10/31/2022

To our stakeholders:

I am pleased to confirm that SMT, Inc. reaffirms its support of the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption.

In this annual Communication on Progress, we describe our actions to continually improve the integration of the Global Compact and its principles into our business strategy, culture and daily operations. We also commit to share this information with our stakeholders using our primary channels of communication.

Sincerely yours,
Susan Rothecker, CEO

SMT’s mission statement and Employee handbook reflect our commitment to human rights and being socially responsible. We communicate and respond to human rights issues within our business operations on a regular basis. Our employees and the well being of others is built into culture and climate. We have regularly scheduled plant meetings on a monthly basis to review current business as well as training programs focused on communication and community involvement. Our employee handbook is reflective of these policies, and we also have suggestion boxes located throughout the facility to facilitate suggested improvements with communication.

We have regularly scheduled plant meetings on a monthly bases to review current business as well as training programs focused on communication and community involvement. Our employee handbook is reflective of these policies, and we also have suggestion boxes located throughout the facility to facilitate suggested improvements with communication.

Management meets routinely to review employment policies and procedure regarding recruitment, terminations, disciplines and communications. We continually research any observations that we need to make to improve workplace and conditions.

Our company is an equal opportunity employer and all policies, practices, benefits and employment decisions are administered without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, sex, age, disability or veteran status. As stated in the SMT employee handbook, "It is our belief and policy that problems between employees and management can be worked out satisfactorily through honest and frank discussions in an atmosphere of mutual trust, respect and cooperation.

We annually review and document our diversity standings and hiring policies. These are also reported to the EEOC.

SMT is annually on the TBJ list for top 20 places to work in Raleigh. This year we were #14 and diversity is a key measurement for this ranking.

SMT is committed to protecting the environment. We are not required to have permits for air quality as we do not have measurable emissions. SMT uses only green chemicals and environmentally friendly materials in 95% of our manufacturing processes. Environmental protection is a primary responsibility of every employee at SMT. We repurpose and recycle most of our packaging and steel. It is our objective to reduce waste and achieve minimal adverse impact on the air, water and land.

This is outlined in the above statement. In order to help achieve these goals, we recycle our aluminum, scrap metal, corrugated materials and various forms of paper.

SMT submits annual reports for wastewater management, air quality and hazardous waste. All these items are audited annually by each respective agency. We are fully compliant.

SMT and our approved supplier base and customers do not accept any gratuities of any form. We will not allow objectivity to be compromised at any level.

We do have suggestion boxes located throughout the facility as a grievance mechanism. SMT has a statement in our Company Policyt to raise awareness about our position regarding anti-corruption and extortion.

SMT has had no known violations in this area and we monitor through periodic reviews by senior management.