Aiming to increase manufacturing productivity while raising quality, KeyMed (Medical & Industrial Equipment) Ltd., a consolidated subsidiary of Olympus Corporation (President: Tsuyoshi Kikukawa), has built a new manufacturing plant for medical devices located at Southend-on-Sea in the UK. The new facility features some of the latest innovations in environmentally conscious design, including the use of geothermal and other renewable energy sources. Operations at the plant commence on May 25, 2007.

Olympus views the construction of a new building as a valuable opportunity to reduce the environmental impact of operations significantly. Olympus is making efforts throughout global operations to employ environmentally conscious designs for all new facilities, adapted to the specific characteristics of the business and local area. For instance, the Mishima Facility, a development and production site in Japan for clinical analyzers that commenced operations in April 2007, features thermal insulation building panels to conserve energy and an upright thermal storage tank for the recycling of pure water and rainwater. At Olympus America Inc., the company’s sales and marketing base in the United States, the new corporate headquarters building that opened in July 2006 uses ozone-friendly chemicals in all air-conditioning and fire suppression systems. Local and recycled materials were also employed extensively in the construction of the new building.

KeyMed is a company that is actively involved in social contribution and environmental sustainability programs, based on its business philosophy that “the pursuit of profit alone is an empty vessel”. The advanced environmental installations at the new centre, which are outlined below, include a state-of-the-art geothermal heating and cooling system. The building is the first of its type in the UK to incorporate such a combination of advanced, eco-friendly features. The design not only reduces environmental impact, but also boosts operational efficiency and contributes to lower costs.

Environmental facilities of new Medical Device Manufacturing Centre

Solar panels	The majority of the hot water used in manufacturing is heated with solar energy. Supplying 75% of the hot water during the summer, the system of solar panels will deliver an estimated 50% saving in the energy bill for heating water.
Rainwater recycling	Rainwater is stored and reused for purposes such as toilet flushing and cleaning of the building exterior. Recycling is projected to reduce annual consumption of mains-supplied water by 25%.
Energy managementsystem	A system of automated controls minimizes the energy used inside the building for lighting, air-conditioning and other purposes.
Geothermal system	Geothermal systems work by transferring heat between buildings and the ground, helping to cool a building in summer and heat it in winter. Water in a looped pipe buried about 100m underground uses the natural geothermal energy to transfer heat, in this case through the air-conditioning system.

Outline of new Medical Device Manufacturing Centre

• Operational start-up date: May 25, 2007
• Location : Journeymans Way, Temple Farm Estate, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, UK
• Site area : approx. 5,200m²
• Total floor area: approx. 4,000m² (over two floors)
• Number of employees: approx. 90 people
• Web site reference: http://www.keymed.co.uk