How will the DHC industry respond in the ‘months after’?

While being in the eye of the storm, it might sound strange to think already of the phase after. What happens when we can start working on our construction and expansion projects again, when we can do regular maintenance interventions on site again?

Dear reader, dear member of the District Energy community,

We are all facing critical and challenging times for our industry and for society. Facing a sudden and disruptive health challenge due to the current COVID-19 situation, the way people work is being challenged, and construction projects are forced to slow down or to pause.

While being in the eye of the storm, it might sound strange to think already of the phase after. What happens when we can start working on our construction and expansion projects again, when we can do regular maintenance interventions on site again?

Although nobody has a crystal ball, one might assume that this restart of business activities will start sometime before the Summer. And here we find one element that all participants in the District Energy sector have in common: seasonality!

Every year, the high season in preparing for the Winter season is typically from June to September. This already demands a lot of site preparation work, capacity planning with the local workforce, equipment to be supplied on time…As the French say “ça va chauffer!”.

The reflection I’d like to share with you is that the high season of 2020 will not be a normal high season. On top of the regular seasonal activity, most likely our industry will try and recover some of the delays caused by the COVID-19 measures.

If this is the case, and we all hope it will be, this will put a double strain on the workforce and equipment capacity. The risk could be getting confronted with longer lead times than normal, due to high and sudden demand.

Being a manufacturer of district heating substations, Cetetherm understands that planning is not always easy. However, by keeping close communication throughout the supply chain during these weeks, from end customer to manufacturer, everyone can prepare themselves in the best way. By strong integrated planning, we will all achieve our common goal: maximum customer satisfaction and maximum business results.

Johan De Cuyper | General Manager | Cetetherm Group

Mobile: +46 708 477273 | [email protected] | www.cetetherm.com

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