CROYDON, ENGLAND (Aug. 17, 1:15 p.m. ET) — .Zotefoams plc, the Croydon-based foam manufacturer, is hoping to set up an operation in the Far East in the next 18 months.
The company, which produces a range of high-spec foam materials that find their way into the packaging, aerospace and automotive sectors, could set up a factory in southern China, possibly with a joint partner, according to managing director David Stirling.
The operation would handle the third stage of its manufacturing process, where solid sheets of gas-impregnated plastic are finally expanded into manageable foam.
“We hope to be at the point where we have the necessary paperwork signed off by the local authorities by the end of this year or in early 2012,” Stirling said. It would then take several months to construct a facility.
Given the shifting nature of manufacturing in the Far East, where companies regularly moved operations across the region as business costs rise, Stirling said it was important to site any planned plant in a logistical hub, which could then serve a range of customers in the area.
Stirling said Zotefoams is putting increased focus on markets including China, India and Japan, which currently account for 7 percent of the firm's annual sales.
