17-March-2011
The Planova Division of Asahi Kasei Medical Co., Ltd. would like to express our deepest sympathies and condolences to those that have been affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami which occurred off the Pacific coast of the Tohoku Region of Japan.
We sincerely hope to see a swift recovery of the afflicted areas and our division stands ready to provide as much assistance to those in need as possible. We would like to inform our customers that these natural disasters have resulted in no significant effect to the production and supply of Planova filters and related products, as detailed below:
1. Effect on production operations
The earthquake has had no impact on the production of Planova
and related products. Our manufacturing facilities operated
without incident both during and after the earthquake, and we fully
expect that they will continue to function regularly. We also further
clarify that:
a) Both the hollow fiber spinning facilities and the filter assembly
facilities are located in the city of Nobeoka in the Miyazaki
Prefecture, situated in the southern part of Japan,
approximately 1040 km (650 miles) away from Sendai City.
This region has not sustained any damage by the earthquake
or tsunami. Please refer to the attached map for
perspective of our geographic locations.
b) There are no rolling blackouts in effect in Miyazaki Prefecture
at this time.
c) We maintain sufficient stock of parts and raw materials for
continued production of Planova and related products, and we
further confirm that the ongoing delivery of these parts and
raw materials from our supply chain has not been affected.
d) The safety of all personnel working at the manufacturing
facilities has been confirmed, and the working shifts are
operating normally.
2. Effect on the inventory level of our products
There has been no change to the inventory levels of Planova and
related products, and these levels will be maintained as
production continues. We further clarify that:
a) The earthquake and tsunami have had no effect on our
domestic stock point located in Miyazaki Prefecture. Inventory
management at this stock point will be maintained as usual.
b) The inventory level of Planova and related products at our
overseas stock points (located in New York, USA and
Brussels, Belgium) will be maintained as usual to meet
previously forecasted customer demand. We expect no
interruption of supply to any of our customers worldwide.
3. Effect on product delivery to stock points outside of Japan
The earthquake and tsunami have not disrupted the delivery of
Planova and related products to stock points outside of Japan.
We further clarify that:
a) The Planova supply operations will not be affected by any
possible disruptions to the HQ operation.
b) At this time, it is possible that there may be occasional flight
disruptions from Tokyo's Narita Airport. Therefore, we have
implemented a back-up plan whereby shipments to stock
points outside of Japan can be dispatched from alternate
airports if necessary, assuring that global inventory levels will
remain stable.
c) We currently have no reason to believe that the extremely
slight increase in radiation levels that have been intermittently
measured in the Tokyo area from the damaged Fukushima
Nuclear Power Plant will have any effect on our ability to ship
safe and reliable products to stock points outside of Japan.
However, as a precautionary measure, alternate plans are
under development whereby airports located further afar from
the power plant could be used for future overseas product
delivery if deemed necessary.
We would also like to express our sincere appreciation for the thoughtfulness of many customers who had sent us messages of sympathy and encouragement with regards to this terrible incident.
Should you have any enquiries regarding this matter, please contact your local Planova representative. Thank you for your understanding and continued support of Planova.
Sincerely Yours,
Katsunori Horikoshi
General Manager
Planova Division
Please click image for larger view
