As a leading brand of "healthy paint" in China, 3TREES took swift actions against the sudden outbreak of the novel coronavirus. While working on its own epidemic response, 3TREES made donations in both cash and kind to help fight the disease. At the same time, on February 10, 3TREES switched to efficient, collaborative working mode on the internet, holding 1,827 online meetings in four days. In an interview with the Southern Metropolis Weekly, the lead manager of 3TREES said that the company got back to work on February 10, and the factory resumed production on February 17. Employees that were unable to return to work because of the epidemic would continue to take salaries from the company, he added.

Due to the epidemic, 3TREES may not be able to meet full demand, and production is under huge pressure.

The sudden onslaught of the novel coronavirus has put the home decoration industry through unprecedented difficulties, and 3TREES is no exception. The lead manager of the company said that in order to control the epidemic, traffic control had been introduced all around the country. As a result, 3TREES employees were unable to return to work, and production could not start as planned. At the same time, due to the traffic control, the logistics network was not functioning normally and could not meet production and transportation demands. He added that as the factories under construction were not yet ready for production and the technical renovations in the new factories could not proceed, 3TREES was not only unable to meet market demands at the current stage, but also faced great pressure in production through the year.

Under Chairman and President Hong Jie’s personal leadership, 3TREES set up the command center for COVID-19 response in no time.

In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, in order to ensure the normal operation of the company, Hong Jie, Chairman and President of 3TREES, personally led a taskforce to set up the 3TREES command center and leadership team for COVID-19 response, with clearly defined objectives, division of labor and responsible persons. Epidemic control teams have been set up from headquarters to branch factories, and internal and external rapid response and communication mechanisms have been established to communicate with factories, local government departments and hospitals externally, and interact and communicate with employees inside the company. The rapid response mechanism to deal with cases of infection has also been set up.

In addition, 3TREES has developed a model for gauging the impact of “infections” on the company’s production and operation to assess the possible impact of the epidemic on the company's, including the risks to employees, outsourcing, government, the public and the supply chain, emergency plans for capital, materials and personnel, and communication with employees, outsourcing partners, government and the public.

To ensure the health and safety of all employees, 3TREES extended the Spring Festival holiday to February 9. At the same time, in order to prevent the further spread of the epidemic and protect the health of every employee who was about to return to work, 3TREES opened a special epidemic control channel to keep track of the epidemic development in the country, and issued the 3TREES Epidemic Control Guidelines. In addition to keeping daily records and tracking the health status of employees and their families, the company has also set up online courses to empower all employees and partners, and switched on the rapid growth mode for them during these extraordinary times.

Salaries paid as usual for employees that are unable to return to work on time due to the outbreak

On February 10, 3TREES moved work online and launched the mode of efficient collaboration. According to the 3TREES lead manager, by February 14, the company had initiated a total of 1,827 online meetings with 12,671 participants, lasting 43,892 minutes.

While moving work online, 3TREES also started preparing for the return to work according to the guidance issued by the relevant government departments. Prior to the resumption of work, a quarantine plan for employees in the event of a "sudden infection" was being prepared, based on the professional opinions of doctors, which contained clear records of employees' itineraries, health information, etc. The company purchased 75% medical alcohol and medical N95 masks, disposable medical masks and other protective materials from overseas partners, and prepared temperature testers, disinfectants and other anti-epidemic materials. 3TREES also distributed masks, foaming chlorine disinfection tablets and thermometers in the employees’ residential areas.

After thorough preparations in the earlier stage, 3TREES resumed work on February 17. In order to ensure a safe office environment after the resumption of work, 3TREES carried out a series of disinfection measures, and strengthened hygiene supervision and inspection to ensure the health of all employees and keep a healthy and hygienic working environment.

At the same time, 3TREES strengthened the stock-taking and improvement of the five elements of production (man, machine, material, method and environment) and vigorously promoted collaborative operation, active communication and information sharing among internal departments; actively collaborated with upstream and downstream customers and suppliers to access information on the client side and market changes and confirm the status of work resumption, order delivery, and the impact of demand and market changes; promote less human-involved and flexible production, and employ high-skilled and multi-skilled workers to better cope with the changes in the labor market; promote the use of flexible automated production lines and build smart factories to reduce dependence on labor.

According to the 3TREES lead manager, employees who could not return to work on time due to the epidemic would be paid salaries as usual; at the same time, 3TREES was pressing ahead with its planned school and community recruitment. He said that the company had also developed a new employee orientation plan to ensure that new employees are ready to work and meet the production needs when production resumes.

It is worth mentioning that, during the epidemic, while 3TREES gives its care to the health of employees, the employees are also showing their care for the company’s difficulties in their own way. The 3TREES lead manager told us that some employees had requested for a pay cut to help the company tide over the difficulties, but was turned down by the company’s Chairman and President Hong Jie.

Making 15 million yuan of cash and in-kind donations to support the fight against the novel coronavirus

Your reporter learned that in the wake of the outbreak, in addition to rapidly activating the emergency mechanism and preparing for the resumption of work upon government instructions, 3TREES had actively shouldered its social responsibility, and made 15 million yuan of cash and in-kind donations to support the fight against the novel coronavirus in various parts of the country.

On January 27, 3TREES donated 10 million yuan to the Fujian Provincial Society for Promotion of Guangcai Program, which was transferred to the relevant departments in Wuhan to support the city's fight against the epidemic.

On February 7, 3TREES donated 500,000 yuan to the Finance Bureau of Nanzhao County, Henan Province, to support its fight against the novel coronavirus.

On February 10, Hubei Dayu Jiuding New Material Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary company of 3TREES, donated 500,000 yuan to the East Mafang Street in Yingcheng, Xiaogan City, Hubei Province, to support the local epidemic prevention efforts.

In addition to donating funds, 3TREES has also participated in the construction of Wuhan Leishenshan Hospital, Beijing Xiaotangshan Hospital, Ningxia Yinchuan No.4 People's Hospital, Fujian Longyan Kangshan Hospital, Jiangsu Xuzhou Jiawang People's Hospital, Anhui Suizhou No.3 People's Hospital and other hospital projects.

3TREES associates also made active donations to the fight against the epidemic. The 3TREES Charitable Foundation raised more than 600,000 yuan in just three days. Through the foundation, all the money raised was used to purchase epidemic prevention materials and donated to anti-epidemic hospitals.

Voice of business: the measures introduced by central government departments to support production resumption give timely assistance to all companies

"The policy of resuming production based on local conditions, allowing areas with the required conditions to resume work first and suspending production in areas still affected by the epidemic, gives enterprises a clear base to make reasonable arrangements for resuming production. Tax relief, tax suspension, financial support and other measures adopted by the General Administration of Taxation, the Ministry of Finance, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments have lessened the pressure on companies’ cash flow to help them get through the tough times. Putian City, where 3TREES is headquartered, also put forward ten measures to support the companies that resumed production, and offered credit support and subsidies to help small and medium-sized enterprises stabilize production and operation and overcome the difficulties." In the words of the 3TREES lead manager, the measures introduced by central government departments to support production resumption gave timely assistance to all companies.

Talking about long-term planning, the lead manager hoped that the government could increase the support for scientific and technological innovation of coating enterprises, and encourage enterprises to develop anti-bacteria, anti-toxic and other high-tech products to help people live a better and healthier life. He also hoped the government could give more support to enterprises that produce environment-friendly coatings in terms of construction land, fiscal subsidies, tax exemption and bank loans. In addition, in order to reduce the unemployment rate of the coatings industry, he suggested that the government give a certain amount of fiscal subsidies to enterprises that offer more jobs instead of laying off employees during the epidemic.