NEWS
MOVINGON
Relocations and expansions across Europe
Zytronic announces Japanese expansion
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ytronic, a leader in durable, customised Projected Capacitive Technology (PCT™ and MPCT™) touch sensors has announced a significant expansion in Japan, increasing its team to support customers, as well as appointing two new sales channel partners in the country. Zytronic has appointed Mr Masami Saito to the new position of business development manager, Zytronic Japan, reporting to Ian Crosby, global sales and marketing director. Sarah Larter has also been appointed as UK-based internal sales and customer service assistant to support its customers and partners in the Asia Pacific region. Furthermore, two new distributors have been appointed in Japan: KTL Corp. and Takachiho Koheki Co. Ltd. Both companies have extensive networks of sales offices nationally – Takachiho has 60 years’ experience in bringing the best Western technologies to the Japanese market and offers Zytronic a detailed knowledge of the country and access to potential customers. In addition, KTL has strong relationships with internationally known technology companies like Texas Instruments and Molex. Visit: www.zytronic.co.uk
TechnoNicol invests in new Russian drainage systems plant R
ussian construction materials manufacturer TechnoNicol Corporation has opened a new plant to make plastic roofing drainage systems, including drainpipes, at its base operation in Ryazan near Moscow. The company invested nearly €21.5m in the project to establish this highly automated facility, which has created 60 new jobs. TechnoNicol’s new operation will produce a range of drainage system components such as pipe, water intake funnels, connecting gutters and protective grilles for use on low-rise homes. The PVC products will deal with rainwater and snow melt roof drainage in a temperature range from -50 to + 50 degrees centigrade. TechnoNicol has installed in the plant a range of plastics extrusion and injection moulding lines supplied by leading western machinery manufacturers including Austria’s Engel and the German firm Theysohn Extrusionstechnik. The firm stressed that its modern equipment and raw materials will enable it to ensure its product quality matches the highest world standards. It is gradually increasing the amount of domestic Russian produced PVC, so reducing dependence on imported raw material and the production costs. Visit: www.technonicol.com
Lenzing opens Application Innovation Centre in Hong Kong
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he Lenzing Group is setting a further milestone in intensifying its cooperation with its partners along the value chain by the opening of a new Application Innovation Centre (AIC) in Hong Kong. New applications for Lenzing fibres will be developed and tested at the new facility, among them
18 Industry Europe
Teknos opens new Technology and Training centre
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eknos has built a Technology and Training centre in its Rajamäki facilities in Finland. The centre will serve Teknos’ clients and staff as training facilities and paint showroom. “We felt that we needed a place where we can provide training for our partners and our own staff on using our products. The facilities also allow us to test our own products, before commercialising them, in the circumstances where they will be used,” says managing director of Teknos Finland Arto Mannonen. The centre has a total floor area of approximately 1500m2. All the equipment, the painting chamber and the robotics represent the newest technology. “There has been a demand for training facilities like this. Our retail customers believe that testing our products in practice also supports the sales work in stores. Our professional customers, in turn, will be able to test our new products and provide us with valuable feedback on product features,” says Wille Saarinen, AC sales director in Finland. Visit: www.teknos.fi
applications for recent innovations like the RefibraTM branded lyocell fibre and the EcoVeroTM branded viscose fibre. “With this new centre Lenzing is further implementing its corporate strategy sCore TEN. The proximity to important Asian customers and partners along the value chain creates a new dimension in our service offering,” says Robert van de
Kerkhof, chief commercial officer of the Lenzing Group. “This new Centre is an integral part of our global technology network, from our R&D department and fibre processing laboratory in Lenzing to our fibre testing facility in Indonesia,” states Heiko Arnold, chief technology officer of the Lenzing Group. Visit: www.lenzing.com
