2020 certainly was a year like no other, but we are happy to say that we did our best to serve our customers while keeping our employees' safety one of the main priorities. Despite the challenges, we invite you to recall all of the moments which made the year 2020 extraordinary!
Contribution to the community
Kitron engineers around the world have joined forces to manufacture face shields for doctors and healthcare workers utilizing all our free 3D printing capacity. Protective face shields were distributed to frontline healthcare personnel to help them in the fight against the corona pandemic.
Kitron keeps its promises to continue using renewable energy. At the beginning of 2020, we installed a solar power system at our Kitron facility in Lithuania. During that short period, a solar power plant has already generated over 186.224 kWh of solar energy, which means that we saved 10 522 trees. Or with the same quantity of solar energy, over 1 million kilometers could be driven with an electric car.
Kitron and Appsens hope thousands of people at risk will adopt their newly developed sensor and app to reveal heart problems at an early stage. Kitron and Appsens have collaborated on optimizing the design and properties of circuit boards with associated unique and standard components.
The Team of Kitron US organized a T-shirt Fund Drive during October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The earnings from this event were donated to the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center in Windber, PA. Later, they also organized a November Food Drive to support the Food Bank in Windber, PA - a non-profit organization that fights hunger by distributing food to those in need.
Kitron sites around the world
Back in September, our colleagues from Kitron China participated in the Shanghai Chapter Football Tournament organized by The European Chamber. It was a perfect way to combine team spirit, competition, and a healthy lifestyle.
Kitron US celebrated its first year anniversary. We are glad the establishment of the facility in Windber, PA not only deepened the know-how and expertise in the Defence/Aerospace market sector Kitron already had but also brought dedicated and passionate co-workers to the team!
Kitron China celebrated its 10th anniversary. In 2019 KEM optimized and doubled the manufacturing area up to 8000 sq. m., where 220 highly skilled employees are performing daily tasks for challenging customers and markets.
Kitron Lithuania was awarded as the "Exporter of the Year 2019" at the annual conference of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists. Kitron UAB was honored among the large businesses for their outstanding contribution to science, technology, exports, and the Lithuanian economy.
Kitron Poland received the ISO 13485 Standard certificate which guarantees the highest quality of products and compliance with legal requirements and customer expectations. This achievement once again proved Kitron Group‘s commitment to quality, safety, and efficiency!
Kitron US operations gathered under one roof at the newly renovated facility in Windber, Pennsylvania. The upgraded facility of approximately 10 000 square meters, where more than 140 employees operate multiple lines, is certified according to a number of relevant quality standards.
The Team of Kitron Lithuania organized two drive-in movie evenings! About 160 participants came during the movie sessions where the organizers greeted everyone with snacks and a good mood.
Growing strong: new businesses
Northrop Grumman awarded contracts to Kitron to produce Integrated Communications, Navigation, and Identification (ICNI) modules for the F-35 Lightning II program.
Kitron also won an important order within measurement technology, a key part of our Energy/Telecoms market sector, which adds further volumes to our newest facility in Poland.
MedAvail awarded a contract to Kitron for the production of automated medication dispensing equipment for pharmacies and hospitals.
KONGSBERG awarded orders to Kitron for the production of RL542A, a core component in the new Flexible High Capacity Radio Link (FHCL), supplied by Kongsberg for the Norwegian Armed Forces.
Nortrop Grumman awarded a development contract to Kitron to update a F-35 test program set (TPS) and provide a repair capability for Kitron and a United States Government (USG) Depot.
We can now sum up 2020: it's been a year of extreme contrasts at big achievements!
A quick response to the Corona pandemic
A global pandemic caused huge societal problems as well as personal tragedies. However, at Kitron we handled the situations extremely well. We kept all our operations running, and the business has been very good.
Through regular meetings with the management in all parts of the group, Kitron rapidly worked out a comprehensive plan for all facilities in the group. Everyone who had entered the factory since March was instructed to wear a mask. The plan also included that all employees, apart from production management, technology, and factory staff, must work from home. This is still the case. A number of hygiene measures were also established, such as the importance of frequent use of hand sanitizers and disinfecting the workstation after the shift. In the lunchroom, we applied rules for keeping the distance, and tables were spread out. Drivers delivering goods to some of the facilities had their restrooms and a separate entrance.
As a result, production has continued at the same level as the previous year. In fact, Kitron experienced a peak when we met higher demand for components for ventilators used in health care. Because of Kitron's early planning for the pandemic, Kitron Sweden has actually seen a drop in its sick leave in 2020, compared to previous years. "I don't believe we've had a single case of Covid-19 among our employees, and the fact that everyone has adhered to the restrictions may also have contributed to fewer cases of the common cold and other infectious diseases," said Hansson Mutas, Managing Director of Kitron Sweden.
The remarkable performance of Kitron employees and partners contributed to new records in 2020, meaning the strong performance in the first half of 2020 continued over the rest of the year.
We want to thank all our customers, followers, suppliers, and the Kitron Team for their endless effort for success, which we can deliver!
