The Coronavirus (COVID-19) has had a profound impact on the world. We, like many of you, are planning, following CDC protocols and carefully watching the news. As we hope for the best, we are preparing for the potential impact that will affect our industry. Let me take this moment to share with you the measures 9to5 Seating is taking to minimize any interruption in service for you and your business.
Fortunately, due to our unique vertical integration and ownership of our factory in China, we are able to mitigate supply shortage issues. While the production of our Chinese factory was impacted by a couple weeks due to COVID-19, our factory was one of the first in our region to re-open. Currently, our factory is at 100% production capacity and we are adding staff to increase production. Our outside suppliers are averaging at 80% production capacity, and we are receiving daily updates. We are, also, maintaining our weekly shipping schedule of containers of component parts to our factory in California.
Also, in anticipation of the Lunar New Year, we proactively increased our supply orders. This effort has helped buffer the situation. Again, due to wholly owning our own factory and controlling the supply, we are in the practice of holding plenty of safety stock in China so that we do not have to wait for parts to be produced.
Regarding transportation, while we do not have full control over our logistics partners, we are utilizing vessel lines that have the fastest service.
At our Hawthorne HQ, we are closely monitoring the situation and following CDC guidelines for the health of our employees and visitors. Both our factory production team and our Customer Care support team are fully staffed and orders are being processed and shipped as usual. We know many of you have asked that outside visits be kept to a minimum and have asked our sales representatives to honor your policies and keep their group meetings to a minimum. However, they are ready to support you, as always, with project support, individual meetings and samples.
With health at stake, these supply issues are small in the grand scheme of things. However, doing our small part to keep your business thriving matters to us. While we are doing our best to plan and execute during this difficult time, there may be some developments beyond our control that may disrupt our supply chain. With this in mind, please allow as much time as possible on projects with critical installation dates and convey those dates to us.
As this situation evolves, we are committed to providing open communication. If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to anyone on the 9to5 Seating team. We are here to help in any way we can.
On behalf of the 9to5 Seating team, thank you for being a loyal partner. We hope that you and your families stay healthy and safe during this time.