Fukoku to bring new jobs to the Ústí region

5 Sep. 2014 | CzechInvest | The company plans to start production of plastic products at the beginning of 2015.

Another Japanese investor is coming to the Czech Republic. Fukoku Co. Ltd. In Japan (Fukoku) decided to invest CZK 60 million in its production of mainly plastic products for automotive industry in Losovice in the Litoměřice district. The Czech Republic is the first European country to host Fukoku’s production operations.

“I’m glad that the company chose the Ustí region, which continues to be affected by high unemployment, as the site of its production facility. According to the current projections, twenty new jobs could be created in the Litoměřice district at the beginning of next year,” says Minister of Industry and Trade Jan Mládek.

“New investments undertaken by companies that have not previously operated here have recently been a less common occurrence than was the case ten or fifteen years ago,” says Ondřej Votruba, CEO of CzechInvest. “Conversely, expansions of companies that have already been here for a while are happening more frequently. In 2013 we assisted with 86 such expansions, as compared with 24 completely new investments.”

Under the name Fukoku Czech s.r.o., the company is planning to manufacture plastic products for automotive industry. “There are several reasons why we chose the Czech Republic,” says Akira Yoshioka, executive director of Fukoku Czech s.r.o. “The country is located in the centre of Europe and thus offers relatively easy access to any place on the continent and the possibility of building a base for further development in Europe. Also, one of our main customers operates in the Czech Republic, so we can quickly satisfy demand.”

Fukokuwas established in 1953 and is engaged in, among other things, the business of manufacturing and distributing of rubber products and other sealing, vibration control products such as torsional vibration damper, viscous mount, coupling and so forth. Fukoku is also a global leader in the production of wiper blade rubber.