Item 8.01 Other Events.
Dear Shareholders and Employees,
This will be our third update on the COVID-19 outbreak. It is our goal to keep you as informed as possible on the actions taken by Alpine 4 and our subsidiaries to maintain business operations.
In mid-April, Alpine 4’s subsidiaries began to receive the SBA PPP funds they applied for. This has allowed all of our subsidiaries to recall and offer back employment to our furloughed employees, while keeping the critical services our subsidiaries offer flowing. For this we are grateful.
I am also pleased to announce that the 10,000 N95 masks that our COO, Mr. Jeff Hail, and our buying team have been trying to secure have finally shipped and are in transit to our California subsidiary, QCA. We anticipate delivering these masks to our employees companywide by the end of next week. We have also dedicated a portion of the masks to be donated to several of the hospital workers and other companies we work with.
The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak will have lingering effects on almost every company in the United States and Alpine 4 will be no exception. Over the past several weeks, we have been able to work with our customer base to assess what the remaining 2020 demand for our products and services will be. Management is estimating that in 2020 existing subsidiaries, excluding any new acquisitions, could see a 21% drop in overall revenue from $49m to $39m due to the outbreak. Our A4 Manufacturing, Inc. holding group consisting of Quality Circuit Assembly, Inc. and American Precision Fabricators, Inc. have been adversely affected the most. Many of their customers have simply not been able to receive shipments during the “shelter in place/stay home, stay safe” orders, or have pushed out their demand requirements to next year. In turn, our A4 Manufacturing companies are focusing their efforts on supplying to companies that are deemed essential. Our A4 Construction Services, Inc. holding group (Morris Sheet Metal, JTD Spiral, Corp., Deluxe Sheet Metal, Inc. and Excel Fabrication, LLC) has seen a drop in overall construction-related demand along with a delay of construction projects, but they have been able to augment a portion of that drop-off by building isolation rooms for their hospital network of clients, and have expanded food processing maintenance and construction needs with their food production clients.
While “Shelter In Place” and “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order’s are still in effect in Indiana, Arkansas, Idaho, Arizona and California, we continue taking guidance from government and public health authorities to ensure the health and well-being of our vendors, customers, employees and their families.
Over the past few weeks, we have been working with our subsidiary leadership teams, modeling what each subsidiary will need as each state begins lifting their “Shelter In Place” and “Stay Home, Stay Safe” orders. It is our goal to bring full operations back online as soon as possible from both a legal and responsible standpoint.
To our employees, please check with your leadership team and Trish Norvell, HR Director, for more updates.
In closing, please know that whether you are a shareholder, employee, customer or vendor, we value all of you and we want you to be safe.
Best regards,
Kent B. Wilson
CEO / President
Alpine 4 Technologies, Ltd.