OFS and Hengtong to Form Joint Venture Company to Produce Optical Fiber Preforms in China

NORCROSS, Ga., June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- OFS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., and the Hengtong Optic-Electric Co., Ltd. are pleased to announce they have agreed to form a joint venture company in China to manufacture, market and distribute optical fiber preforms used in the production of optical fiber.   The joint venture company is planned to be named Jiangsu OFS Hengtong Optical Technology Co., Ltd.  This formal joint venture cooperation is the fruition of a broader commercial cooperation which has been developing over the last three years between the companies.  

"China is an important market for us as it is the largest optical telecommunications market in the world.  Continual FTTx and 3G rollouts and the supporting optical network are part of the government's long term view for a globally competitive telecommunications infrastructure," said Dr. Timothy F. Murray, Chairman and CEO of OFS.  "This joint venture represents a significant strategic investment in China. OFS and Hengtong Group are an excellent match with a mutual commitment to serve customers in the highly competitive global optical telecommunications industry."  

As part of the agreement, OFS, as a leading U.S. designer, manufacturer and provider of optical fiber and related products, will bring the latest Vapor Axial Deposition (VAD) optical fiber preform technology and expertise to this greenfield operation.   Hengtong, as a leading Chinese optical fiber and cable company, brings significant optical fiber draw and cable manufacturing expertise in the China market. The scope of the joint venture is preform manufacture and R&D.   "Preform technology represents the core value in the optical fiber industry, and both parties see this joint venture as another important step toward further cooperation to better serve their customers," said the president of  Hengtong, Mr. Gao An Min.

Terms of the joint venture agreement were not disclosed. The joint venture is subject to normal closing requirements, including necessary regulatory approvals.

About Furukawa Electric Company, Ltd.

Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd. (www.furukawa.co.jp/english) is a $9 billion global leader in the design, manufacture and supply of fiber optic products, network products, electronics components, power cables, nonferrous metals, and other advanced technology products. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Furukawa operates production facilities on five continents around the globe, including OFS in the USA.

About OFS

OFS is a world-leading designer, manufacturer and provider of optical fiber, optical fiber cable, FTTX, optical connectivity and specialty photonics products.  Our manufacturing and research divisions work together to provide innovative products and solutions that traverse many different applications as they link people and machines worldwide. Between continents, between cities, around neighborhoods, and into homes and businesses of digital consumers we provide the right optical fiber, optical cable and components for efficient, cost-effective transmission.

OFS' corporate lineage dates back to 1876 and includes technology powerhouses such as AT&T and Lucent Technologies (now Alcatel-Lucent). Today, OFS is owned by Furukawa Electric, a multi-billion dollar global leader in optical communications.

Headquartered in Norcross (near Atlanta) Georgia, U.S., OFS is a global provider with facilities in Avon, Connecticut; Carrollton, Georgia; Somerset, New Jersey; and Sturbridge, Massachusetts, as well as in Denmark, Germany and Russia.

For more information, please visit www.ofsoptics.com.

About Hengtong Group

Hengtong Group is a state-level enterprise group in China devoted to communications and electrical power undertakings.  Since its founding, high quality products and strong cooperations have enabled the enterprise to stably and rapidly grow into a specialized wire and cable manufacturer, supplier and communication engineering service provider with the most complete product line-up and specifications in the wire and cable industry in China.

For more information, please visit www.hengtonggroup.com

SOURCE OFS