Announcement

Huvis's Chinese joint ECOPET venture, which was previously delayed due to COVID-19, has now started commercial production in earnest. 
In November last year, Huvis (CEO Shin, You Dong), specializing in chemical and fiber materials, signed an agreement with Chongqing Beike New Material Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, “Chongqing Beike”) and Chongqing Jiangtong Huanbao Suye Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, “Chongqing Jiangtong”) for establishing a joint venture for the production and sales of ECOPET in China, called Chongqing Huvis Eco Pack Materials Co., Ltd (hereinafter, “Chongqing Huvis JV”).
The agreement gives Huvis a 55% stake in the joint venture through Huvis Global, its subsidiary specializing in overseas investment, with Chongqing Beike and Chongqing Jiangtong owning a 35% stake and a 10% stake, respectively. 

Chongqing Beike, is a company with a food container distribution network in Chongqing and will be in charge of the ECOPET business of Chongqing Huvis JV. Chongqing Jiangtong, on the other hand, is a company specializing in container molding and will be responsible for manufacturing and selling food containers made using ECOPET sheets. Huvis will in turn build facilities and provide technology for ECOPET production. 

Due to its nature, ECOPET is bulky and incurs high logistics costs. Therefore, thinking that locally producing ECOPET would be more advantageous than exporting it from South Korea, Huvis decided to produce the material locally in China. The commercial production of ECOPET was previously scheduled for the first half of this year. However, with restrictions on the movement between countries following the outbreak of COVID-19, the production schedule at the time became delayed. Afterwards, with the easing of restrictions on entry into Chongqing, China, facility construction and production tests got completed successfully, enabling the full-scale production of ECOPET starting on September 21.

Chongqing Huvis JV plans to focus on the ready-to-eat food products market in southwestern China, with its main focus on Chongqing. The size of China's instant hot pot market is 3.5 trillion KRW and is growing rapidly with an annual growth rate of over 40%, and the convenience food market craze in China is expected to continue. Industry experts predict that given the popularization of packaged food and people's preference for hot soup dishes in China, the demand for ECOPET containers, which are excellent in heat resistance and insulation, will increase explosively. 

Chongqing Huvis JV's annual output is about 3,000 tons, which is equivalent to 40 million containers. While the containers used for instant hot pots and for rice bowls in China feature a heating agent within them in order to warm food, ECOPET has excellent heat resistance, so much so that containers made of ECOPET do not deform even in boiling water and do not cause the release of harmful environmental chemicals to occur. In addition, containers made of ECOPET do not feel hot to the touch when heated, and for those reasons, ECOPET is regarded as the best material for instant food containers in China. Huvis plans to expand its production facilities for ECOPET in the future in line with the rapidly growing market.

Huvis CEO Shin, You Dong said, "Now that we have entered the Chinese market with this agreement, we have gained a bridgehead for promoting the excellence of ECOPET and accelerating its commercialization both at home and abroad. Huvis will put in even more effort to develop new materials with eco-friendliness and being free from causing harm to the body foremost in mind.”

*'ECOPET' is a sheet-type material made by foaming polyester (PET), the first of its kind in South Korea. ECOPET can be used for containers for convenient food, such as cup noodles and boxed lunches. ECOPET is an eco-friendly material that does not generate environmental chemicals and has been certified as non-toxic by South Korea's Ministry of Food & Drug Safety (MFDS) and the U.S.'s Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Compared to conventional materials, ECOPET has excellent heat retention and excellent heat resistance, so containers made of ECOPET are safe to hold even when heated and can maintain the natural flavor of food.
Due to the nature of PET materials, ECOPET is easy to recycle and is therefore regarded as an innovative material that reduces the risk of environmental harm. ECOPET's excellence is well recognized in South Korea, having won the Prime Minister Award, the highest prize at the Future Packaging New Technology Awards (Korea Star Awards) 2017 hosted by the South Korean government, as well as the Asia Star award and the 2018 World Star award.


▲ General manager Ko, Seong Wook from Huvis's Chinese subsidiary Sichuan Huvis (sixth from right), Chongqing Beike general manager Liu Wen-Sung (fifth from right),
Chongqing Jiangtong general manager Ji Yan Ming-qwun (fourth from right) and other officials pose for a commemorative photo at Chongqing Huvis JV's production plant after holding a signboard ceremony, September 18.