Published: 26/03/2020

Updated 3/26/2020 - 5:18 PM EST 

All Smithers facilities located in the United States, United Kingdom, and China are open and operational serving the needs of our clients.
 
Smithers remains committed to delivering accurate data, on time to our clients so they can continue to deliver critical products to the public. We appreciate your support and protection of our essential business activities during this emergency period.
 
Recently, many states including ones in which Smithers has operations; Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina and Ohio, issued executive orders (the “Orders”) restricting nonessential business activities. This week, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced full guidance on “NEW RULES ON STAYING AT HOME AND AWAY FROM OTHERS” and GOV.UK issued guidance, “FURTHER BUSINESSES AND PREMISES TO CLOSE.”
 
According to the guidelines in these Orders and Rules, Smithers is doing Essential Work as it is a supply chain services provider that conducts research, development, safety testing, and quality assurance of products and systems for companies in critical industry sectors.

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Updated 3/23/2020 - 3:25 PM EST 

Recently, many States including ones in which Smithers has operations; Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio, issued executive orders (the “Orders”) restricting nonessential business activities to flatten the curve of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the United States. According to the guidelines in each order, Smithers is considered to be doing Essential Work as it is a supply chain service provider that conducts research, development, safety testing, and quality assurance of products and systems for companies in critical industry sectors.
 
Therefore, all Smithers facilities located in Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio will remain open and operational serving the needs of our clients.
 
Smithers remains committed to delivering accurate data, on time to our clients so they can continue to deliver critical products to the public. We appreciate your support and protection of our essential business activities during this emergency period.

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^{Updated: 3/16/2020}

Due to the progression of the Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19), today, March 16, 2020, we are taking the next steps to protect the safety and well-being of our team members, clients, and partners. No cases have been confirmed at any Smithers sites globally.

Effective immediately, we are activating temporary remote work practices to protect our work environments for mission critical work. We have team members who are on the front lines of getting work delivered to our clients, and these team members must conduct their work onsite. Their safety is paramount as we maintain our commitment of delivering accurate data, on time, with the highest level of virtual touch possible for our clients.
 
Some important details about our operations:

• Our business sites are not closed. However, access to them is being severely restricted as an exercise in social distancing.
• We will use video conferencing and mobile communication technology tools as much as possible for project discussions or reviewing tests at our laboratories with you or your teams.
• If a visit is absolutely required in order to witness testing or validate data, clients are asked to contact their Smithers representative to determine the safest arrangements for a visit.

The decisions and actions being made today are not commitments for any future activities or responses. They are based on the current state of this situation. We cannot guarantee a zero-risk environment, but we are going to take every measure to minimize the risk to our clients’ projects, our Smithers family, and our business. We are committed to keeping our clients informed about the latest developments in our organization by email, phone, and at www.smithers.com.

Our clients and employees are in our hearts and minds. We look forward to the opportunity to serve you and for a speedy return to business as usual.

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^{Updated: 3/11/2020}
Smithers is committed to providing updates as the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation evolves. Currently, we do not see any disruptions in our testing services. Quality management audits and certain industry events are being rescheduled. You will be notified by a Smithers team member if your scheduled audit or event is affected. The safety and well-being of Smithers team members, clients, event delegates, and partners is our top priority. 
 
We are closely monitoring developments and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), Public Health England, and World Health Organization (WHO). Critical information will be posted here as soon as it becomes available.