Taco Family of Companies Executive Chairman John Hazen White Jr. and CEO Cheryl Merchant shared the following statement on the COVID-19 pandemic to their partners and customers on March 31.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world significantly over the past few weeks. The situation is still very fluid and countries across the globe are taking drastic measures to flatten the infection curve and protect their people, as well as the local healthcare systems.

"A key component of Taco’s core values is to ensure the shared success of our employees, customers, business partners, and we remain committed to this goal through the current situation. As part of this commitment, Taco has put in place measures to ensure the safety of our employees. We continue to monitor the CDC and government organizations and adjust our practices and policies as the situation evolves to keep our workplace safe and secure.

"Commitment to our community is also critical to our core values. One way we demonstrate this is through the Taco/White Family Foundation, which will continue to support artistic organizations that serve our communities, such as the Providence Performing Arts Center and the Rhode Island Philharmonic, even during this current crisis. Support for these organizations is now more important than ever to ensure they can continue to uplift our community and provide families the opportunity to enrich their lives.

"Another way we demonstrate this commitment is through the products we provide for essential healthcare and medical facilities and other critical infrastructure across North America and the globe. Our customers in these markets need to provide products and services to ensure that these facilities continue to have clean water and reliable heating throughout this difficult period. Because of this, we have confirmed that Taco falls under essential services within the various government directives, and we plan to continue our operations.

"Steps We Have Taken

"In order to minimize infection across the workforce, as well as secure our manufacturing and supply capabilities as much as possible, we took the following measures over the past weeks:

• Extensive international and local travel restrictions
• Strong preventive hygiene and safety measures in all our locations, including increased sanitizing, distance between employees, separation of shifts, separation within shifts, fixed groups in production lines, etc.
• Access restrictions and protocols at all of our facilities
• Limited in-person meetings, both internally and externally
• Maximum work-from-home schedules for all functions possible
• Continuous dialogue with our suppliers and logistics providers to minimize disruption to our supply chain and inventory positions
• Continued customer and technical service standards

"Throughout Taco’s 100-year history, one thing has always remained constant: our strong sense of community, which we totally love. As a global company based in the great United States of America, we will do whatever we can to support our communities and the world through this difficult time. We are so proud to be a part of this worldwide effort to defeat this horrible pandemic. Challenging times have always brought us together, and together, we will find the strength to make it through this current crisis."