Hong Kong-listed battery giant Leoch International Technology has invested in UK-based battery distributor DBS Energy to target sales to the country’s industrial market.
Leoch said the companies had formed a joint venture— DBS Leoch— to “significantly grow its business and become one of the leading suppliers of batteries” to UK industry.
Details of the transaction were not disclosed. But DBS Leoch MD Henry James said the partnership confirmed Leoch’s “commitment to DBS Energy and to expanding in the UK battery market”.
“The agreement provides us with a strong business platform to achieve our ambitious growth strategies,” James said.
DBS Leoch will supply complete rechargeable batteries based on technologies including serviceable and maintenance-free flooded, AGM, gel and lithium-ion.
Leicestershire-based DBS Energy has supplied Leoch’s multi-range batteries to the UK market for seven years. The companies said the new partnership will enable DBS Leoch to maintain a larger stockholding to meet customer demand and strengthen the company’s sales, operations and technical support.
In 2015, Leoch agreed to buy lead-acid facilities and products from fellow Chinese companies Guangdong Marshell, Shanghai Dongyu, and Shanghai Dongming.
Leoch has regional production bases in Guangdong, Jiangsu and Anhui in China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and India.
