Jul 28 2010
Lihua International, Inc. (Nasdaq: LIWA) ("Lihua" or the "Company"), a leading Chinese developer, designer, and manufacturer of low cost, high quality alternatives to pure copper products, such as refined copper products and superfine and magnet wire, including copper clad aluminum ("CCA") wire, today announced that it has begun production of refined copper products on its second smelter, located in the Company's existing copper recycling facility in Danyang, China.
The launch of this new smelter, with annual production capacity of 25,000-tons, doubles Lihua's annual refined copper production capacity to 50,000 tons.
Additionally, the Company announced that it has expanded its product portfolio with the addition of copper anode products, which are used as raw materials in a wide variety of consumer and industrial applications, including copper rod.
The new smelter will initially be used for the production of the new copper anode products, with the flexibility to produce other refined copper products, as needed, including copper rod. Lihua added this new smelter in an effort to better address rapid growth in the market for pure copper alternative products. The Company plans to begin construction on a new copper recycling facility during the fourth quarter of 2010, which is expected to launch in late 2011 and is expected to increase recycled copper production capacity to 100,000 tons per year.
"The launch of our second smelter and introduction of copper anode products are important steps for Lihua as we work to expand our presence in the market for pure copper products. Demand in this market is tremendous in China, and our greatest constraint to date has been refinery capacity. This new smelter enables us to better address the growing customer demand for our pure copper replacement products as we move toward construction of our new recycling facility in the fourth quarter of this year," said Jianhua Zhu, Chairman and CEO of Lihua.
Mr. Zhu added, "Lihua's copper anode represents a significant advancement in the refined copper market and speaks to the capabilities of our research and development team. We believe this addition to our pure copper product portfolio has a wide range of potential applications and are confident in our ability to successfully gain share in this market with new, innovative products as we continue leveraging our reputation, relationships and significant competitive advantages in an effort to become China's leader in the market for copper alternative products."