Due to the global corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) situation we want to take the opportunity to inform our Sales Partners about the current status of our company and some business related infos.
Q: How is the Corona Virus affecting Thomastik-Infeld? Do I need to worry about my string supply? Do I have to worry about you?
A: The situation changes almost daily, so all the provided information is to the best of our knowledge as of March 17th, 2020.
All departments of Thomastik-Infeld Vienna, Austria are up and working almost normally. Production is currently not significantly affected besides the added security procedures.
However, we might encounter some challenges in getting finished goods to you. A significant part of international freight gets transported in normal passenger aircraft. Since such flights get canceled, the whole logistics industry faces increasing bottlenecks and delays. Even the normal mail delivery for documents like letters or invoices is affected now.
This development is totally out of our direct control. Nevertheless, we work hard to get all your shipments to you as fast as possible.
Q: Does Thomastik-Infeld have special security precautions in place to secure the health of employees?
A: Thomastik-Infeld not only follows all the official guidelines of the local health authorities, but also implemented various additional voluntary procedures to protect its employees and the well-being of our community. This includes working from home where possible as well as using video conferencing instead of face to face meetings.
Q: How can the greater Thomastik-Infeld family better work together?
A: You can help by informing us about the current situation in your region.
Please tell us about specific delivery problems in your regions like a local shut down of parcel services or so. Likewise, if we do notice any delays from our side, we will actively inform you.
Q: Is there any information Thomastik-Infeld Sales Partners can forward to consumers?
A: Indeed, there is some important information for musicians. Feel free to spread this information via your social channels.
(1) Nowadays the talk seems to be all about sanitizers and disinfection fluids. Many people want to know if it is OK to use them also for cleaning strings.
The short answer is a clear NO. Please do not apply those materials onto strings.
Although these liquids are mainly based on alcohol, but they also include many other different components like antiseptics, anti-bacterial, dyestuffs as well as scents. We therefore strongly recommend staying with our string cleaning advise:
Please clean your strings before winding them up with a 99.9% ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL (also known as IPA or ISOPROPANOL) and a SOFT MICROFIBER CLOTH only. After playing, use a soft microfiber cloth to clean the strings on the instrument. Don't use alcohol once the strings are on the instrument to prevent getting alcohol on the wood!
You can find all the details in our video here:
Stringtelligence by Thomastik-Infeld
BEAUTY PROCEDURES OF A HAPPY STRING
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEphBU8d5bg
(2) Please avoid letting colleagues play on your instrument, as a contamination can also happen through a so-called smear infection! Do wash your cleaning cloth regularly.
(3) Thomastik-Infeld Sales Partners around the world carry substantial amount of strings on stock. Therefore, we do not expect any shortage in supply for our customers.
(4) Maybe you saw the videos from Italy, where musicians played from their balconies and people smiled despite the huge crisis there. Never forget: Music is a great way to connect people!
We hope that you find this information valuable. We will keep you up to date as soon as we have new information. Also, please let us know about your local situation, thank you in advance.
All the best from the Thomastik-Infeld team! Stay strong!