Financial Times 08Apr2020

Wednesday8 April 2020 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES 3

our workers were extremely anxious

about the contagion, if not terrified, at

the end of the day, they also realised that

they have to go home and pay their bills.

“When the government told us we

had to close, many of our employees

came to me and asked if they had to

worry about their job. They were all

scared. They can’t lose their salary,” said

Mr Toniolo, who oversees production.

Ms Masiero said she had no intention

of laying anyone off. “The ultimate goal

is to save jobs... This is not the year of

dividends and profits. This is the year to

keep our factories open,” she said.

Thanks to the unusually strong start

to the year, PBA has a buffer. First-

quarter profits were up 46 per cent com-

pared with the same period last

year. “We can afford to slow production

temporarily,” Ms Masiero said.

The company’s commercial staff have

continued their work from home, and

new orders are coming in. “Our current

order backlog totals over €2m and we

could have easily kept working without

interruption,” Ms Masiero said.

On Monday, Ms Masiero eopenedr

part of the plant by converting theunit

to make steel handles for the use of disa-

bled people in hospital bathrooms —

labelled as essential. A dozen factory

workers have been called back to

work. They will wear gloves, masks and

coats.

“Everyone in the factory, including

me, will be completely covered as if we

were doctors in an intensive care unit,”

Ms Masiero added.

This is the first in a series following three

Italian companies struggling through the

pandemic

“Virtual classes in a situation like this

are tough. Most of my students live in

the most heavily hit areas,” she said.

“They are fighting in the trenches, too.

“The healthcare emergency could

turn into a long-lasting economic and

social emergency, [but] we don’t have to

let that happen,” Ms Masiero said.

The government has imposed

Europe’s most drastic curbs o containt

the virus. Italians have been ordered to

stay at home except for emergencies or

essential work. All non-essential shops

and businesses have been closed. The

national lockdown is widely expected to

be extended beyond Easter.

“Everyone is aware of the fact that

what is happening is epochal, but we

have to deal with it, we have to deal with

reality. And the reality is that we must

go back to work,” Ms Masiero said.

Luigino Toniolo, who started working

on the factory floor four decades ago

when he was 16, said: “If in the first place

her company’s main markets. The busi-

ness is her life — even more so since the

outbreak of Covid-19.

“I even stopped reading books. It is

impossible to concentrate on something

which isn’t the outbreak right now,” said

Ms Masiero, who is the sole heir to the

company and has no children.

She takes her mind off Covid-19 when

she teaches a business philanthropy

course to students enrolled at the Uni-

versity of Bergamo.

But even this side activity provides

only short relief: Bergamo, a town in

Lombardy in the foothills of the Alps,

has recorded the highest death rate of

the epidemic. More than half of all Cov-

id-19 deaths in Italy — which have sur-

passed China’s — have been recorded in

the region.

The nearby region of Veneto, which is

home to Ms Masiero’s plant, has also

been one of the main areas to be hit

hard, recording 631 deaths so far.

DAV I D E G H I G L I O N E— R O M E

What threatens to be the most severe
downturn since the Great Depression
started with a surge in sales for Franc-
esca Masiero’s family business in Tezze
sul Brenta, northern Italy.
In February, more than 8,400km
away, factories were closing in Wuhan,
hit by the mass quarantine imposed by
Chinese authorities to contain the
spread of novel coronavirus. American
clients turned to PBA, Ms Masiero’s steel
manufacturing company, to source
components they could no longer
acquire from China.
“We started the year off with a bang,”
Ms Masiero said.
The bonanza was shortlived, and even
then a cause for worry for the 48-year-
old executive, who said she sensed the
health and economic catastrophe com-
ing to her region of Veneto long before
her employees realised the seriousness
of the Covid 19 epidemic.
“I told my employees that it was possi-
bly going to hit us, too. They thought I
was crazy.”
On March 23, the company was
requested to close its plant — the latest
in a series of more restrictive quarantine
measures ordered by the Italian govern-
ment. Ms Masiero did so in three days.
For the first time in PBA’s 50-year his-
tory, the machinery fell silent.
Ms Masierorecounts her battle
to keep afloat the company her father
founded as Covid-19 wreaks havoc
across Italy’s economic heartland. Over
the coming months, BA faces a fight forP
survival, amid the concerns of its staff,
its suppliers and the local community.
Ms Masiero wasshocked when the
lockdown saw usiness activity grind tob
a halt, when the death toll soared and
when fear settled in.
The Covid-19 epidemic and lockdown
measures are the biggest threat encoun-
tered by Ms Masiero’s business — one of
the almost 4m small and medium-sized
companies that form Italy’s industrial
backbone. The eurozone’s third-largest
economy, already fragile, is expected to
suffer the argest contractionl n its mod-i
ern history.
“When everyone realised it was real
and things escalated... the emotional
tension of my team was sky-high. Right
now you can’t be anywhere near a hospi-
tal, not even if you cut one of your
fingers,” she said.
Founded by Luciano Masiero, Franc-
esca’s father, in 1974, Profilati Brevettati
in Alluminio, which means patented
aluminium profiles, weathered count-
less recessions and domestic political
crises while gaining international stat-
ure. The stainless steel door handles at
the entrance of the Empire State Build-
ing in New York, which it supplied last
year when the building was renovated,
are one of its proudest achievements.
The company, which employs 120
people and whose motto is “For a life
without barriers”, produces tens of
thousands of high-quality door and win-
dow handles every year. Exports to
more than 40 countries account for
85 per cent of its revenues, which
amounted to €18m last year.
Since taking the helm after her
father’s death in 2014, Ms Masiero has
opened offices in the US and Germany,

F T R E P O RT E R S

A “global scramble” for anti-coronavi-

rusmedical equipment as broken out,h

a top Brussels official has warned, after

days of angry claims by countries that

cargoes have beendiverted to the US.

Janez Lenarcic, the EU’s crisis manage-

ment commissioner, said it was “diffi-

cult to arrange an orderly procurement”

to ensure crucial pandemic gear such as

masks and ventilators went to those

who needed them most.

His warning comes after a flurry of

allegations by buyers in Europe and the

Americas that pandemic supply cargoes

from China intended for them have

instead been sent to the US at the last

minute. While Washington has denied

any involvement,officials from other

countries and manufacturers in China

suggest a chaotic market of bruising bid-

ding battles for scant resources.

“This virus has spread faster and fur-

ther than anyone expected, and this has

resulted in a shortage of supply and a

dramatic increase in demand,”Mr Len-

arcicsaid.

Tensions have been heightened after

President Donald Trump last week used

a law dating back to the Korean war to

order3M, the leading US medical equip-

ment maker, to prioritise sales to the US

government. This week the White

House and the company reached a deal

for 3M to import 166.5m N95 respirator

masks from overseas, allowing it to con-

tinue to sell US-made N95s to Canada

and Latin America.

Chinese mask makers have told the

FT of an environment of soaring costs

and intense competition from buyers.

Xu Xueqiong, owner of Anhui Tianle

International, a plastic bag and packag-

ing producer that pivoted in February to

manufacturing masks, said prices had

“gone up by a dozen to 30 times,

depending on how many you buy”.

The scramble for equipment has led

to a growing number of international

claims and counterclaims about missing

or misdirected shipments.

Last week, the authorities in Berlin

accused the US ofdiverting a consign-

ment of respirators hat had beent

ordered for the city’s police force from

Bangkok to the US.

Washington has denied any official

involvement in the incident.

Initial reports in Germany said the

masks had come from 3M. The com-

pany disputed those accounts, saying it

had “no record of any order of respira-

tors from China for the Berlin police.”

In France,Jean Rottner, a doctor and

also president of the Grand Est region,

said Americans “take out their cash on

the tarmac [of the airport] and pay

three or four times the price for the sup-

plies we have ordered”.The US denies it

bought any masks intended for delivery

from China to France.

In the Americas,a delivery of 600

ventilators purchased from an

unnamed Chinese vendor by a group of

impoverished states inBrazilended its

journey in Miamilate last week.

The US governmentsaid it “did not

buy or block any medical material or

equipment from China for Brazil”.

Reporting by Michael Peel, Ryan McMor-

row, Nian Liu, Guy Chazan, Victor Mallet,

Andres Schipani and James Politi

H A N N A H KU C H L E R— N E W YO R K

The Wellcome Trust is calling on busi-
nesses to donate $8bn for the scientific
fight against coronavirus, saying it is
the “world’s best exit strategy” from
the lockdowns that have shaken global
economies.

The global medical research foundation
yesterday launched “Covid-zero”, a
campaign to convincecorporations it is
in their best interest to fund the hunt for
a vaccine, treatments nd testinga.
The trust s working with the Worldi
Economic Forum, industry networks
and philanthropic partners to persuade
chief executives ofmultinationals to
invest by the end ofthis month.
On the WEF’s weekly Covid-19 call,
which has attracted 500 business lead-
ers, thetrust will appeal to attendees to
donate.
Payments company Mastercard and
singer Madonna are among those to
have already invested in theCovid-
therapeutics accelerator, launched with
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Jeremy Farrar, Wellcome Trust direc-
tor, said chief executives needed to fund
solutions to the problem, rather than
just dealing with the fallout.

“Businesses and governments are

rightly concerned with tackling imme-

diate concerns — how to support staff,

keep trading and bolster economies,” he

said. “But we also need a way out of this

pandemic as fast as possible.”

The trust is concerned that govern-

ments, companies and even other phil-

anthropicbodies are focusing funding

on efforts to cope with the spread of the

disease and theeconomic hit, while

neglecting the need to find a long-term

scientific solution.

The global preparedness monitoring

board, an independent organisation

convened by the World Health Organi-

zation and the World Bank, identified a

$8bn shortfall in funding for a pan-

demic, in a report published before the

Covid-19 outbreak.

Thesum will fund organisations

responding to the crisis, including the

Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness

Innovations, an alliance formed in 2017

at the WEF that has beendistributing

fundingbiotech companies developing

vaccines.

It will also fund the Covid-19 thera-

peutics accelerator; the Foundationfor

Innovative New Diagnostics, a non-

profit organisation focused ontesting;

and a stockpile including personal pro-

tective equipment, which has been in

short supply.

Richard Hatchett, chief executive of

CEPI, said the spread of Covid-19 was a

“global humanitarian and economic

crisis”.

“While a range of social distancing

measures have been implemented in

countries and regions across the world,

the development of vaccines, treat-

ments and diagnostics is the most effec-

tive way to permanently halt the global

spread of the disease,” he said.

Factory in Veneto picks up the pieces

after body blow to Italian industry

FT seriesFrancesca Masiero’s family business has had to close for the first time in its 50-yearhistory

Procurement

Brussels

warns of

global bidding

war for

medical kit

Wellcome Trust

Business urged to help fund ‘Covid-zero’ drive

M I C H A E L P E E L— B R U S S E L S

ST E P H A N I E F I N D L AY— N E W D E L H I

D O N ATO PAO LO M A N C I N I— LO N D O N

Sufferers of serious medical conditions

eased by hydroxychloroquine have

reported shortages in parts of Europe

since US president Donald Trump and

others began to claim the drug could be

used to combat coronavirus.

The medicine, an anti-malaria treat-

ment also used by sufferers of lupus and

rheumatoid arthritis, has become

harder to find during the escalating

international campaign to deploy it

against coronavirus, European medical

advocacy groups said.

This highlights a potentially problem-

atic side-effect of the rush to promote

hydroxychloroquine as a virus remedy,

despite the lack of robust evidence that

it works.

Alain Cornet, general secretary of

Lupus Europe, a patients’ group, said he

hoped the drug would prove effective

against the virus but warned the dash to

use it was potentially damaging. He

cited anecdotal evidence that some peo-

ple had bought out pharmacy supplies

to stockpile at home.

“I think it’s irresponsible to have big

announcements when you can’t guaran-

tee that everyone can get it,” he said.

“The impact... is that some people

who need it won’t get it.”

Mr Cornet said a survey by his organi-

sation in late March suggested up to

60 per cent of patients had not been able

to find hydroxychloroquine at pharma-

cies. While in most instances the drug

arrived within a few days, in about 10 to

20 per cent of cases — potentially repre-

senting thousands of people — it did not.

Lupus is estimated to affect more

than 100,000 people in Europe — the

vast majority of them women — and

experts think use of hydroxychloro-

quine over the past decade has helped

sufferers live longer. At least another 2m

people in Europe are thought to suffer

from rheumatoid arthritis.

Both are diseases of the immune

system. This means many sufferers will

be at greater than average risk from

Covid-19, particularly if they are forced

to seek hospital treatment because a

drugs shortage has caused their condi-

tions to flare.

Mr Trump has repeatedly referred to

hydroxychloroquine as a “game

changer” in the fight against coronavi-

rus, despite an absence of clinical trials

proving its effectiveness.

The European League Against Rheu-

matism (Eular), which represents

patients, health professionals and scien-

tific societies, said it had received

reports of localised hydroxychloroquine

shortages in Austria, Portugal, Serbia

and the UK.

Drug industry officials say doctors in

some countries had been prescribing

the drug for coronavirus, leaving medi-

cal authorities scrambling to ensure

supplies to longstanding users.

“Hydroxychloroquine is a tried and

tested drug for rheumatoid arthritis and

particularly lupus,” said Iain McInnes,

Eular president.

“These are patients who are already

immunosuppressed and so they are part

of a vulnerable group. Lupus is a disease

that can target major organs, for exam-

ple the kidneys, so the risks are poten-

tially quite significant.”

Remedy search

Drug touted by Trump runs low in Europe

Modest start:

Francesca

Masiero, above.

PBA resumed

operations this

week, making

handles for the

disabled, a

product that is

deemed

essential

‘I think it’s irresponsible to

have big announcements

when you can’t guarantee

that everyone can get it’

Italy has the second largest

manufacturing sector in Europe

Gross value added,  (bn)

Sources: Eurostat; IHS Markit

Germany

Italy

France

UK

Spain

Ireland

Netherlands

Poland

Austria

Sweden

Belgium

Czech Republic

    

Confidence in Italian manufacturing

at lowest point since financial crisis

Manufacturing purchasing managers’ index

(below   contraction)











  

Manufacturing PMI

No change level

Video

PBA’s fight for

survival

ft.com/italyjobs

‘Everyone is

aware that

what is

happening

is epochal,

but we have

to deal with

it, we have

to deal with

reality’

CO R O N AV I R U S

‘Many

employees

came to me

and asked if

they had to

worry

about their

job. They

were all

scared’

Madonna: singer is among those

backing the therapeutics accelerator

APRIL 8 2020 Section:World Time: 7/4/2020- 18:50 User:john.conlon Page Name:WORLD2 USA, Part,Page,Edition:USA, 3, 1