Italian supplier MTA restarts production after coronavirus stoppage

MILAN — MTA Advanced Automotive Solutions, a supplier to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and other automakers, has restarted production after a one-week stop due to the coronavirus outbreak.

MTA's headquarters and main production center in Codogno, 60 km (37 miles) southeast of Milan, had been closed since Feb. 24 after the town became the center of a coronavirus outbreak in Italy.

Production has now restarted, MTA said in a news release, although at a lower capacity. Offices are still closed and sales, purchasing, r&d and customer service people are working from home, the company said.

MTA marketing head Maria Vittoria Falchetti said that the company is now able to serve the needs of its customers, although logistics remain complicated by the lock-down. MTA has to ask permission for each delivery truck, she said, and the truck driver "self isolates" himself while MTA employees load the truck.

Italian authorities ordered factories in Codogno and nine nearby towns to suspend non-essential activities to help prevent the spread of the virus. The lockout is scheduled to last until at least next weekend, and people are still not allowed to enter or leave the towns.

Last week FCA had obtained permission to retrieve critical parts from MTA; three of FCA's car plants in Italy and a joint venture van factory with PSA Group were threatened with production stops because MTA could not deliver essential electronics parts.

MTA said FCA's Italian plants in Mirafiori, Cassino and Melfi and its Sevel joint venture with PSA would run out of MTA parts without regular deliveries. Renault, BMW, PSA Group and Jaguar Land Rover could also be hit, the supplier said.