Management System Certification Status and Site Report

In order for this business site to contribute to the realization of the society aspired to through the SDGs, we begin from the design phase with the undertaking of product development that is friendly to the environment and to people. We are also advancing the adoption of solar power generation, which is scheduled to contribute to the business site’s energy conservation from fiscal 2021. Moving forward, we will emphasize the importance of communication with customers and the local community as we aim to be an open business site trusted by everyone.

We are pursuing initiatives to reduce the environmental burden of all our processes (energy conservation,reduction through MFCA, etc.). During fiscal 2020, we achieved our target of a 4% year-on-year reduction in energy consumed per production amount value. The biotope was open to the public for a fourth year,and although the visitor count was reduced due to the impact of the covid-19 pandemic, it was visited by 130 students of elementary schools in the vicinity, which contributed to biodiversity conservation and environmental education. During fiscal 2021, we will evolve into an environmentally-friendly plant as we promote LCA product certification of baseline products and SDG-contributing products.

Our plant puts out products featuring a variety of functions and designs that cater to everyday living and industrial use. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic last year, we did what we could to supply airborne droplet transmission prevention panels (PET), thereby contributing to society by helping prevent the spread of the contagion. We will engage in product development and manufacturing of SDG-contributing products as we promote LCA product certification of baseline products.

In order to realize the society that the SDGs aim to achieve, all of our employees are pursuing occupational health and safety activities and environmental impact reduction activities. Based on our Safety Philosophy: Prioritizing Safety in Everything We Do and our three Safety Action Guidelines, we pursue an accident- and disaster-free record and progress in environmental impact reduction through persistent ongoing activities. In doing so, we aim to be a plant that is trusted by customers and the local community by working toward carbon neutrality through thorough energy conservation and planned reduction performance based on MFCA.

In order to help realize the society aspired to under the SDGs, everyone at our plant joins together in activities to reduce environmental impact through such means as improving resource efficiency, and by pursuing approaches and technologies to manufacturing that are mindful of energy conservation. We will emphasize the importance of communication with customers and the local community as we aim to be an open business site trusted by everyone.

In order to help realize the society that the SDGs aim to achieve, our plant engages in environmental and safety activities. Regarding environmental matters, we continue to move forward with waste reduction and energy conservation across all of our processes. In the area of safety, we are undertaking improvements in our workplace environment based on our Safety Philosophy: Prioritizing Safety in Everything We Do. Through various activities, we are aiming to be a plant that is trusted by our customers and the local community.

We produce environmentally conscious epoxy encapsulation resins, and recently we have also been producing environmentally-friendly in-vehicle products for HVs and EVs as well as wafer coating resins for memory devices. In order to help realize the society envisioned under the SDGs, we are working proactively to reduce environmental impact through such activities as energy conservation and reducing material loss. This fiscal year, we will make progress on expanding our adoption of renewable energy by installing solar energy panels.

While producing phenolic resin molding compounds as materials for products that meet various requirements in realizing the society envisioned under the SDGs, we continue to all pull together as we take action to reduce energy consumption and environmental impact in pursuit of our aim to be an environmentally friendly company. We also aim to put into practice our Safety Philosophy: "Safety is the first priority of all." as we diligently carry out health and safety activities to achieve a safe, secure workplace free of accidents.

Our Company is engaged in helping to realize the society that the SDGs aim to achieve We are currently all working together based on our Safety Philosophy: "Safety is the first priority of all." We are considering converting to LNG and solar power in order to reduce environment impact and CO2. We contribute to society by supplying medical equipment, devices, culture equipment and PCR test kits in the field of healthcare-related and biotechnology-related products.

In order to help realize the society that the SDGs aim to achieve, our plant proactively engages in many different kinds of environmental impact reduction activities. We will continue our activities to conserve energy and reduce material loss through the use of MFCA as we promote increases in social and corporate value to leave this great northern land rich in verdure to the next generation as we earnestly and passionately work to implement our business activities.

In 2020, we had one incident involving damage. The incident was caused when an equipment stop switch was mistakenly thrown in an attempt to shorten equipment shut-off time. We were painfully reminded that some errors can be made even by skilled operators. We subsequently analyzed the causes and established fundamental solutions. We are aiming for a goal of zero accidents in 2021, taking a hands-on approach at the site as managers and departmentheads work to stamp out on-site hazards.

Our Company produces molded automotive components using phenolic resin molding compounds. We continue to move forward with promotion of waste reduction and energy conservation so that we can contribute to realizing the society aspired to under the SDGs, as well as a decarbonized society. We are also attending to preventing the spread of COVID-19 through production activities that prioritize safety.

We produce and sell the four products of phenolic resin, phenolic resin molding materials, liquid epoxy resin, and co-extruded film sheets. We are investing in plant and equipment in order to satisfy the stringent level of environmental controls in China as well as the requirements of new safety law. We aim to raise safety and environmental sensitivity among our employees, and to be a company that earns the trust of the local community.

We manufacture medical devices. In October 2020, we achieved the record of zero injuries for four years equaling five million work hours. In 2020, we succeeded in reducing energy consumption by 6.3% from the previous year. This year, we will raise awareness of safety among our employees by thoroughly notifying them of the Guidelines for Safe Conduct enacted by our Company Group in aiming to set a new record for time spent without any injuries, while also actively carrying out energy conservation activities.

We produce and sell epoxy resin copper-clad laminates. We use a large boiler to handle organic solvents, and are complying with the environmental regulations of Macau, a tourist destination, to advance environmental improvement. Amid stringent waste disposal regulatory conditions, we aim to become a company that is environmentally friendly and trusted by the local community through promoting MFCA activities.

We develop, produce and sell epoxy molding compounds for encapsulation of semiconductors, performing all three activities as one company. The products we develop, produce and sell are halogen-free and environmentally responsive. Our environmental impact reduction activities include energy conservation and reducing material loss. Regarding safety, we achieved zero accidents last fiscal year, and are operating with safety as our top priority this fiscal year in order to continue this.

In line with overall goals of our Company Group, Vaupell China continuously improves EHS by reducing waste and contributing to saving the energy/environment. We conduct all kinds of EHS activities so as to remain a worldclass in EHS.

FY2020 was indeed a tough & challenging year in SNC as CCL sales continue to drop to minimum, amid of global pandemic. We were running small batch process with large facilities and regular stops & starts leading to lowest equipment effectiveness ever. Minimizing waste generation will be our priority. We are looking forward to optimize our production and put more efforts on environment impact reduction & energy conservation.

We produce and sell epoxy molding compounds for encapsulation of semiconductors and paste for die bonding of semiconductors. SBS staff work diligently towards meeting all legal compliance requirements and achieving zero incidents through constant Anzen training and by inculcating the “Stop & Fix” mindset.

We manufacture and sell phenolic molding compounds. During fiscal 2020, we updated aging pump equipment and overhauled cooling line equipment to improve heat exchange efficiency in efforts that reduced our energy consumption by 5% from the previous year. Through reductions in equipment trouble, we succeeded in reducing waste by 13% year on year. We will continue with these energy conservation and waste reduction efforts as we perform environmentally friendly, trustworthy plant operation.

We develop, manufacture and sell phenolic resins. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic in fiscal 2020, our employees gave top priority to working on improvements to enable safe activity. While continuing with our measures against COVID-19 during fiscal 2021, we will work on development of products with concern for the environment, including odor reduction and the use of biomaterials as raw materials for phenolic resins as we aim to be a safe, secure plant that has the trust of customers and the local community.

We manufacture and sell polycarbonate extruded resin sheets. During fiscal 2020, we completed the conversion of our large-scale manufacturing machinery motors to inverter mechanisms and of all lighting within the plant to LEDs. Regarding waste reduction, we have cut the volume of waste emitted externally by expanding our recycling of fine offcuts generated during production. This fiscal year, we will be deliberating and adopting renewable energy sources such as solar electric power generation and solar heating as we continually strive to control CO2.

The Manchester organization’s focus continues to be accident prevention, risk reduction, and continued compliance. We plan to upgrade our employee training process and we will continue our hourly employee safety incentive program to promote participation in our safety program and to reward the desired behaviors. Our key environmental improvement target for 2021 remains the reduction of landfill waste through product yield improvement activities.

We will carry on our safety efforts this year with a focus on projects and process improvements to increase the reliability of operations which will reduce serious injuries and incidents by reducing non-routine tasks. Reducing or eliminating non-routine tasks will be our highest priority this year.

Safety remains a top priority for the Niagara Falls site in 2021. This year we are placing an emphasis on job observations and safety-related procedures and practices. We are implementing a project to significantly reduce our hazardous waste generation this year, which is aligned with our goal to reduce the environmental impact on our community.

Safety continues to be a main focus for the plant. We had three recordable injuries in FY2020. Safety will be a main focus in FY2021 -- safety behaviour must improve. Waste reduction remains a challenge. We have done well in the environmental area and will continue to do so.

The transition for Promerus continued in 2020 as we moved to our new facility in Akron OH. “Cessation of Regulated Operations” was completed with the Ohio EPA for the closure of our old site. Setup of all experimental and analytical operations was completed at our new facility without incident. The COVID-19 pandemic required us to institute best practices to ensure that no community spread occurred. Promerus celebrated our fourth year without OSHA recordable injuries or illnesses.

At our Company, we remain committed to providing a safe working environment for all employees and remaining in compliance by meeting or exceeding all regulatory requirements. Without a lost time injury and are regularly reviewing safety practices and training in all our operations (Molding, Assembly, and Paint) in the spirit of continuous improvement. We recently passed an emissions audit in our paint facility and are installing LED lighting to reduce the energy consumption in our Everett facility.

At our Plant, we remain committed to “safety first” throughout the facility. Our Plant has a very active safety committee and participates in the semi-annual Plant Manager Safety Meetings with Our Plant. Our Plant has had only one recordable incident between August 2018,and March 2021. At our Plant, we are always looking for ways to contribute to our community, and we contnue to re-cycle over 80% of our plastics and cardboards.

The past year with the COVID-19 problems have kept us busy maintaining a safe environment for our team members. We have implemented many safety practices and control measures; cleaning common area multiple times per day, mask wearing, temperature screening of employees, etc. We have continued working with our process scrap recycler to minimize landfill of scrap parts and runners. Our intent is to allow the recycler to ‘regrind’ our scrap and resell it on the secondary market.

At our Plant, we continue to improve and implement processes to better enhance our EHS initiatives. Some activities include the removal of all unused hazardous chemicals from the facility and obsoleting of resins and two-part resin casting supplies. At our Plant, we revamped our safety committee to fill key positions such as safety committee lead. In response to the spread of COVID-19 infections, our Plant has implemented several new processes to assure the health and safety of our Facility. A facial recognition and temperature monitoring system was installed to monitor persons entering the facility. COVID-19 Safety and Hygiene procedure was released following strict CDC guidelines for the operations of our Plant. Touchless employee cleaning and sanitizing stations were installed throughout the facility to encourage increased sanitation practices. Non-recuring permit process has been started to eliminate any injuries caused by non-routine tasks.

At our Company, we promote “safety first” by being environmentally responsible for the community and employees by providing a safe and environmentally friendly workplace. We also proactively manage our processes to ensure no harm, or negative impact, to our employees or surrounding community. This year posed many challenges due to the spread of COVID-19 infections which, as a team, we were able to overcome and protect the health of our employees. As a result, Vaupell developed, executed, and enforced the Vaupell Covid Policy.

FY 2020 was fully dominated by COVID 19. The pandemic forced the organisation to adapt all procedures towards Covid-resistance. Social distancing, increased hygiene and the wear of protective materials have become a common daily practice. Only this way, safe operations could be guaranteed to supply customers with requested materials. Amongst all this, the phenol recovery unit was successfully started; this is the beginning of a broader circular program in which not only phenol will be recovered, but also waste water will be purified so it does not need to be disposed off externally but can also be reused in production. The UN SDGs are increasing their impact on business; The UN SDGs are increasing their impact on business; more and more customers are implementing this philosophy. As a consequence, the development of SDG-compliant products and the optimisation of resources (energy/ raw materials) are getting an increased attention within the company.

2020 has been a year of survival, where at the beginning of the year, due to the automotive crisis, a restructuring was applied to adjust the headcount, and during some months some unemployment days were applied in some departments to unify the fluctuation of the orders due to the COVID-19 crisis, which dictates to us all. Despite that there was only 1 LTA (no critical one), safety has continued being the first priority, thus we had applied some actions to reduce ergonomic risks in some lines.

In FY2020 safety and housekeeping remained our top priorities. Unfortunately, we had 4 LTA cases, but a big focus was put on preventive and corrective actions concerning EHS-related issues. As part of innovation projects, a lot of energy was also put in upgrading the F-line to enable production of epoxy-based products, which was succesful. The COVID-19 pandemic, had an impact on a shifted demand during FY2020, which required a huge flexibility on production capacity.