DGAP-News: Balda gets into the production of metal components

18.08.2006

Balda AG / Key word(s): Joint Venture

18.08.2006 09:42

—————————————————————————

Joint Venture with AVY from Taiwan for the manufacture of punched metal and

aluminium/magnesium die-cast components creates in-house resources for

mobile phone metal parts.

Bad Oeynhausen – Balda AG adds metal form parts to its production portfolio

of housing components. The specialists in precision plastic parts will

produce punched metal parts and die-cast components in a joint venture with

Taiwanese company AVY Precision Technology Inc. AVY is part of the ABICO

Group, and already produces metal housing parts for digital cameras at its

Chinese plants in Suzhou and Dongguan. The contract signed today secures

for Balda 60 % of the shares in the new joint venture with a registered

capital of 100,000 US dollars. The contractual partner is the Balda Holding

Company in Singapore. Initially the enterprise will use existing production

capacity at AVY. Investment in own plants is only intended once the volume

of orders is sufficient.

‘Balda is adding to its skills and competencies in an ideal manner with

this new joint enterprise,’ explains CEO Joachim Gut. ‘We are now in a

position to offer high-quality metal housing parts, e.g. for the

Infocom-market, along with the plastic components of our core business.’ He

said that AVY contributes its experience from the camera sector and already

has suitable production facilities, as well as business relationships with

all the key Japanese and Korean camera manufacturers, such as Samsung and

Canon. The proximity of the production facility in the Chinese city of

Suzhou is also a logistical advantage. Balda has been operating its own

production plant there since 2001.

Experienced partner

‘The new joint enterprise starts on the basis of the decades of experience

of Balda and the ABICO Group. As a result we do not expect any expensive

learning processes,’ says Gut. ABICO (Ability Enterprise Co., Ltd.), AVY’s

parent company, has been manufacturing optical products for over 40 years.

‘AVY will continue to enjoy exclusivity for its traditional business in the

camera sector. The joint venture will have exclusivity in Asia for all

other markets,’ explains Balda’s CEO.

Step-by-step investment

Initially the joint enterprise will not set up any production facilities of

its own. For the initial orders the joint venture is buying in production

capacity at the AVY plants in Suzhou and Dongguan. ‘Only when we have

secured an appropriate volume of orders worth at least 10 million euros,

will we invest in any plants of our own,’ says Gut. Then investment of

around 10 million euros over 12 to 18 months is to be anticipated.

Balda AG

Cersten Hellmich

(Investor Relations)

Bergkirchener Straße 228

D-32549 Bad Oeynhausen

Phone: +49(0)5734 922-2706

Fax: +49(0)5734 922-2691

E-mail: chellmich@balda.de

Internet: www.balda.de

18.08.2006 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP –

a company of EquityStory AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

DGAP’s Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements,

Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de

—————————————————————————

Language: English

Company: Balda AG

Bergkirchener Str. 228

32549 Bad Oeynhausen

Germany

Phone: +49 (0) 57 34 / 9 22-0

Fax: +49 (0) 57 34 / 9 22-2604

E-mail: info@Balda.de

Internet: www.balda.de

ISIN: DE0005215107

WKN: 521510

Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr

in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München, Stuttgart

End of Announcement DGAP News-Service

—————————————————————————