We are approaching the final month of 2020, what an unimaginable year has this been for all of us. The coronavirus has turned the lives of many of us upside down, everything that seemed normal is no langer obvious.

We aften work from home, we had no meetings and keep a distance from each other. Restaurants that closed, it is no langer allowed to receive more than a number of guests at home and we need to wear face masks; it seems to be a surreal world.

Despite this odd situation, we all accomplish it by putting our shoulders to the wheel and letting the work continue! We want to let you know that we appreciate this very much and it is good to see that everyone is taking their responsibility. We realize that it is not always easy, the col leagues who cannot see each other at the offices, the communication that aften takes place via Teams, mail or telephone. For a specific period we were not even allowed to visit certain countries.

From the beginning of the corona panda mie, we have let you know that we are proud of our approach and intensive cooperation within all divisions and countries. lt may be difficult to find a bigger word than pride, but it is unprecedented how we all get through this difficult period. Every week/ month there is a possibility that the taken measures have to be revised. The flexibility and adaptability within our company is an example for many.

We will not let this pandemie stop us from continuing our business, of course in a responsible manner. lt even gave us the strenght to open a new office in ltaly, the NCP building was renovated recently, KGN has built a new office, we have started building for VacQpack the first of the three experience centers in the USA and an office has been opened in Vietnam. The recruitment of new colleagues also has continued. This year alone we have welcomed more than 80 new colleagues. within the group.

We have noticed that many colleagues, who aften work from home, have a need for personal contact with their colleagues; unfortunately this still has to take place via Teams meetings for the time being. As soon as it will be safe to meet again, we will certainly arrange this.

The current situation will not al low us to carne togheter for closing the year by having a Christmas dinner. This is a pity, because we would have enough to discuss with each other. of course we will carne up with a creative solution to end this year in style, you will be informed about this.

We want to thank you for your flexibility and efforts, we can be proud of each other! Above all, stay healthy and if you have any problems, let us know, togheter wel will solve the issues.

A big thank you, we hope to see each other again as soon as possible and pick up our “old lifes” again.

Joren Nieuwenhuizen