The unraveling of the economy was not in the plans for Loutech in So Cal. We thought we would be bringing our machining capacity to at least 95% from the existing 75%, improving our Quality system, and building our 100+ strong workforce.
Instead, we found ourselves reducing the number of machines running because of lack of customers’ orders, which consequently forced us to lay off several employees and reconsider rather quickly our near and distant future plans. As a part of two critical infrastructure sectors as defined by the federal government, we were mandated to continue our operation and support transportation and defense.
We were able to secure government loans and used them first to cover payroll to keep as many employees for as long as possible; the rest was dedicated to paying expenses. We also created and invested into a task force to reduce the spread of the virus at our workplace; tripling up on cleaning and sanitization and educating our employees daily on how to protect themselves and their loved ones.
At this moment, we are at just over 30 employees, working at 10% capacity, and glued to the computer screen forecasting the best possible scenarios for 2021. Things are in motion to prevent any further decline of the business. We are improving existing systems such as machining and quality and implementing new ones in order to track and report better. Cross-department trainings are preformed daily. We are readying the whole company for when the returning of business happens, we can hit the ground running and help get those planes back in the air.
One silver lining that came out of this whole situation was a new business we created- Systemic Approach Institute. It’s a business that supports leaders in both personal and company crisis, transitions, and other pivotal moment in their careers. As people who went through (and lived to tell about it!) various changes in their business, we felt uniquely equipped to help other leaders and executives live through theirs.
– Mariana Polic, CCO/HR and family member, Loutech
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