E Ink Extras

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A Note from Our CEO on COVID-19

Posted by Johnson Lee on 2020-04-10

We are living through an unprecedented time. As a global organization, with factories in China, our site in Taiwan, and offices in Massachusetts, California, Japan and Korea, all of our employees have been faced with an unusual and challenging situation, with circumstances that are shifting daily.

That said, I wanted to take a minute to reiterate that our priority is keeping our employees, their families and our communities healthy and safe. I’m happy to report that at this moment, all of our E Ink employees are healthy – and we are going to do everything in our power to keep it that way.

Our Taiwan site has led the way in setting standards to keep our employees safe in China and Taiwan through the early outbreaks, and has given guidance and best practices to our employees in the US, Japan and Korea to ensure lessons learned are applied throughout all of our facilities. Our team mobilized in China to donate 1,000 protective gear and 10,000 masks to the Yangzhou City Government during the height of the pandemic in China. Our Hydis operations in Korea also donated much needed medical masks to hospitals in Korea that were hit hardest by the COVID-19 outbreak. Our Hydis team was the one that supported the much needed masks to our Yangzhou site during the initial outbreak in China. Our teams in the US made hand sanitizer for employees and their families, and provided instructional videos to employees on how to make high quality masks for their own use during the mask shortage in the US. At this moment, medical masks are being sent from Yangzhou site to our Boston site to keep everyone safe. At the same time, we are looking to how we can support the medical communities in the Boston area.

Our focus remains on supporting our many customers throughout this event by delivering products to them on time, and keeping the lines of communication open and consistent. Our displays are used not just in eReaders and Educational devices, but also by Hospitals, Transportation agencies, Medical wearable devices, Logistics warehouses and Grocery stores, and we have prioritized ensuring that our customers can continue to support their customers, and the public. As we move forward, our mission will continue to guide us, ensuring business continuity and forging ahead despite global circumstances.

We also wanted to share some examples of the ingenuity that has blossomed out of this situation. We’re proud to see customers using E Ink technology to make a difference during this difficult time.

As part of the Green Line Transformation (GLT), the MBTA added solar-powered E Ink signs that display real-time train arrival times along its Green Line. In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the MBTA reduced weekday service to support social distancing, and updated train schedules can be easily displayed on signs. This ensures everyone has the latest information in real-time.

Soofa is working with local governments to design specific COVID-19 PSA templates, which can display information about closures, canceled events, transportation disruptions, relief fund options, and general public health guidelines. For example, the Town of Brookline, MA used its Soofa Signs to post specific updates about school and playground closures, while the City of Somerville, MA redirected people to their official Coronavirus webpage for more detailed information.

The SPAR Fermoy stores in Ireland are using their electronic shelf labels (ESLs) to provide not only the latest pricing, but also health messaging around practicing social distancing to help keep every customer safe.

Many people are also dealing with the challenges of working from home. New innovations are helping people handle constant interruptions, like Joan Home, a home office device thatdisplays your current availability and your calendar/schedule for the day. As people find a new normal in working remotely from their office, we are also hearing more and more stories about how they find their eNote devices to be essential in keeping organized. Notes are easy to find and easy to share to their teams with these devices, and now that workers are spending more time on video conferences, they are moving away from typing their notes and rediscovering the benefits of writing, and the mental retention that comes from that.

Best regards, and stay well.

Johnson Lee

CEO, E Ink

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