Plant opening: DEG finances German adhesives manufacturer in Malaysia

• EUR 6.5m for expansion investments
• Local know-how and German plant engineering

The German adhesives manufacturer Jowat SE has moved to a new production site within Malaysia: The official opening of the new plant of the Malaysian subsidiary Jowat Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd. took place on 28 April 2015. DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, provided a long-term loan of EUR 6.5m for the new production plant and the expansion of its machinery. In doing so, DEG helps the medium-sized company increase its production capacities in Malaysia.

Jowat has been active in Malaysia for over a decade. Its production capacities at the previous location have become insufficient in light of the increasing demand in Asia. "Our financing enables our customer to expand into new markets in the Asia-Pacific economic area. At the same time we make a contribution towards supporting German plant engineering in a highly technical sector," said Cornelius Thor, Head of DEG's German Corporates Department, on the occasion of the plant opening.

"Being a medium-sized family-run company, the new location has significantly increased our options for a future engagement in the Asia-Pacific area," added Ralf Nitschke, Member of the Jowat SE Board of Directors. "We expect further investments and an increasing business volume in this region in the coming years, also supported by our distribution of customer-orientated solutions in the field of industrial adhesives."

Founded in 1919, Jowat SE and its roughly 950 employees worldwide produce and supply industrial adhesives. Jowat, headquarterd in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia, has six production sites, two in Germany and one each in Switzerland, the USA, Malaysia and Australia. In addition, its sales structure comprises 20 direct distribution companies and partner companies in several countries.

The new plant is located in the industrial park of Bandar Enstek, near the international airport of Kuala Lumpur. Within a period of approx.14 months, Jowat constructed a production site which meets the latest technical standards. On an area of around 45,000 square metres it comprises several production facilities and an expanded range of machinery. The new installations come from German manufacturers and are used efficiently thanks to the high level of qualification and commitment of the currently around 80 employees in Malaysia.

Jowat's investments are proof of the increasing interest on the part of German companies in the markets in emerging and developing countries. In the 2014 financial year alone, DEG, a subsidiary of KfW, provided German companies with financing totalling EUR 253m for investments in these countries.