By: Katie Kaplan | WCTV Eyewitness News

February 21, 2020

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) -- Danfoss Turbocor Compressors may be forced to temporarily stop production because it is running out of parts from China due to the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

President Ricardo Schneider told WCTV's Katie Kaplan that employees found out about the situation during an All Hands meeting on Thursday. The tech-company, which makes heating and air conditioning systems, is completely dependent on the Chinese supply chain, he said.

The supplier of a critical component, a special magnet, is located close to the affected area in Wuhan, China, where transportation and manufacturing has ceased. The Tallahassee manufacturer began to see the impact on February 10 and anticipates it will come to a head in about 10 days.

"So, we're going to run out of parts by the end of the month," Schneider said during a phone interview on Friday night.. "We are doing everything we can to work around this problem and working 24/7 to make sure we find solutions."

Schneider said the company has roughly 200 employees in Tallahassee with 50 to 70 people in the production field who will be affected. The company has not decided how those employees will be handled, but Schneider said he is trying to work out a solution that will minimize the impact.

Editor's Note: WCTV's initial report said Danfoss Turbocor Compressors "could be closing" due to its lack of parts from China in wake of the coronavirus outbreak. In order to bring clarity, WCTV has edited the story to say the manufacturer "may temporarily stop production." The facility is not closing.