Czech Nanotechnology Firms Penetrate the Japanese Market

29 Feb. 2012 | CzechInvest | The Nano Tech 2012 Trade Fair Brought Forth New Cooperation Opportunities for Czech Firms.

The Nano tech 2012 international trade fair, which took place in Tokyo on 15-17 February 2012, confirmed the strong position of Czech nanotechnology in the world. Czech firms and institutions exhibited for the first time in a dedicated Czech pavilion at Nano tech, one of the world’s most important events in the area of nanotechnology, and brought home from Japan a range of new findings, important contacts and opportunities for further development. In addition, the Czech company Advanced Materials – JTJ s.r.o. was judged by the event’s organiser as the firm with the greatest potential for Japanese partners.

CzechInvest and CzechTrade jointly organised the participation of ten Czech firms and institutions in the nanotechnology trade fair. The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Japan also participated in the realisation of the event. “The first Czech pavilion at the trade fair was preceded by our attendance at several previous editions of the event, when we collected information and prepared the groundwork for a successful presentation,” says Miroslav Křížek, CEO of CzechInvest. “Thanks to this, the Czech pavilion this year could be compared with the top participating European pavilions.”

Both well-established Czech nanotechnology companies and new start-up and spin-off companies of Czech universities exhibited at Nano tech 2012, where they established cooperation with Japanese and other foreign partners. For example, the University of Illinois at Urbana and the NanoTechnology Research Association expressed interest in cooperation with Czech entities.

Advanced Materials – JTJ s.r.o., a developer and producer of photo-catalytic coating materials, achieved significant success at Nano tech 2012. The organising committee chose the company as the strategic entity with the greatest potential for Japanese partners. “Thanks to that, we participated in a number of important meetings with local firms and we were even partially compensated for travel costs,” says Jan Procházka, executive and director of Advanced Materials – JTJ s.r.o. “Overall, we succeeded in establishing more than forty new contacts, of which roughly ten had serious interest in licensing our photo-catalytic coating materials in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Mongolia.”

Pardam s.r.o., a producer of ceramic nanofibres which are distributed worldwide by Kertak Nanotechnology, participated in the trade fair for the second time. “Representatives of the three biggest Japanese companies – Toshiba, Panasonic and Mitsubishi – approached us at the trade fair with specific ideas about using our materials,”says Daniel Možíš, general manager of Pardam s.r.o.

The Zlín-based firm SPUR a.s., which develops and manufactures laboratory and production lines for preparation of nanofibres and nanofibre-based filtration materials, established contacts in the commercial and academic spheres in Asia and Europe. “We were particularly pleased with the discovery that our products bear comparison with competing products even in the strictest criteria. Our anti-bacterial filtration materials received strong interest,” says Tomáš Dudák, general manager of SPUR a.s.

A unique nanofibre membrane developed by Nanoprotex s.r.o. with support from the Faculty of Textiles at theTechnical University of Liberec also received interest from trade-fair visitors. “Due to its properties, the membrane is intended for use mainly for outdoor, sports and military purposes,” says Roman Knížek of the Technical University of Liberec, who participated in the membrane’s development. Nanoprotex s.r.o. is preparing the launch of industrial production this year.

This year’s edition of Nano tech was attended by 45,024 visitors. Five hundred firms and institutions exhibited in 780 booths. “Based on the success and interest of Czech firms, spaces for the Czech pavilion have already been reserved for next year’s trade fair,” Miroslav Křížek, CEO of CzechInvest.