interactions and support from our fellow employees, and so I certainly recognize that you may at times get discouraged or feel isolated, so let’s make sure we continue to talk on the phone and use video conferencing to try to make this situation as manageable as possible.

Whether you are on the shop floor or working remotely, we are a team and all of us are putting in a lot of time to ensure that Kymera International remains the global leader in metal powders, pastes and master alloys.

Please remember to be safe and stay healthy

Sincerely,
Barton White – CEO
Kymera International®

ACuPowder | ECKA Granules | Innobraze | SCM Metal Products

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