China: Zotefoams, which produces cellular material technology, has entered into a new venture with China's King Lai Group to manufacture and sell insulation products. The new venture will be called ZOTEK King Lai (ZKL).
Zotefoams and King Lai have a previous long-standing relationship for the sale of T-Tubes in China. Building on the success of T-Tubes clean-room insulation products for biotech, pharmaceutical and semiconductor plants, ZKL will offer a local supply to the market in China and a more rapid response to other markets including Asia, India and the Middle East.
ZKL is owned 51% by Zotefoams and 49% by King Lai. Manufacturing will be located in King Lai's plant in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, China. The manufacturing of products made from Zotefoams' ZOTEK foam materials is expected to begin in the second half of 2015. Sales activity in China will be the direct responsibility of ZKL, using King Lai as the exclusive distributor, while all sales to customers outside China will be the responsibility of Zotefoams Operations Ltd in Thailand.
"I am delighted to extend our relationship with King Lai. Its commitment to operational excellence and strong position in products for clean-room markets make King Lai an ideal partner to accelerate the development of our unique materials," said David Stirling, managing director of Zotefoams.