Porcelanosa to resume operation on 20 April

Phased return to work and strict safety rules with full-scale operation to resume from April 20.​

In anticipation of the measures introduced by the Spanish government in Royal Decree-Law 10/2020 of 29 March, the Porcelanosa Group was the first Spanish ceramic company to announce that as of 27 March it would halt production and close over 40 Porcelanosa Grupo stores in Spain and Portugal. Worker safety and protection is the top priority in the European country worst affected by the pandemic alongside Italy.

As announced from the outset, the restart of production has been confirmed for Monday 20 April, but in order to ensure a safe and orderly return to work, phased entry of small groups of production personnel began on Tuesday 14. Workers are being met one by at a time by the company’s medical team, who hand out gloves and masks and provide all the information necessary to ensure maximum safety.

Wherever possible, office staff are continuing to work from home and will do so for as long as necessary.

According to the newspaper El Mundo, the chairman and founding partner of Porcelanosa Héctor Colonques has also stated that the group will not make use of the ERTE (“Expedientes de Regulación Temporal de Empleo”), the mechanism that temporarily allows Spanish companies to suspend employment contracts or reduce working days due to force majeure while keeping workers on full pay.

With its 8 brands (Porcelanosa, Venis, Gamadecor, Krion, L’Antic Colonia, Butech, Noken, Urbatek) and a network of 850 stores worldwide, the Porcelanosa Group posted consolidated sales of 850 million euros in 2019 ( up 5% on 2018), mainly due to a strong performance in Spain, Portugal, Great Britain and the United States.

Support and recognition for healthcare professionals

Like many Spanish ceramic companies of all sizes, Porcelanosa pursued solidarity and community initiatives right from the onset of the health crisis. An internal working group was set up to respond above all to the needs of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers, offering them accommodation and providing them with surgical masks, protective suits and other personal protective equipment at the Castellón hospital and the field hospital set up in the Madrid exhibition centre.

To promote the #quédateencasa (#stayathome) campaign, since 25 March the group’s website has been hosting the new video Héroes which pays tribute to the enormous efforts made by healthcare workers and by the population in general who do their part by respecting the lockdown and social distancing, waiting to be able to fill city streets and squares once again.