VIKING Life-Saving Equipment, a manufacturer of safety equipment, is providing aid to residents in Thailand. The country is in the middle of the worst flooding in more than 50 years that has killed over 300 persons, displaced another 100,000 and caused widespread damage to homes and infrastructure.
“We are of course deeply touched by the situation and we naturally feel an obligation to provide assistance to a community that has given VIKING so much”, says Henrik Uhd Christensen, CEO of VIKING and continues:“We know water and what it takes to survive in water. Safety is the backbone of our business. It’s what we do and who we are. So if our knowledge and our products can make a difference for the thousands of persons affected by these terrible floods, we are only proud to help.” VIKING has joined forces with the Thai Red Cross Society and the Danish Ambassador couple in Bangkok, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Hemniti Winther, to distribute over 400 lifejackets among towns and villages in the flood-affected areas.
The lifejackets were handed over on Friday, October 28, 2011 by VIKING’s managing director in Thailand, Mr. Morten Halfdan Petersen to Red Cross Director, Dr. Amnat Barlee and Assistant Secretary General for External Relations Mr. Sawanit Kongsiri. “Our facility in Laem Chabang employs over 650 people”, says Morten Halfdan Petersen. “We have been here for almost 10 years. We have deep roots in the community and it is devastating to see how much damage and despair these unprecedented water levels are causing.” In addition to the lifejackets, VIKING employees and their families have made a fantastic effort to collect 10m3 clothing and toys as well as cash donations for food and water supplies.
“It’s been extraordinary to see how the whole community has come together to help people in distress. We are happy to be a small part of a huge international relief effort, and we hope that the lives of the affected will soon return to normal.” VIKING is a privately held corporation founded in 1960 with group headquarters in Denmark. Products, such as liferafts, lifejackets, evacuation systems, immersion suits, work suits, pilot suits, man overboard boats, davits and other life-saving appliances, are manufactured at facilities in Denmark, Norway, USA and Laem Chabang, Thailand.