The entire Emilia region of Italy that was hit by a 5.
9 magnitude earthquake last Saturday which left seven dead (mostly workers on night shifts) 6500 people homeless and more than 13,000 people unable to return to their jobs in the vast industrial areas of Modena, Ferrara and Bologna due to the damages.
With the economic and euro crisis having already taken its toll on the country, the aftermath of the earthquake is having an effect in the production and distribution chain in numerous sectors, including Ducati’s.
The Borgo Panigale factory luckily did not suffer any damages, but several of their local suppliers have and this could cause production to be disrupted, according Ducati’s CEO Gabriele Del Torchio.
“It’s difficult to predict the real impact of the earthquake, but we are very concerned,” said Del Torchio.
“However, the pain takes precedence in this great tragedy.
We’re in daily contact with our suppliers who have been affected by the earthquake: we work with a lot of companies in the area that was hit by the earthquake and it will have a major impact.
”For Ducati, the major problems stem from the collapse of the Scacchetti Foundry at San Felice sul Panaro (the epicenter of the quake) and the structure agibility problems that TMM of Finale Emilia, who produces exhaust systems for the Italian manufacturer, has.
Ducati uses a “just in time” (JIT) production strategy that reduces in-process inventory and associated carrying costs, and the disruption along the entire chain could have cause some dramatic problems in production.
Some of the companies involved in earthquake will take months to recover and this makes the situation for Ducati virtually unpredictable.
“Our men went there to check the situation” – continued Del Torchio – “in the coming days we will take stock of the situation and decide what to do.
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