2021....Another year, another new set of challenges to overcome!

Just when we thought we were through the worst of it….along comes 2021! I mean, haven’t we dealt with enough? 2021 started out promising, vaccinations happening, hospital stays dropping, fewer and fewer Covid deaths to report. All good news! Then, February hit with one of the worst winter storms to hit the state of Texas in a very long time. Snow, ice and power outages that went on for weeks! This may have happened in Texas but it affected the entire chemical industry. With many of our largest chemical plants situated in Texas, the power outages caused millions in damage to the plants, closing them down for long periods of time. Many are still not at full capacity. The ripple effect has lead to unending price increases and product shortages. Understand that chemicals go into almost everything we use on a daily basis. For specialty chemical manufacturers such as us, one of the most difficult things we have had to endure is Force Majeure and all that entails. Force Majeure can be described as “an event - war, labor stoppages or extreme weather, that is not the fault of any party and that makes it difficult to impossible to carry out normal business.” This has lead to most contracts being cancelled and prices steadily climbing. Container costs alone have increased by over 70% with no end in sight. The raw materials we purchase to manufacture our product line are now being quoted on a daily basis. There is no such thing as a price list or firm pricing. Supply and demand issues have also lead to product allocation and very long lead times to get material once ordered. I am explaining this because I want you to understand that we would much prefer price stability, firm pricing for a minimum of a year, and being able to fill orders with little to no lead times. Those were the days! I am asking that you bear with us, that you order well enough ahead to be able to stand the possibility of a lengthened lead time. That you understand we are not being greedy when we have to increase pricing. Most of us are cutting our margins and splitting these increases with you! We will get through this just as we did in 2020. I am hopeful that by 4th quarter 2021 to early 2022 we will begin to see stability once again. As always, we will continue to work with you to get you what you need to maintain a clean, sanitary and healthy environment. Please call us with any of your questions and/or concerns.

COVID - REBOOT!

As we enter the winter season and our typical flu season we are also experiencing a resurgence of COVID. Why? I’m sure there are a plethora of reasons, but in my humble opinion you can in large part blame it on our weariness in dealing with it all. The coined term being Covid Fatigue is very fitting. We are all so very tired of keeping our distance when we yearn to hug! Wearing masks, no matter how stylish they’ve gotten, is still so stifling and I personally miss my lipstick! We are nostalgic for the good old days of gathering with our friends and family, laughing out loud and singing at the tops of our lungs! There is even fatigue in “following the rules” …I find myself not washing my hands as often as I did early on….or using hand sanitizer after every suspect touch. And while I am very good about social distancing, I find I’m not in my mask as often as before. I need to do better. We all need to do better! On the somewhat brighter side, as dangerous as this virus remains, “it’s not nearly the same animal that shut the economy down in March”. We have better treatments and therapies. The risk of death has lessened and businesses have adapted to operate more safely. We are still seeing strong economic reports every day. Let’s all remain optimistic, we are turning the corner. A vaccine is in sight. Let’s just not lose sight that this contagious monster is still killing people every day.

Wash your hands, use hand sanitizer, social distance and wear your masks!

NATIONAL CUSTODIAN DAY!

October 2nd is National Custodian Day. I say this is the YEAR of the custodian. These unsung heroes go to work every day cleaning and disinfecting our schools, offices, buses, restaurants, planes, trains and every other place we as humans inhabit on a daily basis. They help keep us safe. It can be said they save lives.

Please, thank a custodian today and everyday. If there is one thing this pandemic should have taught us it is that we need to be grateful to those who go into this COVID battle daily and work to keep us all healthy and safe.

THANK YOU …EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!