Münster (Germany), 14 June 2012 – Armacell International, the world’s leading manufacturer of flexible technical insulation materials has opened new production facilities in Cheonan (approx. 100 km south of South Korea’s capital Seoul). The new plant, where insulation tubes and sheets for the Korean market are made, was inaugurated at the end of April.
‘With our new site in South Korea we are further strengthening our position on the Asian market. Alongside two production sites in China and plants in Thailand, India and Saudi Arabia, we now have our own factory in East Asia,’ stated Ulrich Wellen, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Armacell International GmbH, during the official inauguration of the new plant. Since the mid sixties, South Korea has seen 40 years of rapid and successful economic development. It has progressed from being one of the poorest countries in the world to the fourth strongest economic power in Asia. Measured by gross national product, it is today one of the 15 largest economies in the world.
Armacell products have been sold on the Korean market since the mid nineties. Whereas Armacell customers were previously supplied by the Chinese plant in Suzhou (Shanghai region), thanks to the newly established production facilities they now benefit from improved service. ‘With our own local site we are now closer to our customers and can react faster and more flexibly to specific customer requests. South Korea is an important market for us which has grown steadily over recent years. As further growth is forecast for the economy we decided to invest in a local production site,’ explained Chris Leung, Armacell General Manager Sales & Marketing North Asia.
The new Armacell plant is located on the outskirts of Cheonan, which today belongs to the Seoul National Capital Area (Sudogwon), one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world. In the modern factory a combined production line for tubes and sheets was set up on a production area of 2.700 m². Some 30 Armacell employees have been producing various ArmaFlex products, such as Class 1 ArmaFlex tubes and sheets, for the Korean market since the beginning of May.
