Update on product supplies coming from Japan

To our Key Business Partners,

Following the recent tragic events in Japan we mourn with the Japanese people and we want to express our deepest condolences.

We felt it appropriate to inform you of actions we and our suppliers have taken to mitigate any negative consequences, and to update you on the current situation. We want to assure you that we have done everything possible to ensure supply chain reliability and the general safety of the products delivered.

General situation
All of our Japanese suppliers’ factories are currently producing.
Factories in the northern part of Japan are affected by energy constraints and are producing around 3 to 4 hours less per day due to the energy rationing.
Factories in the south are generally not affected, though the situation is somewhat uncertain due to the well known problems at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima.
As all our Japanese suppliers have European, US and Chinese manufacturing locations the overall risk of any delivery delays is low.

General Safety
Brammer has required all Japanese suppliers to confirm that they have safety checks in place to prevent any potentially contaminated products being shipped to Europe. Furthermore all European Port Authorities are carrying out checks on vessels originating from the area. None of the stock held in our 12 National Distribution Centres and our 300+ branches across Europe have been exposed to the radiation from Japan, and we will continue to ensure the highest level of safety.

Detailed Information on our key Japanese suppliers

NSK: Some of their Northern Japanese factories are running with reduced capacity due to the general energy constraints in the area. NSK has a plant that is 70km away from the Fukushima plant but they are able to continue production at almost full capacity.
Low risk – delivery delays not likely.