COVID-19 - Customers and Stakeholders

COVID-19 Latest Updates at Culp

 

March 26, 2020

CULP SHIFTS OPERATIONS TO MAKE MASKS, FABRICS FOR HEALTHCARE AND OTHER ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES IN SUPPORT OF COVID-19 RELIEF EFFORTS

HIGH POINT, N.C. (March 26, 2020) ─ Culp, Inc. (NYSE: CULP) today announced the company has reprioritized some of its operations to manufacture critical products needed for healthcare, essential infrastructure, and public health. These products include personal face masks and fabrics for masks, as well as bed covers for hospitals and other fabrics used for mattresses and furniture products supplied to healthcare facilities, nursing homes, emergency shelters, hotels and motels, and other residential facilities.

The company is cross-functioning between departments in these efforts and has a dedicated team working tirelessly to develop and produce critical items to support the COVID-19 relief efforts. It is supporting numerous requests from customers for products and materials that are necessary for essential businesses, and the company is committed to doing its part to serve the people and regions that need it most during this difficult time.

Iv Culp, chief executive officer of Culp, Inc. stated, “We are very proud to join other U.S. companies in repurposing our production to join the fight against COVID-19. While the outbreak is creating unprecedented challenges to businesses, governments, and societies around the world, we are doing our part to serve our communities and ensure business continuity for customers and essential businesses. Culp is fortunate to have the ability to leverage our production capabilities and help meet the critical demand for protective masks and other necessary supplies to support healthcare and critical infrastructure. Our associates are working in tandem with our industry partners to meet these production requirements.”

Teresa Huffman, senior vice president, human resources, added, “While we are excited about the opportunity to contribute to critical COVID-19 relief efforts, the health and safety of our employees is our top priority during this time. We are continuing to take a proactive approach by following published guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other government health agencies, and we are committed to protecting the wellbeing of our employees, customers, and other stakeholders.”

Culp, Inc. is one of the world's largest marketers of mattress fabrics for bedding and upholstery fabrics for residential and commercial furniture. The company markets a variety of fabrics to its global customer base of leading bedding and furniture companies, including fabrics produced at Culp’s manufacturing facilities and fabrics sourced through other suppliers. Culp has operations located in the United States, Canada, China, and Haiti.

 


 

March 25, 2020

RE: Culp Essential Business Status

Dear Valued Customers, Suppliers, and Business Partners,

As you are aware, a number of state and local governments have issued orders or guidelines to help slow the spread of coronavirus, some of which may order residents to stay at home except for essential purposes and require non-essential businesses to cease operations.

Based upon federal guidelines and applicable state or local orders, the operations of Culp, Inc., including our Culp Home Fashions division and our Culp Upholstery Fabrics division (“Culp” or the “Company”), are considered essential business operations on the basis that the Company provides critical manufacturing and also supplies other essential businesses with products or services they need to operate. Among other things, Culp manufactures critical products needed for healthcare, essential infrastructure, and public health, including protective masks and fabrics for masks, as well as bed covers for hospitals and other fabrics used for mattresses and furniture products supplied to healthcare facilities, nursing homes, emergency shelters, hotels and motels, and other residential facilities.

Importantly, the suppliers and business partners for our essential business operations themselves are also considered essential businesses because these suppliers and partners are supporting the essential business of Culp. Without this support, our ability to manufacture critical products and support other essential businesses would be greatly diminished. If you are a supplier or business partner and cannot provide products to fulfill our orders, we need to know immediately, so alternative plans can be made.

The safety of our people, our customers, and the communities in which we operate remains our primary concern during this time. Culp is following, and will continue to follow, social distancing and other protocols for our workers in accordance with applicable guidelines from the CDC and other applicable health authorities.

Thank you for all that you are doing during this challenging time. We wish you the best, and know that together,
we will work to limit the spread of the coronavirus while taking care of our customer needs.

Sincerely,

Robert G. Culp, IV
Chief Executive Officer
Culp, Inc.

 


 

March 13, 2020

Dear Valued Culp Customer,

Thank you for your business and the opportunity to serve you. We wanted to personally share an update on our efforts to avoid or minimize disruption to your operations during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

The health and safety of our employees, as well as the employees of our customers, partners, and vendors, remains our top priority. We are taking a number of precautionary measures to ensure that all such individuals avoid any risk of infection during this unprecedented and evolving situation. At the same time, we understand that the security of our supply of products to you is of critical importance.

The Culp team is closely monitoring the status of the outbreak. We are complying with all government requirements associated with the operation of our facilities and following the protocols set forth in our longstanding global pandemic disease contingency plan. As the number of cases continues to escalate globally, we are also taking additional preventative measures such as limiting travel, restricting non-essential visitors, enforcing quarantine protocols as appropriate, and increasing cleaning schedules.

Currently, we have not experienced material impacts on our operations or supply chain due to the COVID-19 outbreak in any of our businesses. We have built a long-standing and reactive supply chain with strong manufacturing platforms and partners. We also have significant alternative locations with repetitive capabilities as needed, including production or sourcing capabilities in the U.S., Canada, Haiti, China, Vietnam, and Turkey, depending on the particular business division. We believe our stable supply chain and global platform supports our ability to manage disruption, based on the conditions known at this time.

We are also communicating regularly with our suppliers to capture updated status information and working to keep our customers informed of any impact to delivery of products manufactured in regions of the world affected by the virus.

Importantly, we continue to maintain a sound financial position with solid liquidity. We have a strong balance sheet and amounts available for borrowing under our revolving credit agreements in both the U.S. and China, giving us the financial strength to support our operations and execute our strategies during this challenging time.

As you know, despite our best efforts, the situation relating to COVID-19 is fluid and could change on short notice. However, please rest assured that our entire organization is highly focused on minimizing any impact to your needs as a customer.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through this unprecedented time. We have a dedicated team managing our response and we will continue to provide updates as we learn more. On behalf of all of us at Culp, thank you for your continued business.

Sincerely,

Robert G. Culp, IV
Chief Executive Officer
Sandy Brown
President, Culp Home Fashions
Boyd Chumbley
President, Culp Upholstery Fabrics