Manaus, June 15, 2020 – Aware of the importance of collective efforts to combat the pandemic, Klabin, Brazil’s largest producer and exporter of paper for packaging, has rolled out several initiatives to help prevent the coronavirus outbreak. In the state of Amazonas, the company has already spent about R$ 1.2 million on actions in the areas of health and welfare.

Klabin has so far donated three ventilators, more than 135,000 health, hygiene and personal protection items, 400 mattresses and 400 hospital pillows, 800 bed sheets and 800 bottles of hand sanitizer to the Delfina Aziz Hospital, which is the referral hospital for treating confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients in Manaus.

It also donated 460 basic food baskets and hygiene kits to the Salesian Network to be distributed to the population. Klabin also partnered with the Sustainable Amazonia Foundation, which provides assistance to around 200 socially and economically vulnerable families in the impoverished neighborhoods of Manaus, to donate food and hygiene kits, and an allowance for waste pickers for two months. The project also supports local artisans who are currently producing cloth masks that will be donated to the needy. It also offered assistance to the Brazilian Association of Recyclable-Material Collectors (ANCAT) by distributing food voucher cards to workers throughout the state.

Another partnership already in action is with the União Amazônia Viva project to distribute 165 food kits to the indigenous communities in the Alto Rio Negro and Baixo Amazonas regions.

Klabin, which has been operating an industrial unit in Manaus for three years to produce corrugated board packaging, has taken a series of strict hygiene and safety protocols to ensure the maintenance of its operations, which are essential for the country. The company has set up crisis committees that look for the best practices in combating COVID-19 on a daily basis. Recently, the company installed ozone tunnels at the entry and exit points of its mills to disinfect external surfaces, which has highly effective in disinfecting external surfaces. Installation of these tunnels at the Manaus unit should be concluded in the coming weeks.