Dear Customers,
Further to Livonia Print letter from March 12, we would like to inform you about the challenges in Latvia and Livonia Print as of today.
The situation is changing not only every day, but even by hours.
- On Thursday, the 12th of March, the government decided to close down all educational establishments till the 14th of April.
- Parents who have nobody to take care of their children under age of 7 are allowed to take sick-leaves. Currently we have no information on how many of our employees will use this option, but the overall sick-leave rate has increased this week.
- From Tuesday, the 17th, there is no public transport (buses, airplanes, trains and boats) going outside/arriving to Latvia. Last airplanes in/out of Riga will be till 12 o’clock at night March 17. Our borders are closed except for trucks.
- On March 16 was the last direct ferry from Riga to Stockholm. That means for Swedish, Danish and Norwegian deliveries we can use boats only from Paldiski (Estonia) or from Klaipeda (Lithuania). Deliveries to Swedish warehouses will not be possible till 12 o‘clock the next day but till 5 p.m. All trucks have to queue up on the border from Latvia to Estonia/Lithuania. Although our transporters have pre-booked places on those ferries, there is a possibility that when they arrive, the boat is suddenly full! Accordingly, some delays are possible.
- Same regards deliveries to Germany and other Central European countries – there are controls on each border and it is impossible to foresee the time drivers will have to spend on borders. Currently the borders are blocked by private vehicles trying to return back home and there is information that there are up to 50km queues on Polish/Lithuanian and Polish/German borders. But this has to improve when all the private cars have gone through. We have also discussed with our transporters possibilities to shorten time on Polish/Lithuanian border by using ferries from Latvia to Travemunde in Germany.
- Transport companies have informed us that there will be additional costs for the deliveries – up to 20%.
- The biggest problem seems to be deliveries to Italy as most transporters refuse to even go there. We are still searching for a possibility to deliver our products to Italy, information will follow. Meanwhile, please check if warehouses and distribution centres accept books for further distribution to book stores and shops.
- As you were informed before, the material stock is available, but situation can change if we suddenly get several orders needing more than 20t of paper. That is why we again kindly ask you to inform us ASAP about possible large orders.
- According to the information we have received, many of you work from home and perhaps that explains why sometimes file delivery or final approval to print is delayed. Please, understand that if this is the case, we will have to change the delivery date as well.
- About 50% of our office people are working from home.
- All the employees are continuously reminded to take care of themselves and their colleagues by keeping 2m distance and disinfecting their hands and working places regularly.
- Unfortunately, due to the information about new COVID-19 cases also in Latvia (currently 49), we can see that people are getting nervous. So, we as management do the utmost to be efficient and make them feel safe and sound.
We are all going through a difficult time and we do not know what the next day can bring us. I can promise you that we will continue sending you updates regularly and try to find the best possible solution in any situation that may come.
