Vancouver-based lead-acid battery firm Discover is launching an SLI lead-acid manufacturing plant in South Korea, backed by Canadian export financing.
Discover, which was awarded $15 million from Export Development Canada (EDC), told BBB the financing supported the firm’s acquisition of an existing battery plant site in South Korea.
The company said expanding production internationally would also allow it to introduce its patented ‘Mixtech’ technology— which “uses the vehicle’s natural movement to continuously mix the electrolyte inside the battery to eliminate acid stratification”.
Discover did not give details about the overall cost of the project, or the plant it has bought, but sales and marketing director Lee Adams told BBB production in South Korea would include products for the automotive market, in addition to RVs, marine and dual purpose.
Adams said Discover expected to see SLI production at the site initially rise “threefold to three million units per year”.
Adams said Discover had chosen South Korea because it is “synonymous with automotive batteries”, in addition to its “location and proximity to suppliers, technology and available resources and experienced personnel”.
The EDC said South Korea is “a key market” for Canadian businesses. “With the Canada-South Korea Free Trade Agreement now in place, Canadian exporters have preferential access to one of the world’s largest economies and are exposed to more opportunity due to tariff elimination in a broad range of sectors,” the EDC said.