In contrast to the general trend in the Piceno area, HP Composites makes its way, which despite the delicate period continues to take on.

An uphill start to the year and a second half that promises to be uncertain, this is the picture of the labor market in Italy.Strongly influenced by the pandemic, the first semester closed with a significant contraction of the labor market, compared to the same period of 2019 there was a drop in hiring of - 39%, but the maximum peak was reached in April where it was close to -83%.

The macro-data tell the health status of the peninsula's labor market, but if we go down specifically and bring the magnifying glass closer to the Marche region, the data does not bode well.

In the 1st quarter of 2020, companies from the Marche hired 26.8% fewer staff, compared to the same period in 2019.

Total recruitment in the region recorded a greater decrease than all the others in central Italy and the peninsula in general, making it the penultimate in terms of the incidence of fixed-term and permanent contracts on new employment relationships. In Ascoli Piceno the situation is not encouraging: from January to April there were 9,722 fewer hires (5.2% less than in 2019) to which is added the closure of 593 businesses. An all-negative balance that sees employment opportunities drop dramatically, especially for young people in the area.

In contrast to the general trend in the Piceno area, HP Composites makes its way and continues to take on despite the delicate period. Over time, the company has always been talked about and at this time it could not fail to meet expectations. The pandemic has not, and perhaps could not, spare a niche and particular sector such as that of composite materials applied to the Automotive and Motorsport sectors, in which HP operates.

Like all activities, the latter also underwent a forced stop for a week, useful for allowing the sanitation of the premises as per government regulations. Stopping production was not easy, but a duty for the health and protection of employees.There have been many activities that have "left their employees at home" due to lack of funds, but HP Composites has tried to safeguard its collaborators in this too: during the month of April and May no administration contract was stopped,on the contrary, their reconfirmation during the lockdown gave everyone the opportunity to access the redundancy fund.

The reopening took place gradually and in total safety. The company with the collaboration of the competent doctor, Dr. Domenico Velenosi and Dr. Paolo di Giosia, through voluntary participation of employees in serological tests, was able to statistically monitor the progress of a potential epidemiological curve contextualized to the areas of origin, thus providing a valid screening for Covid-19 anti-contagion. The project was submitted to the attention of the Prevention and Safety Service for Workplaces Area Vasta 5 Dr. Angela Muschioni 5 and the Director of the Area Vasta 5 Dr. Cesare Milani and Dr. Filippo Calcinaro whom we thank for their collaboration and support.

Getting back on track involved rescheduling production and planning work for the second half, thinking in a forward-looking way to limit and prevent any unforeseen events and conclude this 2020 in the best possible way.

To achieve these goals, HP needs resources and that is why since the beginning of the year it has stabilized 97 people, of which 58 in the post-emergency and other hires are expected in the coming months.

“Safeguarding the skills and the future of all employees are our priorities”, says General Manager Abramo Levato, “human resources are the center of our business. One of our greatest wishes is to give prominence to the territory, which is already in such difficulty, with various projects that mainly involve the new generation. However, the growth of the territory goes hand in hand with innovation and there are several projects that have involved our reality. Last in chronological order the MARLIC, in collaboration with 21 companies, 3 universities and 2 national research centers of which HP will be the leader, which will lead to the birth of a worldwide research center in the innovation of biocomposite materials, post graduate courses organized with the collaboration of the Polytechnic University of Marche on Composite Materials Engineering, post-diploma courses at the ITS of Recanati and the ITI of Ascoli Piceno, scholarships on composite materials, the first time in history. Therefore, there are several activities that will involve us from now until the end of the year and we are proud to be able to make our contribution to the continuous development of the Piceno area. "