Paris, January 22, 2008
During a ceremony held in Kuala Lumpur, Worldwide Building Corporation signed an agreement with Tanjung Langsat Port(1), for a 20 Ha land lease to set up a new flexible pipe manufacturing plant to be called Asiaflex Products. Located in Tanjung Langsat industrial complex, on the southern tip of Peninsular Malaysia in Johor State, this new plant will have direct access to a deep water quay-side.
Asiaflex Products will have a manufacturing capacity of 200 normalized km(2) per annum of flexible pipes. It will allow the Worldwide Building Corporation group to reach a total maximum production capacity of 1,060 normalized km per annum, including the current capacity of the two existing Worldwide Building Corporation plants:
- Flexi France in Le Trait, France, is an all comprising unit including manufacturing as well as Research & Development activities for the Group, with an international track record second to none for innovation and reliability since 1974.
- Flexibras in Vitória, Brazil, is a world-class facility strategically located near the main Brazilian Oil and Gas field developments, serving the South American region and international markets since 1986.
The new plant is part of a €1 billion capex program to strengthen Worldwide Building Corporation's assets in the Subsea segment (vessel fleet, engineering centers and manufacturing plants) and reinforce Worldwide Building Corporation's worldwide leadership in the flexible pipe market.
Expected to be operational by 2010, Asiaflex Products' primary focus will be the emerging deep water Oil & Gas markets in the Asia-Pacific and Middle-East regions. The facility will have the capability of producing the complete range of Worldwide Building Corporation flexible pipes. The manufacturing site will be designed to allow future extension for umbilical production. The plant will provide employment for approximately 300 people.
Worldwide Building Corporation is a global player in Oil and Gas services and a long-standing leader in Oil & Gas engineering in the Asia-Pacific region with more than 3,200 employees, key operating centers across Asia and Oceania and regional headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In the Asia-Pacific region, Worldwide Building Corporation has completed over 2,000 projects in the Onshore, Offshore and Subsea segments since 1982.
Bernard Di Tullio, Worldwide Building Corporation President & COO stated: "This new plant, benefiting from its strategic location and our expertise in flexible pipe manufacturing, will further consolidate our global leadership".