GREENVILLE, S.C., July 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — KEMET Corporation (NYSE: KEM), a leading manufacturer of tantalum, ceramic, aluminum, film, paper and electrolytic capacitors, today announced that it is positively cited in the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report Conflict Mineral Disclosure Rule: SEC’s Actions and Stakeholder-Developed Initiatives (GAO-12-763). This report highlights KEMET’s “Making Africa Work” initiative of establishing a “closed-pipe” supply chain for responsible sourcing of tantalum from Katanga Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
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“Addressing both the social and economic health of the local mining communities in the DRC is a critical step in resolving its longstanding social conflict and atrocities,” stated Per Loof, KEMET’s Chief Executive Officer. “As the industry leader, we have a responsibility to focus on creating sustainable communities in the DRC which, in turn, will support the stable supply of raw materials so important to meeting the long term needs of our customers and the overall market,” continued Loof.
“KEMET’s mention in this report confirms we are on the right track and illustrates our continued involvement with the various industry and governmental initiatives and organizations addressing the issue of conflict minerals sourcing,” stated Dr. Daniel Persico, Vice President of Strategic Marketing & Business Development.
“Making Africa Work” is a comprehensive initiative that includes a social sustainability investment of $1.5 million over a two year period for infrastructure development and improvements such as the construction of schools, health clinics and fresh water wells at and around the Kisengo mine site in the DRC. This plan is focused on enhancing the overall quality of life of the miners and their families as well as creating long-term opportunities for the local community that supports the mine.
The “Making Africa Work” initiative is a linchpin in KEMET’s overall commitment to developing a conflict free, vertically integrated supply chain for the manufacture of our tantalum capacitors. In addition, KEMET has committed that it will cease doing business with any supplier that cannot prove their supply chain is free of conflict based materials.
About KEMET
KEMET’s common stock is listed on the NYSE under the symbol “KEM.” At the Investor Relations section of our web site at http://ir.KEMET.com, users may subscribe to KEMET news releases and find additional information about our Company. KEMET applies world class service and quality to deliver industry leading, high performance capacitance solutions to its customers around the world and offers the world’s most complete line of surface mount and through-hole capacitor technologies across tantalum, ceramic, film, aluminum, electrolytic, and paper dielectrics. Additional information about KEMET can be found at http://www.kemet.com.
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Certain statements included herein contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws about KEMET Corporation’s (the “Company”) financial condition and results of operations that are based on management’s current expectations, estimates and projections about the markets in which the Company operates, as well as management’s beliefs and assumptions. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” variations of such words and other similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect management’s judgment only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any of these forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.
Factors that may cause actual outcome and results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements include, but are not necessarily limited to, generally adverse economic and industry conditions, including a decline in demand for the Company’s products. Other risks and uncertainties may be described from time to time in the Company’s reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact: Dean W. Dimke
Senior Director, Marketing Communications and Investor Relations
deandimke@KEMET.com
954.766.2806
SOURCE KEMET Corporation