Earthquake and Tsunami Affect Microboards and JVC Japanese DVD/CD Production

Supplies of the only Japanese-made optical media have been temporarily disrupted by the recent magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

JVC-Branded discs from Victor Advanced Media, a subsidiary of JVC and Taiyo Yuden, are manufactured in a factory in northern Japan. The plant sustained some damage in the events of March 11, 2011, when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and Tsunami devastated the eastern coast.

Microboards has recently received encouraging news that CD has resumed, and DVD production will follow shortly. While news has been very positive generally, some supply irregularities are anticipated.

While media production lines had been temporarily disabled as the precision facilities were recalibrated and power was restored, JVC is quickly returning to full production. Production at some of the lines has already been restarted, and JVC and Taiyo Yuden are working quickly to ensure a stable supply of the highly sought-after optical media is restored.

Microboards Technology, the Master Distributor for Victor Advanced Media, is pleased to announce that all of the Microboards-Japan employees and their families have all been located and are safe. Some staff members walked several hours to reach home while others slept at the office in the day immediately following the events. One staff member, who lives in Sendai, did suffer extensive damage to his home
and is currently taking refuge in a local elementary school with his family.

We appreciate the thoughts and prayers of our many business partners who have reached out during this time.