UK tech provider expects 30% revenue growth in China

A UK provider of specialized technology for high performance systems and equipment e2v Technologies Plc expects to have 25- to 30-percent annual revenue growth in China in 2013.

The company earned $20 million in revenue from the Chinese market in 2012, said Paul Brown, e2v's Asian and Pacific president.

The Chinese market will make up about 10 percent of its global sales in 2013, he said.

"The growth is much faster than the mature markets, such as the US and Europe," he added.

The company has three divisions providing radio frequency power, high performance imaging and hi-reliability semiconductor solutions. Its productions are used in different industries, such as space imaging, firefighting, rescue and security thermal imagining as well as radiotherapy treatment and cargo screening.

Among its various products, the imaging productions used in the aerospace industry are the major growth driver in the Chinese market.

The company has provided imaging sensors to the China Academy of Space Technology, which is responsible for the development and manufacture of Chinese spacecraft, including scientific research satellites and application satellites.

"China developed very well in the aerospace area recently," Brown said.

In September 2011, China launched Temple One, the country's first target aircraft and space laboratory, followed by the launch of Shenzhou-9, one of the manned spacecrafts of China's Shenzhou program, in June 2012.

China is expected to conclude the first unmanned moon exploration mission in 2017, Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist for China's lunar probe project, said in September 2012.

"China's development in the aerospace area supports the good business of our imagining products, since it is one of the core parts for the aerospace industry," Brown said.

China's fast economic and social development gives e2v more business opportunities in other areas as well.

Radiotherapy, which is one of e2v's main divisions, has seen a 10- to 15-percent annual rise in China, Brown said.

The China market has grown fast compared to the rest of the world, due to the rapid expansion of the Chinese health and medical industry, he said.

The supplier already occupies more than 85 percent of China's market share in the radio frequency source for radiotherapy.

The growth of the Chinese market has encouraged e2v to enlarge its investment in the market.

The company announced the establishment of its first operational facility on the Chinese mainland on Monday.

The new facility, located in Zhongguancun Science Park in Beijing, will provide development technology support, production distribution, warehouse services and local products to its customers.

The first China-made thermal imagining cameras will be shipped in February, said Brown.

More productions of e2v will be introduced to the facility in the future, he added.

However, e2v is not just a component supplier. The company also a system and solution provider, said Keith Attwood, CEO of the company.

"Our customers need us to be here," Keith said, explaining why the company built its Beijing facility.

The new facility will reduce time to market and production costs, he added.