Working Together with Local Communities

USHIO gives factory tours to local high school students as a way to communicate with the local community. In 2010, high school students from a local high school in Gotemba made two trips to visit the respective sites of the Gotemba Division, where they observed production lines and other operations. The students toured UV lamp production lines and manufacturing processes for equipment with lamps embedded in them. These experiences served as good opportunities to deepen their interest and understanding of USHIO as a specialized lighting company.

USHIO LIGHTING supports the non-profit organization Akari no Machi Himeji, which participates in the Himeji Castle Festival as part of activities to promote education about light, as well as culture, the arts, and healthy development of children. At one of the events, called: “The Spirit of Love for Himeji Castle Expressed Through Sand,” which is held by the Himeji Junior Chamber International, a 6 meter high replica of Himeji Castle is created in Higashi Oyashiki Ato Koen, a park sited on a former samurai residence, using sand carried from the Tottori Sand Dunes. Around the sand castle stand another 60 or so sand sculptures made by city residents. When night falls, the spectacle is lit up with halogen lamps provided for the occasion by USHIO LIGHTING. The company also helps with “Star Night Zoo”—the illumination of the local zoo which has become a traditional part of the Himeji Castle Festival. In this way, USHIO LIGHTING helps to enliven local events.

Each year CHRISTIE DIGITAL SYSTEMS CANADA, INC. hosts a United Way Campaign run by United Way, a large non-profit organization which gathers and distributes contributions that have been donated to fund volunteer and NPO activities. The fiscal 2010 campaign was a Pumpkin Launching Contest, which kicked off from November 9. Many in-house departments organized teams to design and build various launching mechanisms, including a medieval style catapult using the lever principle, a cannon, and a giant pin-ball style device. The pumpkins were launched in the car park, up to a distance of 122 meters (400 feet). The campaign raised CD$70,736. or \5,870,000. All contributions to the United Way are distributed to local institutions for families and children facing difficult circumstances.

In fiscal 2010 for the second consecutive year NIHON DENSHI GIJUTSU CO., LTD. participated in a cleanup campaign for the area around Fuchinobe Station on the JR Yokohama Line, the closest station to the company. The number of volunteers was up from fiscal 2009, with over 50 people including children, students, and sports clubs enjoying the wonderful weather. Company employees worked together with community members for about two hours from 9:00 in the morning, pulling weeds and picking up litter from the path in front of the station and along the main road. The employees were determined to participate actively in contributing to the local community going forward.

Donations in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011 came not only from Japan, but from Group business sites in Europe, the U.S. and Asia. At CHRISTIE DIGITAL SYSTEMS U.S.A., employees made use of their remaining holiday leave to collect donations as they had after the Haiti Earthquake, with CHRISTIE DIGITAL SYSTEMS contributing a further 50% of the amount as a matching gift.

CHRISTIE DIGITAL SYSTEMS CANADA, INC. is widening its involvement with local communities through social contributions, and taking the lead in participating in various additional activities. In June 2010, the company participated in the “Electrathon,” electric car race with an electric car from Blue Vale College. CHRISTIE DIGITAL SYSTEMS CANADA has sponsored the event for several years. The team won first and second places in the 12-volt and 24-volt events, respectively. The objective of these races was to see how far the car could travel in one hour on a single charge. The team performed superbly in this event, winning the Engineering Prize. CHRISTIE DIGITAL SYSTEMS CANADA also supported the Formula SAE Race Team from the University of Waterloo. For this high performance race car, the company supplied materials, parts, and know-how together with an electric current analysis and other contributions. In May 2010 the team also participated in the international Formula SAE race held at the Michigan International Speedway.