Chinese Joint Venture Established

 

TIDMATV 
 
RNS Number : 1167C 
Antonov PLC 
06 November 2009 
 

ATV.L 
Antonov Plc 
("Antonov" or the "Company") 
Chinese Joint Venture Established 
 
 
Antonov is pleased to announce that the incorporation of the joint venture 
company (JV) in China, in connection with the joint venture with Chonqing Landai 
Industry Co., Ltd ("Landai") for the production of the Antonov TX6 automatic 
transmission, has been completed and a certificate of incorporation for the JV 
has been issued by the Chinese Authorities. 
Antonov's initial investment in the JV is EUR2.5 million, of which EUR375,000 is 
payable within 90 days incorporation and the balance is to be paid within 2 
years of incorporation. The Company expects that this will be met through the 
EUR15 million Loan Facility with Quivest, as announced on 19 February 2009. 
Landai is in the process of building a new manufacturing facility for its 
existing operations at its new site in Chongqing and part of this new facility 
will now be allocated for the production of the TX6, which is expected to 
commence in Q4 of 2011.  Once completed, production capacity is expected to 
equal approximately 200,000 units per year.  In the meantime, Antonov and Landai 
are working closely together to market the transmission and generate interest 
amongst car manufacturers in China. 
The Company and Landai are in the process of finalising the various agreements 
in relation to the JV, including the license agreement, under which the JV will 
manufacture the TX6, and the engineering services agreement, under which Antonov 
will provide support to the JV in moving the TX6 into mass production.  Both 
these two agreements are expected to be signed in December 2009. 
All technical targets for the TX6 were achieved in 2008, including shift quality 
and drive comfort; noise; efficiency and fuel consumption; and manufacturing 
feasibility. This year has seen the finalising of the key parameters of the 
production design of the TX6, one of which is its compact transverse length of 
320mm which makes it suitable for smaller cars as well as mid size cars. 
The intention is that initially approximately 60% of the production components 
for the TX6 will be manufactured by Landai, increasing to higher levels in the 
years to follow. The Company has also selected Conti Temic Microelectronic GmbH 
for the development and implementation of control software for the TX6 as well 
as for the delivery of the production Transmission Control Unit, TCU.  The 
Company is currently in negotiations with a potential supplier of the hydraulic 
blocks for the TX6. 
Commenting on the incorporation of the JV, Dr Jos Haag, the Company's Chairman 
and Chief Executive, said; 
"Today marks an important step in Antonov's strategy to produce and distribute 
the TX6 in China. Production of front wheel drive vehicles in China with 
transversely mounted engines up to 270Nm torque is forecast to exceed 1.8 
million vehicles in 2012 and the TX6 offers a competitive proposition for 
manufacturers in this market segment. 
There is still further work to be done to bring the TX6 into mass production, 
but I would like to thank Landai and COFTEC, a governmental body in the 
Chongqing province, for their support to date and I look forward to working with 
them in the future." 
Enquiries: 
Please contact: - 
+--------------------------------------------+---------------------------------------------+ 
| Mory Motabar, Director                     |                             [phone] | 
| Antonov plc                                |                                             | 
+--------------------------------------------+---------------------------------------------+ 
| Lindsay Mair/Antony Legge                  |                            [phone] | 
| Astaire Securities Plc                     |                                             | 
+--------------------------------------------+---------------------------------------------+ 
| Shane Dolan                                |                            [phone] | 
| Biddicks                                   |                                             | 
+--------------------------------------------+---------------------------------------------+ 
| Company's website:                         |                          www.antonovplc.com | 
+--------------------------------------------+---------------------------------------------+ 
 
 
 
This information is provided by RNS 
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange 
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