Konica Minolta has restarted production at its factories in China after closing down earlier this month following a Chinese government-ordered suspension in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The company's primary production facilities in China are located away from Wuhan - where the virus was first identified - in Wuxi, Dongguan, and Dalian. The death toll from the virus in mainland China has now reached 1,770.
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| Konica Minolta announced last month that its MFP production site in Jiangsu province, China (pictured above) was now procuring 100% of its electricity from renewable sources. |
“The operations in China resumed from February 10, after the government-instructed suspension had ended, except the branch in Wuhan,” said a statement from the Japan-based print technology manufacturer. “Some employees are working remotely from home.
“The Konica Minolta Group works on maintaining the health and safety of the people working for the Group and their families, making efforts to prevent the infection from spreading and carrying on with provision of products and services that can meet the needs of customers and society at large, in accordance with guidance and instructions of the Chinese and local governments, as well as those of the Japanese government.
“The Konica Minolta Group operates in China in development and manufacturing for the global markets, while selling business technologies products and services and healthcare equipment, among others, within the Chinese market. Though Konica Minolta has no development or production facilities in Wuhan, it has a sales and services branch for business technologies and measuring instruments there.”
Konica Minolta’s primary production facilities in China are located in Wuxi, Dongguan, and Dalian, all of which are away from Wuhan, with other manufacturing sites in Shanghai’s Songjiang District and Xiamen. The Chinese sales companies are headquartered in Shanghai, with sales and services branches spread across the country.
“The factories have been working closely with each supplier for procurement of parts necessary for production,” said the statement. “The Group’s sales companies are well stocked, including on-hand inventory and on-board inventory shipped from China before the Lunar New Year holiday, and ready to meet the demand and orders from dealers and customers.
“As toner and other consumables are also widely available, from production in Japan and other countries outside China, the customers are able to keep using the Konica Minolta products with no interference. For other sectors, the Group are also making efforts so that the customers will be able to carry on with their operations.”
The company has been working on providing additional masks and non-contact medical thermometers for its companies in China. “Konica Minolta keeps a close eye on the outbreak’s development and will update the notice if its responses are to go through a major change,” it said.
China's National Health Commission said on Monday that the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in mainland China had reached 1,770 as of the end of Sunday, up by 105 from the previous day. Globally, more than 71,204 people have been infected.
