Date: Monday, March 1, 2010 Re:  Chile Operations affected by earthquake Chile Operations affected by earthquake: Following the earthquake in Chile Saturday morning, the JF Hillebrand Chile office in Santiago is closed today Monday 1, 2010 until further notice. All office staff are accounted for and safe and the office appears to have suffered only minor damage, but power and water service has been interrupted in the Santiago area, affecting email servers and phone systems. San Antonio port is closed, and Valparaiso's TPS terminal is open but operations have not yet resumed (servers and phone lines have not yet been restored). Chile's southern ports (Talcahuano, Lirquen) are closed; this region suffered severe damages and casualties. The international road between Argentina and Chile has been closed but will re-open today. Chile's international airport suffered terminal damage but is reporting limited service has been re-established today. JF Hillebrand US staff is reviewing pending import orders which will be affected by the closures and we will continue to update you on the situation as more information becomes available.