Letter from Chile on the earthquake

How did the Atlas Copco Chilena SAC team react? Even in the first hours of that Saturday, the Business Continuity Plan was put into action, which allowed Atlas Copco to operate with no interruption to customer support. Attendance during this process reached 95%. We worked together on getting in touch with all personnel and an action plan was created to help colleagues and their relatives who were more severely affected by this earthquake. We want to especially express our thankfulness to our colleagues in Temuco who acted as first aid volunteers in Concepción.

Support from abroad appeared very quickly. Group senior management was in regular contact with us from early in the morning, monitoring the earthquake effects with respect to our personnel, their homes and families, and the company’s facilities. The flow of calls and e-mails inquiring information about the situation, expressing goodwill and offering support was continuous during the days following the earthquake.

We are very grateful that all our employees are alive. We didn’t have any human casualties amongst almost 800 people. The branch most affected was Concepción. Most of the employees of Concepción are fine, as are their families and homes. However, some of them have suffered the loss of their homes or injured relatives.

Our main office building in Santiago suffered some minor structural problems and some employees’ homes were damaged. For all of the cases we activated an action plan to help the victims and support them emotionally and financially.

The Swedish and Belgian governments sent help to Chilean people through local government authorities. The executives of Atlas Copco supported our local internal campaign and made a worldwide request for all companies of the Group to join us. Many of them started their own campaigns from which we have already received donations.

Everyone asks, how can we help to reconstruct the country? Undoubtedly, many ways exist, and each of us must take a personal decision. But it must be kept in mind that as employees of Atlas Copco Chilena we also contribute to the reconstruction, as many of our customers will be helping in the physical recovery of the country. We offer products and services that will meet their needs and expectations. During these times of tension and urgency, good service from us may make a great difference. Remember the new brand promise: “Committed to sustainable productivity.”
Thanks to everyone!