After more than a month of shut down, Ducati has resumed production at its Borgo Panigale factory in Italy on Monday, 27 April. The Italian brand has revised its entire operations in compliance with the regulatory protocol for measures to combat and contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
Ducati temporarily suspended production in its Bologna plant on Friday, 13 March to reorganize production schedules. However, the rapid spread of the coronavirus forced the Government to put the country under lockdown. Italy has been one of the worst-affected countries in the world. Thankfully, after many weeks of fighting, the health conditions in the country has shown signs of gradual improvement. As a result, the Italian Govt has allowed select industries to resume operations.
“It is absolutely essential to pay close attention to strict compliance with safety procedures: the virus has not disappeared. The work done jointly with the Emilia-Romagna Region has been important. It will be an extremely difficult year but starting up again is still a beginning; we have a lot of orders for the Streetfighter V4, for the Multistrada GT and for the Panigale V2. The motorbike is a perfect vehicle for ‘phase two’: no parking problems and distancing guaranteed; safety and fun at the same time,” said Claudio Domenicali, Ducati CEO.
Ducati opened its Bologna plant on Monday, 27 April with the only the workshop staff and engine assembly workers. From today, motorcycle assembly workers began their work. The Italian company has opted for two 7-hour shifts rather than a single 8-hour shift to allow the minimum number of people to be inside the plant at the same time and thus minimize possible contact. The company is also taking all the mandatory precautions like inside the premises there is an absolute requirement to use masks, regardless of distancing.
As for employees, the use of smart working will remain mandatory, only those who are not in a position to carry out their work from home will be allowed to access the factory. All resources employed in the commercial, marketing, IT, personnel management, finance, purchasing and logistics areas will, therefore, be working remotely.
Ducati confirms that visits to the Museum, Factory and Fisica in Moto continue to be suspended until further notice, in addition to entry into the factory being prohibited for suppliers, dealers, external contracted companies, and external staff in general, unless proven and unavoidably required for the continuity of production activities, product development and general services.
