Olympus UK/Europe releases update Business operations after Japan Disaster

From Olympus UK: 

Olympus Business Update on the Situation after Earthquake No 1 (as of 15th March 2010)

15.03.2011

Since the terrible events that took place in Japan last Friday, Olympus Europe and its employees have been constantly thinking of our Japanese colleagues, their relatives, and all of the Japanese people. All our hopes and wishes are with them during these terrible times.

We are fortunate to be able to report that no Olympus employee has been injured during the Earthquake, the Tsunami, or any other event so far. However some people are still searching for their relatives.

We have received many inquiries about what consequences these events will have on our business in Europe. Obviously, at this point in time, no-one can give a complete picture. This is why we have decided to publish frequent updates on this information, until the situation in Japan becomes stabile once again. Please return to this web page frequently, for any news we are able to share.


More after the Jump


General Situation:
Olympus has three factories in the North of Japan: Aizu, Shirakawa, and Aomori.

All three factories have either been undamaged by events or received only minor damage and will be repaired within a short period of time. Other factories and facilities in Japan have no serious damage.

Nevertheless, Olympus' operational situation depends on the unpredictable conditions currently being experienced by everyone in Japan:

Electricity and water supplies can and will be subject to shortages; public transportation may suffer from intermittent non-operation; and the supply chain formed of planes, ships and trucks is not operating normally at present.

Situation by Product Area:
While only a part of our product line-up is produced in Japan, the general conditions after the earthquake may have an impact on supply in some of our product areas:

We do not foresee any specific delays for Microscopy and Consumer products at the moment.

Due to the impact of the earthquake on some of our medical factories in Japan, we foresee some minor delays in some areas of our Medical Endoscopy and Surgical business. Our teams in Japan and Europe will take measures to compensate for this as much as possible. A precise forecast on the impact on product supply cannot be given at this moment.