Canon, Nikon affected by Thai floods
By
Mike Tomkins
(Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 12:15 EDT)
Widespread flooding across much of Southeast Asia has left hundreds dead, displaced millions, and caused billions of dollars in damage, with Thailand's Ayutthaya province--home to factories for both Canon and Nikon--particularly hard-hit.
Thailand's worst floods in half a century are said by Reuters to have left some 3.4 million acres of farm land underwater, and have damaged or destroyed around 700,000 homes in the country. In Ayutthaya province, where flood waters are as deep as three meters in some areas, operations have been halted at the Rojana Industrial Park, about 40 miles north of Bangkok. A total of 198 factories with approximately 90,000 employees are located in the park, which was inundated by the Chao Phraya river after a levee breach on Saturday. Companies with operations at Rojana Ayutthaya include both Canon Inc. and Nikon Corp. Canon's facility, which manufactures inkjet printers, was closed last Friday, and the company has yet to issue any statement since that time. Nikon, meanwhile, has had to suspend operations indefinitely at Nikon (Thailand) Co., Ltd., responsible for manufacture of single-lens reflex digital cameras and interchangeable lenses. The first floor of all buildings at Nikon's facility are said by the company to have been submerged, and operations were halted last Thursday. More details from Nikon can be found in the press release below.
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Original Source Press Release:
| Notice on the damage from the flood in Thailand October 11, 2011 -- Nikon (Thailand) Co., Ltd., a consolidated subsidiary of Nikon Corporation in the Rojana Industrial Park in Ayutthaya Province located in Central Thailand, is submerged by the flood caused by torrential rainfall since last July. The latest situations at Nikon (Thailand) Co., Ltd. are as follows: -
Damages
The 1st floor of all buildings at the premises are presently submerged. Details of the damages are now under investigation. As for the employees, the human damage has not been reported so far. The factory is suspending its operation since October 6. -
Estimated impact to our business performance
We are now doing our utmost to estimate the impact of the flood to our group companies and business performance. We assure you to immediately advise the findings once it is judged there will be an important change in our forecast. -
Recovery
We are continuing to investigate details of the damage, but are unable to predict how soon operation will be resumed. We will set up our recovery support system and endeavor to restart its operation as early as possible. We are now requesting drainage of the industrial park to the Thai government, together with the Rojana Industrial Park authority, other companies in the Park and Japan External Trade Organization. | Location | Ayutthaya Province, Thailand | | Representative | Nobuyuki Muraishi, Managing Director | | Capital | 1 billion bahts | | Shareholder | Nikon Corporation (100%) | | Establishment | October 1990 (factory completed in November 1991) | | Main businesses | Manufacture of digital single-lens reflex cameras, Interchangeable lenses, etc. | |
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