VIRUS: Durst closes factory – ink, supplies, support ok

Digital print solutions developer Durst is closing its factory in Italy until the end of the month as the coronavirus blitzes through the country, which is currently the worst affected in Europe.

The new Durst Oceania Australia New Zealand office and warehouse, located in Tullamarine, will remain open, and Durst will continue to offer service support with its staff working remotely.

Matt Ashman, managing director of Durst Oceania, said service and ink supplies for the company's wide format and label-printing systems would be unaffected during the factory shutdown. Ashman said, “Our disaster management plan that was actioned three weeks ago has been anticipating this, so we are in a good place to continue as normal.”

However, Ashman requested printers not to stockpile ink, he said, “please just order as normal and don’t increase orders for ink unnecessarily, as this could upset the balance of forecasting and supply.”

Explaining the factory shutdown Ashman said, “this difficult decision serves to protect all employees and their families – without exception. Of course, we want to maintain the business activities in our branches as far as possible and support our customers with the means available. A networked core team consisting of employees from customer service, ink and spare parts logistics, finance, administration, IT and engineering, will continue the relevant topics for our company headquarters and provide support to you mainly via home office.”

Ashman said, “At Durst we are lucky as we have extended family around the globe and we are establishing safety stock across the world to meet customers’ demands in ink, consumables, spare parts, and service.

“Here in Australia, we have significantly increased stocks across the board and will be closely monitoring demand and supply on a daily basis.

“It is clear we may see an impact on freight services locally and as such please talk to us so we can support you especially with ink. If you have a large job approaching, and will need more ink, contact us in advance, and we will do everything to ensure continuity of supply.

"Likewise, if you have a downturn or are in need of shutdown due to quarantine measures, please contact us. We can help with support on maintenance for your machines and control of ink stocks.”

Durst supplies both wide format and label digital inkjet printing systems, all manufactured at its Brixen factory which sits in the north of Italy, not far from the Austrian border.