HLJ and the Sendai Earthquake As many of our customers are well aware, on March 11, Japan suffered one of the largest earthquakes in recorded history, with the ensuing tsunamis causing even more catastrophic damage. Our hearts go out to those suffering in the hardest hit regions.
We've posted an account of what happened at HLJ, with photos,
HERE. We're also using this page as a bulletin board for updates about how the quake is affecting our service.
We were very lucky; although we had a pretty rough shaking that scrambled the contents of our offices and warehouse, all our staff are fine, and there was no structural damage to our building. Over the weekend we were able to get everything back in its place and and we're conducting business as normal here as of Monday.
Although HLJ has resumed normal operations, Japan's infrastructure has been severely affected, and major highways in our area are closed to make way for emergency and supply vehicles heading north to the heavily damaged areas. Gasoline is also in very short supply. The post office, FedEx, and other delivery services will be picking up shipments from HLJ, and we have been told that international shipping will be possible, but to expect delays. The extent of these delays and how long they will last is unknown at this time.
Another factor that will be affecting our service somewhat will be a series of scheduled, rolling blackouts, which will take us offline for about three hours at a time. These are needed to combat power shortages, and allow repairs to the country's electrical grid. A "we're offline" message will appear instead of the website during these blackouts, but when they're over, we should be back up and running normally quite quickly.
We are doing our utmost to provide uninterrupted service to our customers around the world, and apologize for any delays and inconvenience.
As always, we thank you for all of your business with us, and ask you for your understanding and support during this difficult time.
Scott T. Hards
President
