Larox China Celebrates Inauguration

Larox celebrated the inauguration of the company's brand new production plant
in Suzhou on October 16. The official ceremony gathered together Larox's
customers, partners, local authorities, company management and employees. With
the establishment of a subsidiary Larox shows firm and long-term commitment to
supply efficient, high-quality filtration solutions to Chinese customers. 

“As a leading global supplier of industrial filtration solutions, Larox's
strategy is to grow, and to offer local service worldwide. China is a very
important market for us, and we want to service our Chinese customers in the
best possible way”, says  Mr. Topi Karppanen, President and CEO of Larox
Corporation, “Larox has been represented for many years in China by its local
agent Filterox, but opening a subsidiary demonstrates that Larox really has a
long-term commitment in China. Our presence in China enables us respond better
to customers' needs, monitor better market developments and emerge with new
applications.” 

Growing Market

With the growth of the Chinese Mining, Metallurgy and Chemical Process
industries, the demand for high quality filtration solutions has been
increasing steadily. “China is facing increasing pressure to improve its
industry's energy efficiency. There are ambitious targets and programs aimed at
reducing energy consumption and emissions. This drives demand for efficient
filtration technology. Larox is very well positioned to offer competitive
solutions to help our customers reduce costs, consume less energy and improve
process performance in many ways,” says Mr. Karppanen. 


Larox's production plant is located in Suzhou Industrial Park in Jiangsu
province near Shanghai. “This is a very good location close to many customers,
suppliers and skilled labor, with well developed logistic facilities”, says Mr.
Su Xugui, Managing Director of Larox China. A total of 30 new employees were
recruited to the China office to support the existing 15 Larox China employees
and the global Larox team. 

Celebrating Larox China

The official inauguration ceremony was held at the Larox Suzhou plant, at the
production facilities, where the guests were welcomed to the grand opening with
traditional Chinese dragon dancers and drum beat. The welcoming words were
expressed by Mr. Topi Karppanen, President & CEO of Larox. 

Throughout the inauguration ceremony the importance of the China office to
Larox was emphasized. “Larox was established by my father Nuutti Vartianen in
1977, and the first Larox deliveries to China took place in the mid 1980's.
Already in the mid 1990's Larox had  plans to establish a subsidiary in China
in form of joint 
venture. As the establishment did not happen then, I am very pleased to see the
China office and production facilities being established now. China has always
been good market to Larox” stated Mr. Timo Vartiainen, Chairman of the Larox
Board of Directors in his opening ceremony speech. Mr. Vartiainen also informed
the audience about the business acquisition arrangements between Larox and
Outotec and stated “Larox China will get great new opportunities through
Outotec, but let us concentrate tonight on celebrating this great event of
Larox China”. 

Fruitful cooperation

“Whatever the name may be, I am sure Larox China will be successful” said Mr.
Lars Backström,  Ambassador of Finland, at the beginning of his speech,
referring to the Outotec acquisition over Larox, announced on the day before.
The ambassador emphasized the cooperation between Finland and China and how the
Suzhou Industrial Park would become a center of that cooperation. At the moment
China is the fourth biggest importer to Finland and possibly in the future,
Finland could increase their import share in China. “The cooperation between
the two countries has been long-term and especially the Non-ferrous cooperation
between Finland and China has been fruitful and beneficial for the industry”,
complemented the Deputy Secretary General of China Non-ferrous Metal Industry
Association Mr. Pan Wenju, who is also a long-term friend of the Vartiainen
family. 

A small Finnish hub has already been formed in the Suzhou Industrial Park
(S.I.P) and the future is seen prosperous. “I would like to compliment the
Larox Management on their wise decision on establishing a subsidiary here”
stated the Chairman of the Suzhou Industrial Park, Mr. Yang Zhiping. 

After the official opening, the guests were treated with traditional Chinese
dinner and performances of Jiandang dance and acrobatics show. The Larox
customers and stakeholders were offered an evening full of experiences and
excitement. The topmost thought after the party was a feeling of community,
success and Larox spirit. 

The Larox team spirit reflects on the Larox operation and customer orientation.
“Our customers in China will benefit in many ways from the fact that the
company is now operating through a local subsidiary. We will have a local spare
parts warehouse in Suzhou, which means that our response and delivery times
will be much faster than before. We offer local service and customer support in
local language, and our customers can pay us in local currency. This change is
highly appreciated by our customers who will not have to worry about currency
exchange matters anymore”, Mr. Topi Karppanen concludes.