Modern Slavery Act 2015

Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement

Introduction from the Chairman of the Board of Directors

We, at Europe Limited (“Sodick”) are committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships and will comply with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (“MSA”) to combat slavery and human trafficking in our corporate activities, and to ensuring, as far as reasonably practicable that our supply chains are free from slavery and human trafficking.

Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. It can take various forms such as slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking, all of which have in common the deprivation of a person’s liberty by another in order to exploit them for personal or commercial gain.

This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) MSA and constitutes our slavery and human trafficking statement for this financial year.

Organisation's Structure

We are a leading global manufacturer of EDM machines in the manufacturing sector. We are a part of the Sodick (Group), and our ultimate parent company is Sodick Co., Ltd which has its head office in Japan. The Group has over 3,000 employees worldwide and operates in 5 regions, namely Japan, China, Asia, America and Europe.

The Group has a global annual turnover of over £600m.

Our Approach

As a global manufacturer, we always work to the highest standards and comply with all laws and regulations and rules applicable to our business including checking employees have the right to work in the jurisdictions in which they are employed and that they are of the appropriate age to work.

We are committed to maintaining a culture within which ethical behaviour is promoted and bribery never accepted. We take a zero tolerance approach to slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains or in any part of our business.

We consider the risk of slavery and human trafficking concerning our direct employees, workers, contractors and agency staff in all parts of our business to be low.

Our Supply Chain

We expect our suppliers, and their supply chains, to engage in good employment practices and to comply with the MSA. Suppliers are required, if requested, to demonstrate that they provide safe working conditions and act ethically and within the law in the use of labour.

We will not knowingly support or deal with any business involved in slavery or human trafficking and will work to terminate any business relationship where it become apparent a supplier does not adhere to the expectations of the Group.

If any employee or worker identities any potential signs of slavery, human trafficking or other human rights abuses, they are encouraged to report this to management directly or to use the Whistleblowing Policy; any such reports will be treated with the strictest confidence. To date no reports or concerns have been received regarding slavery or human trafficking in our operations. In the event that such issues were reported to us, we would undertake an urgent and thorough investigation into the concerns raised. If the investigation confirmed the concerns, we would put in place robust action plans to address the issues and protect the victims.

If we became aware of slavery or human trafficking concerns within our supply chains, we would seek to work with the relevant suppliers to improve conditions for their workforce. We reserve the right to deselect suppliers if they were to fail to make the required improvements within a reasonable timeframe.

Risk Assessment and Due Diligence

There are currently no activities that are deemed as at a high risk of slavery or human trafficking. The risk of slavery and human trafficking within Sodick is substantially avoided and mitigated through our framework of policies and procedures as well as an annual review of risk.

This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes our slavery and human trafficking statement for this financial year. This statement will be reviewed annually and published.

Signature of Directors

Kenichi Furukawa

Keisuke Takagi

Peter Capp

Sodick Europe Limited
Feb 2024