Fras-le president Daniel Randon and Randon Corp. President David Randon announced that Fras-le Asia, operating in Pinghu, Zhejiang Province, China, will expand in October.
The company officially inaugurated the plant, which had been operating since July 2009, on Thursday. The company also announced it will begin local production of commercial vehicle brake liners, in addition to the liners already being produced.
The expansion of Fras-le Asia, which in terms of machinery alone has required investments of U.S. $2.5 million, will be adding an additional 47,361 square feet to its current 37,674-square-foot facility. The staff of 75 will increase to 140 by the end of 2010. The new areas at Fras-le Asia will house warehouses, product shipping facilities and a quality control laboratory, in addition to administrative offices.
President Daniel Randon said that in just over a year in operation the company has already earned ISO 9001 certification, which also opened space for Fras-le Asia to certify the brake liners it produces with the demanding European ECE-R90 standards.
"In Pinghu we are producing European certified liners. This is an essential requirement for doing business with the European community, giving us status as a first-rate supplier in that market," said Randon.
By deciding to install a factory in China, which required initial investments to the order of US$ 3.5 million, the company sought to move forward with its internationalization project. Fras-le has been active in the Chinese market since 2001. In 2006, it began to serve it through a fixed trade operation in China until the factory there opened in 2009.
"Our challenge should become even more intense given such great worldwide potential in the area of friction materials," Randon said, pointing out that the importance of Fras-le Asia goes much further than merely supporting the Randon Corporation’s strategies for the Asian market.
