ANN ARBOR–Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc. (OTC: KBLB), the Ann Arbor company developing silkworms genetically engineered to spin cocoon fibers with the strength and resilience of spiderweb fibers, announced a personal donation for food supplies for its Vietnamese staff from CEO Kim Thompson and Kenneth Le, president of its Prodigy Textiles Vietnamese subsidiary.
The company maintains a production plant in Quang Nam province in central Vietnam, near Da Nang.
Through this donation, direct food aid will be provided to roughly 600 families in the farming cooperatives and villages in Quang Nam. Each family will receive 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of rice, noodles, cooking oil, fish sauce, and other items. Additional financial aid being provided will be coordinated by Le, in partnership with local officials, to ensure that other critical needs in the community are met.
In mid-March, Kraig voluntarily furloughed non-essential workers as a precautionary step. To minimize the financial impact of this decision, Kraig management has committed to keep these workers on the payroll through at least the end of April.
“I am thankful for the opportunity to personally support our valued team members,” said Thompson. “As we all work together to combat coronavirus, our team at Kraig Labs continues to make significant progress in critical aspects of our business model. Having laid a solid foundation, our teams in the U.S. and Vietnam are preparing the company to exit this stronger than ever. I believe that the this will be a breakout year for Kraig Labs, so the least our management team can do is share a little of that good fortune and spread it forward to the communities that are our home. I want to thank Mr. Ken Le for his generosity, his bold vision and his friendship. These monies will not come from the corporate treasury.”
The company has scheduled scheduled a news conference for 4:30 p.m. Eastern time Thursday, April 16 for what it calls “a significant scientific breakthrough in spider silk technology.” All interested parties can view this live event by going to www.kblbinvestors.com. To view the most recent news from Kraig Labs and/or to sign up for Company alerts, please go to www.KraigLabs.com/news.