WATCH: ‘Our business will suffer, but it’s not going to be one of the worst hit industries,’ says TOLY CEO Andy Gatesy

“I know that this will be a tough year, and one that nobody will ever forget, but after every storm, a rainbow will appear,” stated Andy Gatesy, the CEO and Chairman of the packaging manufacturing giant Toly Products in today’s edition of WhosWho.mt’s The Boardroom presented by business writer Jo Caruana.

Providing insight as to how a major manufacturing company with a highly international presence has fared through the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr Gatesy presented a positive stance on dealing with the crisis, revealing how Toly has adapted throughout this trying time.

“Manufacturing is a large sector, covering many different product categories,” Mr Gatesy said, speaking of the impact of the pandemic on the industry at large, affirming that some areas are booming, while others are neutral, and some are declining. While areas like medical equipment manufacturing and IT equipment are doing well, others, like the automotive industry, are experiencing a drop.

When it comes to Toly Products, a packaging manufacturing giant that broke €100 million in sales in 2018, the CEO and Chairman revealed that COVID-19 has affected all aspects of business. “In this virtual world, this has become our boardroom”, he said, addressing Jo from his home office, “it’s were all my board meeting and executive management meetings are held.”

“We had a lot of practice before the virus travelled to the west,” he says, speaking of Toly’s Asia operation, which was the first to be hit. “Our plants shut on 18^th January, and about a week later is when the virus really started expanding in Wuhan,” he continued.

Around mid-March, when the effects of COVID-19 started to be felt in the west, Toly Products in Malta was able to react swiftly.

“All offices have moved to home working, with calls on Zoom and Microsoft Teams. All our plants have remained operating but been made safe – we have temperature controls as soon as you walk into the building, social distancing and perspex guards on the assembly line, hand sanitisation and deep sanitisation of the plant itself, as well as a very strict policy and guidelines on sicknesses,” Mr Gatesy said.

Apart from taking advantage of the government schemes made available in the countries Toly operates in, the CEO and Chairman adds that the company also did its best preserve their order book. “In order to try to avoid redundancies, we spread out or orders, instead of over a six to eight week, over a 12-week period. In April and May we moved to a four-day week,” he explained, affirming that these measures will keep business running for the next few months.

Apart from reducing unnecessary costs, Mr Gatesy emphasised the importance of communication. “To me, regular communication is the most important thing. I do a weekly video briefing to the whole group, in which I give a realistic update on the facts and what’s going on within Toly, but I always try to end with a positive message. I think that’s really important in these times.”

“I think that our business will suffer, but it’s definitely not going to be one of the worst hit industries. I think that industries related to travel are going to be the worst hit, until we can find a cure or vaccine. Big ticket items like cars and home improvements will suffer, but we hope that once shops re-open, people will still buy beauty products, either out of necessity or indulgence at a lower cost,” Mr Gatesy added.

“Our aim is to preserve the fabric of Toly, the soul of the company and save jobs. In the last month we’ve probably had about a 50 per cent order entry so we’re hoping now that as lockdown start relaxing and stores open, things will start improving, but nobody can really predict what will happen.”

Speaking of the positives to come out of the situation, the CEO describes a renewed sense of community around the organisation. “Toly has always been a people company, but the sense of community and family spirit has been amazing. I’m sure this will make us stronger and more resilient.”

The company is also innovating when it comes to new products, he continues, “with exhibitions being postponed or cancelled, we’re using Virtual Reality to present our innovation to our customers, new product categories related to hand care and new products that avoid finger contamination – we’ve got a whole innovation category around direct application.”

Responding to Jo’s question on how personal life has changed, the CEO and Chairman affirms that while staying home is not really in his nature, affirming that “as a leader, I like to be on the front line with my teams, in the office, in the manufacturing plants, on the shop floor or with customers,” he was quick to realise that it can all be done virtually.

As for the most important takeaway, “I’ve learnt that in life it’s not what happens to us that’s important, but the way we deal with it,” Mr Gatesy said, affirming that it is the difficult moments that define our character. “I am always positive and looking forward. We haven’t put our business on hold, or given up on our vision or ambition,” he continued.

“I don’t want to survive this crisis and look back and say we had the opportunity to reinvent ourselves and we didn’t take it, so my advice would be to continue to play to win, have a strong resolve and build on this fantastic team spirit. For Toly, and for me, life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, instead it is learning how to dance in the rain.”