Our lives have changed hugely in recent weeks…
At Velatia we have ourselves experienced this process in all its phases, from its beginnings in China to its spreading to all countries and affecting each of the markets in which we carry out our activity. We have lived through the initial doubts, suffered the certainty of the pandemic and it seems that we will remain in a state of uncertainty for a time.
However, this is not the time to ask ourselves if we saw it coming, my intention is not to question whether the decisions taken were always the correct ones. It is time to focus on what we have in front of us, face it decisively and even see the good side of the crisis. Likewise, I think there are three issues I have become very much aware of during this time.
The first is the importance of industry, of producing locally and not solely being committed to a service-based society. The societies that enjoy better standards of living and well-being and are more stable are undoubtedly those whose industrial sector plays an important role in their GDP. We must permit industry to work its way back into our affections, because as a result it provides quality jobs and an entire chain of related services, the so-called knowledge industry. Industry is an asset we must protect and promote.
The second issue is flexibility. Rigid approaches are out of place, companies must know how to adapt to the demands of the market and even to pandemics such as the one experienced, which is capable of blowing right out of the water any forecasts that may had been prepared at the beginning of the year. Flexibility is necessary to be able to take care of people, meet the needs of customers and guarantee essential services to a society which when under lockdown requires like never before what we have come to know as basic services: food, energy, communications and information.
The third issue, and for me the most important, is commitment. The commitment we are seeing by those people who provide basic and essential services. I have the satisfaction of experiencing first hand this commitment from the 3,000 or more people who make up Velatia and who, from their homes or from the production line, undertake to make products and services available to society as a whole, to guarantee essential elements such as electrical power or secure communications. A commitment carried with the enormous enthusiasm and effort involved in working in extraordinarily demanding emotional and work circumstances. Allow me to take the opportunity to ask show my gratitude, my appreciation. We have important and diverse challenges ahead of us.
I do not hold the master formula to solve everything, but in times of uncertainty I usually resort to a classic quote: “The only place where success goes before work is in the dictionary.” We have many hours of effort and shared sacrifice ahead, as individuals, family, companies and society. But I am also clear that this recovery will be happen through industry, flexibility and commitment. It is in our hands to make it possible.
Transcription of the Opinion Column by Javier Ormazabal in the El Correo newspaper
