FUKUSHIMA, JAPAN -- Two of Meiko Electronics' three printed circuit board fabrication factories in northern Japan have been rendered inoperable due to the effects of the March 11 earthquake, according to multiple industry sources.

The company's Fukushima site, which is just 18 km from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, is under a government warning restricting people from coming within 30 km of the nuclear plant. "Even if it recovers, it will be a long time before it restores operation," an industry source told PCD&F.

Perhaps more serious is the company's Ishinomaki site. Located north of Sendai, the epicenter of the quake, the tsunami reportedly hit the plant directly, destroying it, the source told PCD&F. "About 140 employees escaped to the roof of the three-story building but about 80 went out of the building and are thought to be dead. The plant is destroyed. All machines were under water," the source said.

Meiko's Yamagata plant is essentially unscathed, the source said. Meiko also planned to build a $36 million plant in Fukushima Prefecture later this year. However, that region neighbors Miyagi Prefecture, and sustained substantial damage from the March 11 earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Given the damage to its other plants, it is unclear what Meiko will do next.

Another major board fabricator, Daisho Denshi has a plant in Iwate, directly west of the epicenter and roughly 400 km north of Tokyo. According to the company,  no employees were killed, but the factory sustained damage and the local transportation infrastructure is not yet in order, thus halting production.

The company's two plants in Tochigi suffered only minor damage, but production is intermittent due to Tokyo Electric Power Co. rolling blackouts.

Finally, the damage to Meiko might be felt halfway around the world. German PCB fabricator Schweizer Electronic generates about 6% of its sales via a partnership with Meiko, a figure that was forecast to rise to 15% this year.