How much can we buy?
Bloomberg Businessweek|March 16, 2020
Anneliese Bischof was on a business trip in Thailand in the second week of January when conversations with Chinese colleagues about a new virus spreading across the region made her realize a major outbreak might be occurring.
Andrew Noel, with Gerald Porter Jr. and Thomas Buckley
How much can we buy?
For Bischof, the business director of disinfection at German chemicals company Lanxess AG, this was initially no cause for alarm. After all, she and her team had seen spikes in viral infections before, like the African swine fever that swept across the Asia-Pacific region last year, driving up demand for the company’s Virkon industrial-strength disinfectant.

It was only when Bischof returned to Germany that she realized this time was different. Back home in Cologne, the phones in her department started ringing off the hook. The inquiries were from nations that had never previously been on the Lanxess corporate map. “We had an off-the-charts number of calls coming in,” says Bischof, who works at the company’s Material Protection unit, which took over the Virkon brand of disinfectants a few years ago with the $230 million purchase of a biocide business from Delaware-based Chemours Co. “Places like Trinidad and Tobago, all kinds of small countries that for the majority of our business wouldn’t have been on our radar. That’s when we really started noticing the bomb dropping.”

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 16, 2020 من Bloomberg Businessweek.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 16, 2020 من Bloomberg Businessweek.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK مشاهدة الكل
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App

The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts

time-read
4 mins  |
March 13, 2023
Running in Circles
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Running in Circles

A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Bloomberg Businessweek US

What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort

Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.

time-read
10 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
Bloomberg Businessweek US

How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto

The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
The Last-Mover Problem
Bloomberg Businessweek US

The Last-Mover Problem

A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Tick Tock, TikTok
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Tick Tock, TikTok

The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria

A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Pumping Heat in Hamburg

The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge

Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment

time-read
4 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
New Money, New Problems
Bloomberg Businessweek US

New Money, New Problems

In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers

time-read
4 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023