Kraiburg expands to South Korea; adds on to new US facility

KRAIBURG TPE, the global TPE manufacturer, has opened a new sales office in Seoul, South Korea, to accommodate rapid growth and leverage expansion in the Asia Pacific region.

The company says its expansion into South Korea is spurred by escalating demand for premium TPE products in the Asia Pacific region. Currently, the Asia Pacific region is one of the largest market for TPEs.

Although South Korea’s economy expanded at the slowest pace in more than a year in the fourth quarter of last year as a political scandal engulfed impeached President Park Geun-hye and conglomerate Samsung Group, the country is expected to flourish in the plastics sector due to its continued consumer spending.

KRAIBURG TPE Korea Ltd will therefore be focusing on the key markets, namely automotive, consumer, medical and industrial sectors.

This will be the Germany-headquartered TPE maker’s fifth local representation after Kuala Lumpur, Bangalore, Hong Kong and Shanghai. TaeYun Kim has been appointed its new country manager.

“The new facilities in South Korea underline the international strategy of KRAIBURG TPE to support local markets and services,” said Roland Ritter, Director Asia Pacific.

Its strategic location in Seoul will enable the sales office to access the infrastructure available. It will also be geographically closer to existing and potential customers, locally and abroad. For domestic customers, KRAIBURG TPE Korea Ltd. expects to increase market share by providing localised technical and commercial services while developing and enhancing Korean business out of Korea by utilising KRAIBURG TPE’s global presence.

The new sales office will fulfil the company’s strategic expansion programme and approach customers’ diversified needs across the Asia Pacific region and emerging markets, says the firm.

Early this year, the company also opened a new regional headquarters and facility in Georgia, US.

The new building occupies 69,000 sq. ft., with the potential to expand by an additional 150,000 sq. ft. for future growth on the new site. Along with the additional space, KRAIBURG TPE has also increased available production capacity by over 40% with an annualised potential of 10,000 tonnes of finished product (Thermoplastic Elastomers). Further increases in production capacity are also possible within the expanded footprint to support long-term growth projections.

(PRA)