Sun Hydraulics worker tests positive for COVID-19. Company reopens after four-day shutdown
Sun Hydraulics, one of the Bradenton-Sarasota area’s largest employers, reopened Tuesday after being shut down for four days after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.
“We are pleased to announce that all three Sarasota facilities are fully operational today, April 7, after a shutdown on April 3 following the notification that one of our colleagues had tested positive for COVID-19. The shutdown allowed for deep cleaning, including electrostatic disinfection, to prepare for our colleagues’ safe return to work. During this shutdown, thermal imaging equipment was installed at the entrance to each facility to ensure the health of all employees as they return to work,” the company announced on its website.
The company, located at 1500 West University Parkway, has about 750 employees, and is a leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance screw-in hydraulic cartridge valves and manifolds that control force, speed and motion as components in fluid power systems.
“All colleagues who can work from home are doing so to ensure we meet the needs of our customers, partners and suppliers while reducing the risk to our Sarasota work force who cannot work from home. Our production facilities in Germany, the U.K., Korea and China remain open and operational, and we will continue to monitor the health of all our colleagues to keep them safe and to minimize any impact to our customers,” the statement concluded.
A third-party company was brought in after the closure to disinfect the plant. New thermal imaging cameras at the entrances provide an immediate temperature reading to see that no one enters with a too-high temperature, company spokesman Steve Berlin said.
“Our employees are first and foremost. We want to make sure they are comfortable coming back to work. It is quite the balancing act. Our team has had to adjust just about everything that we do. We reconfigured, spread things out more, and have added plexiglass partitions to keep testers isolated,” Berlin said.
Other changes include eliminating overlapping shifts so that a more thorough cleaning can be done between shifts, and spreading out meal breaks. Sun is also restricting travel between buildings.
So far, the company has not had to do any furloughs or layoffs because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The employee who tested positive for coronavirus is recovering at home, Berlin said.
