EXCLUSIVE: Japanese Earthquake And Taylor Devices (TAYD)

Today's 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan directly affects the business prospects of damage control companies like Taylor Devices TAYD. Taylor Devices is engaged in the design, development, manufacture and marketing of shock absorption, rate control, and energy storage devices for use in various types of machinery, equipment and structures. With the massive earthquake in Japan still rattling the Pacific region, Benzinga wanted to get a first-hand perspective on the change in business that would happen at Taylor Devices in the next few days.

Investors are already making their bets that Taylor Devices will benefit from the earthquake-related business in the Pacific region. Taylor Devices traded over 30% higher today in pre-market trading versus yesterday's closing price.

When Benzinga called the headquarters of Taylor Devices, we were greeted by a receptionist who said that we were her first call, but "I usually get lots of calls, especially when there's a serious earthquake." We were soon transfered to a Taylor Devices executive who answered our most urgent question: "We don't have factories in Japan."

Knowing that Taylor Devices did not have physical destruction to its production equipment, Benzinga wanted to know the company's business dealings in Japan and the Pacific region. The executive answered, "We do have representation over there. We sell a lot of products to Japan to protect their buildings and structures."

When asked if the company had received any calls, the company surprisingly answered that they had yet to receive any calls or deploy teams to assess damage. "We don't do any cleanup or recovery." According to the executive, Taylor Devices does not have a way to monitor its building protection devices via the internet. Stability and shock absorption devices are self-contained, and Taylor Devices personnel must go to inspect any problems or changes in-person. According to Benzinga's phone call, nothing has significantly changed in Taylor Devices' operations within the last 12 hours.

The executive explained that "it's tough to say" how much damage has been done to Taylor Devices-protected buildings and structures, but he expects that the damage will be low because the earthquake was far from Tokyo where most of Taylor Devices' business is located. Although the executive is aware of the massive damage near the epicenter of the earthquake, he guesses that damage to most of their protected structures will be minor.

"We've been there in japan for a few years," he commented. "We received approval 15 years ago from Japan's Ministry for our permits there. We have competition from other Japanese companies in this area, but many engineers in Japan prefer our product because it has high technology."

At last check shares of Taylor Devices, traded in New York, were over 30% higher than yesterday's close while U.S. futures markets were trading 0.3% lower. Japanese police have confirmed over 300 deaths from the earthquake so far.