 |
| Seiko officials during press conference at Baselworld. |
BASEL, Switzerland - Seiko Holdings Corp. officials said Thursday that one of its factories has been closed and that production has been significantly reduced due to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
“Some of the production has been slowed and a factory has been stopped because of a lack of electricity and gasoline, said Shinji Hattori, chief executive officer of the watch unit, during a press conference at Baselworld, the world’s largest watch and jewelry tradeshow.
The company was introducing a number of new products to celebrate its 130-year anniversary. Afterward, company officials responded briefly to reporters’ questions about the ongoing crisis.
Hattori, the grandson of the company’s founder, said that the closed facility should reopen in about a week. He did say that production will be reduced, although he didn’t speculate by how much or for how long. The company’s production facilities did not sustain any damages because they located are away from the devastated area and all of the company’s employees are safe and accounted for.
"You do not need to worry about it," he said.
More on the new products to come.