COVID-19 Prevention Efforts

We would like to offer our sincere condolences to those who have lost someone due to COVID-19, and we sincerely hope for the earliest possible recovery of anyone infected.
We would also like to express our deepest gratitude to the healthcare workers and countless others who have been making efforts to prevent the spread of infection.
The PLUS Group continues its business while making efforts to protect its Group company employees and their families from infection as well as to prevent the spread of infection to customers, business partners, and local communities in accordance with the policies of national governments and the guidance of local governments.

In response to the outbreak of COVID-19, the PLUS Group has been taking a variety of measures to prevent infection and the spread of the disease.
In February 2020, with the spread of COVID-19 throughout the world, the Risk Management Committee formulated measures to prevent infection among Group company employees and their families and to prevent the spread of infection within and outside the company. We informed employees of basic measures such as disinfection, thorough handwashing and mask-wearing, while also promoting remote work from home and telecommuting as well as staggering working hours by utilizing a flex time system, etc. We also set up an in-house COVID-19 Emergency Task Force. The Emergency Task Force collaborates with Group companies in efforts such as sharing information on regional infection status and prevention measures, as well as provision of masks and disinfectant. In addition, rules and regulations are updated depending on the spread of infection and then communicated to employees. These updates include self-regulatory standards employed in the event of an outbreak and further strengthening of measures to prevent the spread of infection.

Development and Donation of Face Shields

In April 2020, the spread of COVID-19 in Japan led to a shortage of face shields to prevent the spread of droplets in medical institutions.
Our Stationery Company was one of the first to start developing and producing face shields using the Group's plants, and made preparations to provide them free of charge to medical institutions.
In April, we provided about 5,000 prototypes, and in May and June, we made improvements based on feedback from users to provide an additional 40,000 free of charge. Since then, there has been a growing need for face shields to prevent the spread of droplets, not only in the medical field, but also in a wide range of settings where interpersonal interaction is necessary, such as nursing care sites, schools, barber shops, beauty salons and supermarkets. So, we started selling two types of face shield on August 1, 2020, to make them available to customers who need them at a reasonable price. By utilizing our own technologies that we have cultivated through the production of clear plastic folders, we are able to provide stable products by handling everything from resin selection to sheet processing, packaging, and shipping in an integrated line.

The Tokorozawa Plant, which operates in Miyoshi Town, Iruma-gun, Saitama Prefecture, donated 1,200 face shields to the town Health Promotion Section to support COVID-19 prevention. On December 25, 2020, Miyoshi Town held a ceremony to present certificates of gratitude for support in COVID-19 prevention, and we received one such certificate.

Development of Partitions to Prevent Droplets

The Vision Division of our Stationery Company, which develops and sells meeting tools, has utilized the sheet manufacturing technology it employs in whiteboard and clear plastic folder production to develop partitions. There is a growing need for these as a measure to prevent COIVID-19 infection through droplet transmission. Starting September 7, 2020, we sequentially released four types of products that can be used in a wide range of settings, including offices, stores, hospitals, and schools.

Development of HAND CLEAN GEL and LOTION

Our Stationery Company has launched a new brand featuring a series of cleanliness and hygiene products, "ALLSAUBER," which focuses on sophisticated design and ease of use, inspired by the voices of developers who said things like, "I want an attractive hand cleaner that makes me want to keep it on display in my office," or, "I want to do something about the irritated skin I get from using sanitizer daily." On November 20, 2020, we launched, two antibacterial products, HAND CLEAN GEL and HAND CLEAN LOTION.

Development of Antibacterial and Antiviral Processed Products

In November 2020, as part of its efforts to combat bacteria and viruses in the office, our Furniture Company started selling made-to-order versions of our office lounge furniture, WORK FRAN, and our meeting table, RONNA, with anti-viral top panels. We have added and expanded upon products that use AICA ILTECT (manufactured by AICA Kogyo Co., Ltd.), an antibacterial and antiviral melamine decorative sheet. These help maintain cleanliness of the surface of the shared tables and communal desks in offices that are used by an unspecified number of people.

Our Furniture Company joined the Society of International sustaining growth for Antimicrobial Articles (SIAA)^※ and displays the SIAA mark on its products to indicate that they have been antibacterial and antiviral processed.

• ※ The Society of International sustaining growth for Antimicrobial Articles
  SIAA is an organization of manufacturers of antimicrobial and antifungal agents and products, as well as antibacterial testing institutions, with the aim of promoting the use of appropriate and safe antimicrobial, antifungal and antiviral products.

The PLUS Group believes that the changes in our daily lives brought about during and after the COVID-19 pandemic have generated an opportunity to reconsider our office space from two perspectives: countermeasures against the spread of COVID-19 and work style reform.
Our Furniture Company has been creating offices based on the concept, "Make the Office 'Attractive,'" by considering issues alongside our customers. These issues include countermeasures against COVID-19, health and productivity management, and well-being improvements that aim to provide work spaces that "attract people," "attract society," and "attract the future.
Starting in June 2020, the ideas, layout, and strategy sections of our web publication, "PLUS's Thoughts on the Shape of a Safe and Comfortable Office: The Workplace in the New Normal", are being sequentially released in order to create the standard office for during and after COVID-19.
As an additional COVID-19 countermeasure, in September 2020, we began offering "Suwary(https://kagu.plus.co.jp/suwary)"^※, our new app with a function that helps identify people who have had close contact with infected people in the office. "Suwary" is a simple seat reservation application that supports diverse office work styles.

• ※ Suwary
  A seat management system that enables reservation and history management of seats required for hoteling (a system in which fewer seats than the number of employees are prepared in an office where a non-territorial working policy has been implemented, and employees themselves book seats to use) by incorporating IoT in office desks. The system also enables the user to check for occupied seats and analyze data.