YCH's employees unharmed in the Tianjin incident, with facilities reported to be undamaged and accounted for

Aug 19, 2015 12:00:00 AM

YCH'S EMPLOYEES UNHARMED IN THE TIANJIN INCIDENT, WITH FACILITIES REPORTED TO BE UNDAMAGED AND ACCOUNTED FOR

YCH displays accountability and a quick response to warehouse blasts that killed 114 people in the northern city of Tianjin and affected its warehouse facilities

Singapore, 19 August 2015 - YCH Group, Asia Pacific's leading integrated end-to-end supply chain management and logistics partner has confirmed that all staff are unharmed and accounted for.

The affected warehouse facilities are located approximately 5km away from the explosion area and staffs have found no signs of pilferage, with all goods undamaged and accounted for.

The Business Continuity Plan (BCP) was immediately activated upon the news of the incident. Follow-up contingencies were developed through the night for immediate action at daybreak. Mr. Roger Yap, Deputy CEO of China, and several key staff were immediately on-site to survey the damage and ensure the safety and well-being of their staff.

"I am heartened to share that all our staff members have been accounted for, with no injuries reported as no one was present in the facility during the time of explosion. We have been monitoring the situation closely since the blast and confirmed that there is no cargo or human loss. Our IT servers are also functioning normally and we will be conducting regular checks on the affected areas of the facilities to ensure the safety of our staff", said Mr Yap, who is onsite since the incident to supervise recovery efforts.

Warehouse facilities have taken on some physical damage from the explosion and immediate recovery actions was undertaken including redeploying of affected staff to another facility and providing daily updates of the situation to all stakeholders. Basic repair works were completed, such as the removal of all loose pipes and dangling ceiling boards. In addition, shattered glasses from the windows, damaged lighting and dangling ceilings have been dismantled and removed to prevent further danger to all staff.

Installation of canvas as a temporary safety measure to ensure staff safety   Protection netting had been put up to prevent falling debris in the warehouse

Apart from removing physical threats that could endanger the lives of its staff, YCH Group has made significant efforts to reinforce the safety of all staff - protection netting and canvas are have been fully installed to protect staff from falling debris caused by the explosions. As a temporary measure, all windows have also been sealed up with canvas and additional fire extinguishers have been employed onsite in case of any emergency.

Mr. Bennett Neo, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of YCH Group adds that "on the business front, YCH has mobilised our Business Continuity Plan and have already engaged an independent assessor to check the integrity of the affected facility before clean-up and repair work began. We will endeavour to keep disruption to a minimum, employees will be relocated to a different facility and are expected to resume normal operations within the next few days."

Mr. Neo also reiterated "our present priority is the safety of all our staff and to ensure the smooth operations for our customers. My thoughts and prayers are with those who are affected at this difficult time." Over the next two months, YCH Group will work closely with a structural engineer to monitor the situation in Tianjin and play a key role in ensuring that appropriate recommendations are made on the renovation work that is needed to safeguard and provide reassurance on the stability of the firm's warehouse facilities.

YCH Group has always been a strong advocate of regional partnerships and has been actively fostering good business relations in China, on top of increasing the awareness of opportunities that Singapore-based companies can seek in places such as Tianjin's Eco-city. The group feels that this should not become a deterrent to SMEs and Singapore companies who are well positioned to contribute to Tianjin's needs.

About YCH Group

Founded in 1955 and headquartered in Singapore, YCH Group is the leading end-to-end supply chain solutions partner to some of the world's largest companies and favourite brands across the Asia Pacific region. Its suite of innovative award-winning end-to-end supply chain management solutions - Intribution™, Intrabution™, Retrogistics™ - employ cutting edge web-technologies that are best-in-class across industry clusters from consumer and electronics to chemical and healthcare, to deliver powerful competitive advantages for customers. A strong proponent of innovation, YCH is recognized for its 7PL™ approach in seamlessly integrating supply chain strategy with execution. As an extended family enterprise, YCH was awarded the May Day Model Partnership Awards 2014 for embracing diversity, encouraging continuous learning and the creation of a productive, resilient and sustainable workforce. For further information, please visit www.ych.com