Erhardt+Leimer and Nireco sign cooperation agreement
Partnership of high-tech companies opens up new opportunities for growth in Asia
The international Erhardt+Leimer group of companies, with its head office near Augsburg, Germany, and the long-established Japanese company Nireco, with its head office in Tokyo, signed a cooperation agreement in early February.
It is the companies’ common goal to meet customer requirements in the Asian region, in particular in Japan, to an even greater extent than in the past by combining their core competences.
In a first step, the new partnership is limited to selected industries, which are the printing, paper, film, hygiene and energy industries, as well as battery, electronics and paper production. In future, these selected industries will be provided with Erhardt+Leimer sensors, controllers and drives for web guiding, web tension control and web monitoring via the sales channels of the Nireco Corporation.
For Erhardt+Leimer the partnership does not at all mean a new entry in the Japanese market. The business relations of the company date back to the 1980s when Erhardt+Leimer first started to sell its products via a cooperation partner. Later, in the year 2000, E+L founded its own subsidiary with its head office in Yokohama.
The Japanese subsidiary remains an important component within the network of the E+L group of companies, but will focus more strongly on the industries not comprised by the cooperation agreement, which are the textiles, tire and rubber industries as well as corrugated cardboard production.
Erhardt+Leimer CEO Dr. Michael Proeller said: “This new cooperation opens up enormous possibilities for both companies. Those who know Japan and its high quality requirements for industrial products understand that combining the forces of Nireco and E+L will bring a strategic advantage in competition. Japan is one of the world’s biggest and most innovative national economies – achieving a strong position and utmost customer satisfaction in the Japanese market must be an integral part of a globalized company’s corporate strategy.“
Erhardt+Leimer operates in various industries, including the textiles, printing and film industries, paper and tire manufacturing, and the production of corrugated cardboard and batteries. Nireco manufactures products for the metal industry as well. In this market segment, Nireco and the US subsidiary of E+L have been cooperating in sales for several years now.