Earthquake in Japan (updated April 8)

On Thursday April 7th another earthquake, with a magnitude of 7,4, occured in Japan. The UD Trucks facilities only seem to have suffered minor damages.

Updated, Thursday, April 8, 10.00 AM CET

On Thursday April 7th another earthquake, with a magnitude of 7,4 hit Japan. The earthquake occured in the Tohoku region. In the Ageo plant there were some minor damages such as shattered windows. Some UD trucks dealers also suffered minor damages, and the details are being investigated.
 

Uppdated Thursday March 31 2.00 PM CET

Between March 28 and 31, Pär Östberg, Senior Vice President & President Trucks Asia, visited Ageo and the Saitama prefecture. The purpose of the visit was to get an update on the current situation in Japan. Among other things, he met with the management of UD Trucks but also gave a speech to the employees in Ageo in which he noted the enormous impact the disaster had on many of the UD Trucks employees and their families. He also expressed his gratitude to the top management and the employees in their intensive efforts to quickly get back to work, despite all the problems that still exist. UD Trucks was the first automotive company in Japan to resume production after the earthquake.
Pär Östberg also visited some dealers the Ageo area.

On Friday April 1, more information on Pär Östberg’s visit in Japan will be published on Violin.


Updated, Tuesday, March 29, 5.00 PM CET

Volvo Group decided on March 29 to amend its travel advice for Japan that now apply only to non-essential travel. There is thus no longer any formal travel ban to Japan for the Group's employees. However, it is recommended that anyone who is about to travel should consult their line manager and head of HR in respective Business Area and Business Unit before traveling.
It is always recommended that all employees keep themselves up to date of the security situation in the country you plan to travel to. Security related information on the situation in Japan is provided by the Volvo Group's advisor Control Risks.

Updated, Wednesday, March 23, 11.15 AM CET

On Tuesday March 22, UD Trucks came in contact with the employee at the wholly owned dealer in the Sendai and Iwaki branch that’s been missing. He is ok and there are no more missing employees. The Volvo Group has some 9 500 employees in Japan, excluding private and independent dealers. Two employees within the Sendai dealer branch have been found dead.


Updated, Tuesday, March 22, 11.00 AM CET

Volvo Group has now published a press release, with an update on the situation in Japan and its consequences for the Group. Following the inspections and repairs that have been implemented, it is estimated that production at UD Trucks’ facilities in the Tokyo area should be able to resume on a limited scale on March 28. As regards sub-suppliers, intensive efforts are in progress aimed at surveying all stages of the supplier chain. At this moment in time, it is estimated that the production of trucks outside Japan will not be impacted to any major extent; however, Volvo Construction Equipment’s production of primarily excavators in Korea and China is expected to be affected due to a shortage of key hydraulic components.

Updated, Monday March 21, 10.15 CET

The Volvo Group has some 9 500 employees in Japan, excluding private and independent dealers. Two employees within the Sendai dealer branch have been found dead. UD Trucks is now trying to reach and support their families. One missing employee was found safe on Thursday March 17 and during the weekend, March 19-20, UD Trucks managed to get in contact with one of the two missing persons within the wholly owned dealers in the Sendai and Iwaki branch.

UD Trucks Corporation will donate a total of 100 million yen including goods such as trucks to support recovery and relief efforts for people and regions affected by the Tohoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake in Japan. At the same time, many employees within the Volvo Group want to make own donations to the relief efforts in Japan. In order to coordinate this, the Volvo Group has set up a number of accounts to facilitate the donations to the Red Cross (employees can read more on Violin by clicking on the link to the right). Volvo Group has also decided to match the donations made by the employees.

UD Trucks has dealers, both wholly owned and independent, all over the country. There has been severe material damage to six dealers in the Sendai and Iwaki – region. Three of them are closed because of damage, the other three because they are inside the evacuation zone from the nuclear power plant in Fukushima. The Group’s main presence and production in Japan is centred at the UD Trucks’ facilities in Ageo, Saitama prefecture. The buildings have all suffered minor damages but open for operation.

Updated Wednesday, March 16, 9.00 AM CET

UD Trucks resumed work to a limited extent at the plants in Ageo, Kounosu and Hanyuu, and employees in charge of recovery activities have returned to work. On March 17 work will resume at the sales office, parts supply and back office. However, only employees who are in charge of recovery of facilities, infrastructure and IT, finance and sales, parts supply and who have no difficulty to come to the office, are asked to restart working. Others should stay at home until further notice.

Ageo is situated some 200 kilometres from the damaged nuclear plant in Fukoshima, and there have been no recommendations from Japanese authorities to evacuate the Ageo area. A risk management team for nuclear power plant damage has been set up by UD Trucks in Ageo. Their task is to collect and analyze information so that UD Trucks management can take quick and relevant safety measures.

UD Trucks has set up five special teams, investigating the status of information systems and IT, buildings, dealers, production and suppliers.
The deliveries from UD Trucks suppliers in the near future are very uncertain, and dispatched teams from UD Trucks will work closely with the suppliers to establish their status.
The Japanese government has initiated rolling power outages for the whole metropolitan Tokyo area, including Ageo and Saitama. The Volvo Group has contacted the Japanese authorities to let them know that Volvo Group equipment is at their disposal for the recovering operations.
All operations concerning the disaster are handled by UD Trucks, and all employees are asked to stay in contact with their closest management and local authorities for information. If you have questions about when work will resume, etc. please turn to your local manager. Local managers will also be able to help with other work related questions, like permission to travel, etc.
Please visit the UD trucks Violin site for detailed information.

This information will be updated continuously and distributed to the BA and BU heads and through the line organizations, Internal Communication Council and the HR organization.
Please note that there are a lot of rumors and refrain from spreading unsubstantiated information. One rumor is that the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recommended all Swedish citizens in Japan to return home – which is not correct. The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in close contact with its European counterparts in issuing recommendations. The latest recommendation is to avoid visits to Japan.
For updates on general news developments, please turn to trusted news organizations of your choice like BBC, CNN and local news providers or affiliates.
 
In order for all employees to be better able to follow internal news, all information that is published on Violin Group will also be published on volvogroup.com under the news section. Security related information on the situation in Japan is provided by our advisor Control Risks.

The Volvo Group Headquarter crisis team is operative since March 11 and has meetings on regular basis. The team consists of Pär Östberg, Senior Vice President, Head of Trucks Asia, Sofia Frändberg, head of legal, Bengt Lundberg, head of security, Kerstin Renard, head of HR and Mårten Wikforss, head of media relations & corporate news. The team is in close contact with senior management of both Trucks Asia and UD Trucks and is compiling updated information on regular basis.
Pär Östberg, Senior Vice President, Head of Trucks Asia