Giving French victims final overcoat is proud: OGF worker

It is a grim reality that occasions are good for the coffin enterprise once they’re unhealthy for folks, and the coronavirus pandemic isn’t any exception.

An worker of France’s greatest coffin-maker, OGF group places safety on a coffin in Jussey, jap France on Wednesday amid the unfold of COVID-19. Photograph: AFP

At a manufacturing unit belonging to Europe’s largest coffin maker, OGF, in jap France, staff are doing time beyond regulation to fulfill demand from households parting with their family members.

“Because of the epidemic, we determined to fabricate simply 4 fashions of coffins which are high sellers with households” in comparison with the 15 sorts normally on provide, mentioned manufacturing unit director Emmanuel Garret.

The change “allowed us to optimize manufacturing”, he added.

COPYRIGHT_BP: Published on https://bingepost.com/giving-french-victims-final-overcoat-is-proud-ogf-worker/95289/ by - on 2020-04-13T19:39:45.000Z

Output has risen to 410 coffins per day, in comparison with 370 usually.

Staff are placing in practically an additional hour per day.

“Folks have been forewarned and are prepared to come back in and work on Saturdays,” mentioned Didier Pidancet, who heads up the crew that selects the wooden for the coffins.

France has been one of many nations worst hit by the coronavirus.

“We’re proud to be collaborating on this nationwide effort, we’re doing our greatest to make sure that victims can have their ultimate overcoat, as we are saying,” added Pidancet.

Based in 1910, the manufacturing unit within the city of Jussey initially produced wooden charcoal and flooring. On the outset of World Conflict II it started to specialise in making coffins.

It’s now a part of the OGF Group, which has two factories together with the one at Jussey, and makes one in 4 coffins utilized in France.

The 10-hectare web site is answerable for all the course of of manufacturing coffins. It strips the logs, cuts then dries the wooden, which is finally crafted and assembled into coffins.

The wooden, largely oak, comes from native forests.

Whereas quickly reducing again on the variety of fashions, the manufacturing unit has made one other adjustment: It has been making extra bigger coffins.

“Orders for bigger sizes are up a bit,” mentioned Garret, though he declined to attract a hyperlink to studies that COVID-19 mortality charges are larger for obese folks.

Whereas many producers have encountered issues as lockdown restrictions complicate deliveries, the Jussey manufacturing unit is properly stocked.

“We’re OK, now we have three months of shares of wooden, glue, nails and polish,” mentioned Garret.

A few of the manufacturing unit’s staff aren’t any strangers to earlier surges in deaths.

“Throughout the 2003 heatwave we elevated manufacturing to 500 caskets a day,” mentioned David Theurez, a 30-year veteran on the web site.

The heatwave, which claimed practically 15,000 lives in France, was in some methods harder for the manufacturing unit as they’d no warning and needed to name staff again from trip.

“However in the present day, it’s kind of totally different, you need to shield your self as properly with masks and gloves,” mentioned Theurez.

“It is a collective disaster, all of us need to make an effort and play our half,” he added.

The manufacturing unit’s staff themselves have not gone unscathed: Three have come down with COVID-19.

Fifteen others are at dwelling, compelled into isolation by present critical well being points, or as a result of they need to thoughts their kids as college has been canceled.

Like many different French corporations, the manufacturing unit has had issue acquiring protecting gear for all of its staff.

It had an area seamstress make masks for workers and work stations are disinfected commonly.

The manufacturing unit’s director thinks that the fast adoption of social distancing measures and protecting gear has helped them keep away from extra circumstances as jap France has been laborious hit with coronavirus infections.

“Fingers crossed,” mentioned Garret.

Newspaper headline: Additional time for coffin business