The year 2020 was supposed to be the year of celebrating 70th anniversary of UNEX’s production, but instead we had the coronavirus pandemic and many coronavirus restrictions and bans, which has had a negative impact not only on our company and our employees but also on the life in the Czech Republic as well as abroad. The Litovel and Uničov regions, including our Uničov plant, were in a complete 14-day quarantine. Despite the gradual easing of coronavirus measures and efforts to return to normal, UNEX is faced with the economic consequences of this pandemic, which includes a decrease in demand and considerable uncertainty on both domestic and foreign markets.
In order to maintain production and to remain competitive, UNEX had to make necessary organizational changes in the form of administration downsizing, setup changes and streamlining of the procedural structure of the company and related changes even in the company's top management. In addition to these organizational changes, we are taking other steps that should make the company’s activities more effective and should increase performance and labor productivity.
Unfortunately, the Uničov region has not been affected only by the coronavirus but also by another force majeure – flash floods. Sunday evening on 7 June 2020 a huge amount of water rushed through Šumvald, Břevenec, Dlouhá Loučka and other villages and destroyed everything in its way. We were not indifferent to the fate of these villages and especially their inhabitants, including many UNEX employees, and this is why our company joined those trying to help. In addition to our material support in the form of bottled water, work shoes and protective and cleaning products and equipment, we sent in a team of our workers who helped to remove mud and other damage starting the very first day until Friday, 19 June. The UNEX employees, who were directly affected by this natural event, were offered paid leave in addition to their regular vacation. Despite the fact that our company was also affected by this flood, our help in the region continues - we keep looking for ways to help.
We believe that things will now turn around and that we will have better news in the near future.