«Metafrax» expands to the Asian market
Metadynea Trading SA (Geneva, Switzerland), the affiliated company of PJSC Metafrax, and Sunghong Co., Ltd. (Korea) have established the joint venture SamyangMeta Ltd.
The enterprise was registered in Seoul (South Korea) on February 1, 2018. The Trading Company should strengthen the trading positions of group of companies “Metafrax” in the territory of East Asia, and first of all in Korea.
This refers to gain in sales of hexamine and pentaerythritol in the above area. First 200 tons of the products will be delivered by a trading company in Seoul, in April. In the future it is planned to expand the sales geography to other countries of East Asia.
Today the group of companies “Metafrax” delivers about 2 000 t of hexamine and about 1 000 t of pentaerythritol to the Asian countries. In the future, the annual turnover will reach 4 000 t of hexamine, 2 000 t of pentaerythritol and 15 000 t of methanol. At the same time, the company is considering possibility to deliver the product from Korea to the European market through the joint venture.
Management of “Metafrax” leaves open that new production facilities will be created on the base of joint venture. Armen Garslyan, Chairman of the Board, PJSC “Metafrax” comments, “Europe is intelligible and comfortable for us in terms of doing business, moreover Metadynea Austria, the affiliated company of “Metafrax”, is operating there. We enter to the Asian market together with a local company, which is not only a trader, but also it has its own production facilities. It is a good top-grade market. If the sales go well, then in the future the joint venture SamyangMeta can build a new plant in Korea or in Russia”.
Alexander Maksimov, the member of the Board of a new created joint venture, adds, “For culture and historical reasons, members of the Asian business prefer do business through their agents. We believe that in the person of Sunghong we have acquired a reliable and long-term partner who will help us to open not only the market in AP Region, but also it will contribute to “Metafrax” brand awareness in the region. Even today we deliver the products to Japanese world-known companies. I am sure that the main effect from the present collaboration will be the greatest in our future”.
Eric Sungwoo Park / Management Planning Director of Samyang Chemical Group:
“Samyangmeta is our valuable access key to Russia and Europe as well as to go beyond our limited supply capability. Also we believe this JV is your key to Asia including Japan and Korea which are the world’s number 2, 3 natural gas importers. Therefore the Korean and Japanese market situation is too low manufacturing and high demand regarding gas chemicals such as methanol, ammonia, urea, melamine etc. Samyangmeta will create numerous opportunities in technology, investment and marketing and finally realize mutual benefits of Metafrax and Samyang Chemical.”
For reference
Limited Company «SamyangMeta Ltd.» (Seoul, Korea)
Established: 01.02.2018
Members: Sunghong Co., Ltd. (Seoul, Korea) (50%) and Metadynea Trading SA (Geneva, Switzerland) (50%).
- President – Yongseok Sohn
- Vice-president - Ralph Peter Theuer
Sunghong was established in 2004. In 2005 a regional representative office was established in Shanghai. In 2006 an agreement of methanol supply was signed with Mitsubishi Corporation (Japan). Total turnover in 2017: KRW 54 billion (more than USD 50 million) Main products: chemicals, minerals. Sunghong is an affiliated company of Samyang Chemical Group.
Samyang Chemical was established in 1974; its head quarter is located in Seoul (South Korea). The group of companies includes 12 affiliate companies in total over various business based on the chemical industry. Total turnover in 2017: KRW 222,5 billion (more than USD 200 million)
Metadynea Trading SA (Switzerland, Geneva), a trading company, was established on November 14, 2014, it is included in group of companies “Metafrax”. The company arranges the sales of product produced by PJSC “Metafrax” to international markets, particularly methanol, pentaerythritol, and hexamine.
The sales geography includes more 50 countries in the world; the company disposes of storage facilities in Finland, Holland and Poland. It is dealing with buffer warehousing in Spain and the USA. The annual turnover in 2017: EURO more than 165 million.