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| A rendered image of Lotte Energy Materials' copper foil factory to be built in Catalonia, Spain / Courtesy of Lotte Energy Materials |
By Park Jae-hyuk
SK and Lotte appear to be playing dirty in their public relations announcements related to their copper foil operations.
On Monday, Lotte Energy Materials issued a press release announcing its business plans for the European market, just two hours after SK Nexilis issued a press release on its copper foil supply agreement with German battery maker Varta, for its accelerated expansion in the European market.
SK Nexilis said in its press release that it has been signing supply agreements with European clients, making it the only manufacturer that can supply high-quality products to the European market.
Lotte Energy Materials, on the other hand, said in its press release that it will complete construction by 2025 on its Spanish factory which will have an annual production capacity of 30,000 tons. It also expressed confidence in being the "first vendor" for European clients, based on its high-end products made with its differentiated technologies.
This is not the first time that the two companies have put out announcements as part of their respective PR campaigns on the same day.
When Lotte Energy Materials held a press conference on the morning of July 4 to announce its growth strategies, SKC, the parent of SK Nexilis, held its CEO Investor Day event for institutional investors and securities analysts here and overseas, to introduce its own growth strategies, including the plans for SK Nexilis' copper foil business,.
SKC posted its presentation materials on its website that afternoon, thereby making the news of Lotte's press conference less visible on major internet portals.
Last October, Lotte Chemical signed an agreement to acquire Iljin Materials, which is now Lotte Energy Materials, on the same day SK Nexilis invited journalists to its factory in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province.
Because Lotte announced the acquisition deal during the SK factory press tour, most reporters at the venue had to cover the news from both companies. In addition, SK had to answer questions about the forthcoming competition with Lotte in the copper foil market.
At that time, SKC CEO Park Won-cheol expressed confidence in defeating the Lotte affiliate, saying his company "open-mindedly" welcomed Lotte's decision.
Lotte Energy Materials CEO Kim Yeon-seop, however, said in July's press conference that his company will outperform its competitors due to its thinner copper foil with higher intensity and elongation.
As of now, SK Nexilis holds the largest share in the global copper foil market, followed by China's Watson Copper Foil and Taiwan's Chang Chun Group. Lotte Energy Materials is the world's fourth-largest copper foil maker in terms of market share.
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