Canfield Industries CEO: Time to Carefully Move On

John Rasmussen, chief executive officer at Canfield Industries, an industrial components supplier with 100 employees, is hanging tough. You can read more about Canfield at its website.

What are some ways the COVID-19 outbreak has changed your work life?

There have been big changes to the work life at Canfield Industries.  First and foremost is the constant feeling of worry about all the people working at the company.  That feeling of relief when Friday comes and our people are home safe for two days.  Concern over those that are older and compromised in some way and the vicious nature of this virus.  Our new policies and procedures to keep our folks safe while still being somewhat productive have changed everything.

How about your personal life?

With a lot of family living out of town, we do a lot of traveling.   That is done for now.  I am concerned about the company 24/7 and where this problem will lead us.  Thank heavens my wife and I have a great relationship. Without that it would be very hard.  I’ve been able to catch up on things around the house that I’ve been meaning to do.  We were able to visit with my in-laws outside on our patio this weekend; we missed them.

What steps are you taking to hang tough?

We are continuing to go to work as our company is manufacturing products deemed essential by governmental guidelines.  We have been searching where we can help through this crisis. We have made many new customers, like Johns Hopkins Engineering School, which has need for solenoid valves and connectors for ventilators.  We concentrate on making the components that go into food production and machinery.  We had 70 of our 100 people who stuck with us throughout the stay-at-home order, and to me those people are brave and tough Heroes.    

What advice are you sharing with the people you love?

My 90-year-old mother Barbara is my hero, too.  We call her on the Echo every evening after dinner.  Talk about hanging tough.  She always says how lucky and blessed she is to be safe where she is in assisted living, where she just moved last year.  She is always up and positive and a shining example for the entire family.  She is not afraid.  My advice has always been to be like Barb.

Can you envision where we go from here?

I understand why we did the things we did when this whole thing started. But now it is different.  We need to look at the facts.  Very few people die from this virus compared to what we originally thought.  Young people have a miniscule chance of dying from this virus.  We need to move on, as carefully as we can. But move on we must.  We cannot live the rest of our lives alone in a room with a computer.