Park Electrochemical Announces the Establishment Of A New Manufacturing Facility In China
LAKE SUCCESS, New York, March 16, 2004….Park Electrochemical Corp. (NYSE – PKE) announced that it is establishing a new manufacturing facility in the People’s Republic of China to support the growing customer demand for advanced multilayer printed circuitry materials in China. The facility will operate under the name Nelco Technology (Zhuhai FTZ) Ltd. (“Nelco Zhuhai”).
Nelco Zhuhai will be located approximately 50 miles west of Hong Kong in the Zhuhai Free Trade Zone in Zhuhai, China and will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Park’s Nelco Products Pte. Ltd. business unit located in Singapore. Nelco Zhuhai will provide advanced multilayer circuitry laminate materials, as well as customer and technical support services, to leading electronics manufacturing customers throughout China. These advanced laminate materials will be produced by Nelco Zhuhai. Park expects the Nelco Zhuhai facility to be operational in the 2006 fiscal year third quarter ending November 27, 2005. Park intends to invest approximately U.S. $5 million to U.S. $7 million in the facility, which will consist of approximately 40,000 square feet and will ultimately employ approximately 100 employees.
Brian Shore, Park’s President and CEO, stated, “Our strategy for China is consistent with our overall company strategy, which is to do everything we can to help our customers succeed. We already do a significant amount of business in China and we currently have a significant customer base of leading high-tech circuit board manufacturers in China. Our Zhuhai facility and our expanded presence in China will enable us to provide our full array of advanced technology products to the China market with better lead-times and enhanced customer and technical support. We are establishing new manufacturing operations in China in order to better serve and support our customers rather than to “chase” low-cost manufacturing. Customers and technology have always been the cornerstones of our business, and our business in China has been, and will continue to be, conducted consistent with those principles.”
Certain portions of this press release may be deemed to constitute forward looking statements that are subject to various factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from Park’s expectations. Such factors include, but are not limited to, general conditions in the electronics industry, Park’s competitive position, the status of Park’s relationships with its customers, economic conditions in international markets, the cost and availability of utilities, and the various factors set forth under the caption “Factors That May Affect Future Results” after Item 7 of Park’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 2, 2003.
Park Electrochemical Corp. is a leading global designer and producer of electronic materials used to fabricate complex multilayer printed circuit boards and interconnection systems. Park specializes in advanced materials for high layer count circuit boards and high-speed digital broadband telecommunications, internet and networking applications. Park’s electronic materials business operates through fully integrated business units in Asia, Europe and North America. The Company’s manufacturing facilities are located in Singapore, China, France, Connecticut, New York, Arizona and California. Park’s electronic materials business operates under the “Nelco” name.