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Kodak to Expand Printing-Plate Sales in China with New Partnership

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The Eastman Kodak Company today announced that it’s reached an agreement with Lucky HuaGuang Graphics Company of China in order to establish a strategic relationship in the People’s Republic of China, including in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan.

By partnering with one of the largest graphics players in a region that is seeing a growing demand for resource-efficient solutions, Kodak says it seeks to significantly increase the adoption of its SONORA printing plates in China.

The Kodak/HuaGuang relationship will be comprised of an agreement for Kodak to sell its offset printing plates facility in Xiamen, China, to HuaGuang; a supply agreement for HuaGuang to help Kodak fulfill its existing customer demand; and an IP agreement under which Kodak licenses its technology to HuaGuang to expand its  market in China.

This relationship will leverage HuaGuang’s market leadership and Kodak technology, which together are expected to accelerate the broad conversion to Kodak’s process-free technologies in China.

“The endorsement of SONORA by one of the biggest players in the industry is a testament to the strength of Kodak’s technology,” commented John O’Grady, senior vice president at Kodak. “We are excited to work with HuaGuang to advance the conversion of China’s print market to process free plates and help print industry customers – and those they serve – lower their environmental impact.”

Kodak says that it and HuaGuang have successfully collaborated in a variety of different business models and cooperative ventures spanning decades, “building a history of mutual trust and respect that underpins the current deal.”

Zhang, Tao, president of HuaGuang, commented: “Kodak is a well-known company in the pre-press field; the new cooperation with Kodak can speed up the conversion of offset plates to process free plates in China, which will promote the process of green environmental protection in the printing industry in China.”

Customers in the region will experience no interruption in supply, and the companies will work together to ensure the delivery of “new, innovative products moving forward.”

Kodak will maintain its current market structure in China, and expects that SONORA sales will continue to grow, alongside growing sales of the full portfolio of Kodak solutions.

The relationship is expected to be formally established at a closing in the third quarter of 2019, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

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