Olaf ter Jung (Member of the Board): "We made the decision to cancel our participation in the trade fair after a comprehensive internal consideration process and it was not an easy one. Every two years, the hardware fair is the largest and most important trade fair worldwide for Klingspor, and it is an important factor for our market and sales growth. However, the health of our employees and business partners is clearly the first priority for Klingspor. Based on the current facts about the corona virus, a potentially considerable health risk could not have been excluded if we had participated in the fair. Therefore, we have decided not to participate in this year's fair in order to make sure that our employees and business partners are safe. We are certain that this decision is in the interests of our employees and business partners.
About the Corona virus
The corona virus SARS-CoV-2 is the trigger of the coronavirus epidemic 2019/2020 ("Covid-19"). The disease was first observed in China in late December 2019. According to the official figures of the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 75,000 people worldwide (as of February 20, 2020) have contracted the disease to date; in more than 2,000 cases the disease has led to death.