Portec and Pert Engineering have announced the formation of a joint venture, Portec Asia, in order to better serve the needs of customers in China and the Asia-Pacific Region. Portec Asia, which is headquartered in Hong Kong, will be responsible for all sales, marketing and service activities to support Portec customers throughout the region and will coordinate local manufacturing and assembly of Portec products at the Pert Engineering factory in Shenzhen, China.

“We are very pleased to have entered into this joint venture with our long-time friends at Pert Engineering. We view the joint venture as a next logical step, building on our greater than thirty-year relationship with Pert, to serve our growing customer base in Asia,” said Kirk Morton, president and CEO of Portec.

Morton continued, “This investment in a joint venture indicates Portec’s seriousness about being there to support our customers in the region and reflects the strong business prospects that we foresee in the coming years. Combining Pert’s manufacturing capabilities, the expanded sales and service capabilities of Portec Asia and the proven Portec equipment designs should make us very competitive throughout Asia.”

MK Lo of Pert Engineering will lead the Portec Asia management team. He has more than 25 years experience with Portec products and extensive knowledge of material handling applications and markets throughout Asia.

“We are very happy to have joined forces with Portec and look forward to Portec Asia successfully serving and supporting customers throughout Asia,” said Mr. Lo.

Portec Asia is expanding the Portec sales and service network throughout the region using a combination of sales representatives, distributors and dedicated Portec salesmen. Portec material handling equipment is already in operation in many airports, parcel handling facilities, and distribution facilities in Asia including: Shanghai Pudong Airport, Beijing Capital Airport, Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport, Hong Kong Airport, Singapore Changi Airport, China Post in Wuxi and Taiyuan, as well as DHL and FedEx in Hong Kong and FedEx in the Philippines.

Portec Asia plans to also expand into other industries in Asia that offer significant business potential.