Zotefoams Plc (LON:ZTF), a world leader in supercritical foams, has announced that it has entered into a joint venture arrangement with Seoheung Co. Ltd., a footwear supply chain specialist manufacturing footwear in Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, and China, to support the construction and commissioning of its new manufacturing facility in Vietnam.
Under the terms of the Joint Venture, Seoheung will invest USD10m for an initial equity stake of 17.5% in a newly established holding company for the Vietnamese facility, with the Group retaining the remaining 82.5%. Subject to the agreement of both parties, Seoheung can increase its equity ownership to 35%, for a further $14m investment. The proceeds of Seoheung’s investment will be applied to the commissioning of the facility, expected in Q4 2026, with the project expected to cost a total of approximately $32m. The remaining $22m will be funded by the Company from existing debt facilities.
Seoheung is a footwear supply chain specialist manufacturing footwear in Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, and China. The company plays a key sourcing role for major footwear producers, including Changshin Inc., and continues to grow steadily through ongoing innovation, with annual revenues of approximately $260m.
As previously announced, in addition to existing production in the UK, manufacturing in Vietnam brings a number of benefits to the Group, including strengthened customer relationships, lower production and transport costs, and significantly improved sustainability metrics.
The collaboration between Zotefoams and Seoheung de-risks the Group’s Asian investment from both financial and technical perspectives. By partnering with an experienced local manufacturer, Zotefoams gains immediate access to proven Asian manufacturing expertise, while sharing project costs and operational risks. Seoheung brings decades of experience in the Asian footwear industry, including deep knowledge of Vietnam’s manufacturing landscape. The partnership supports Zotefoams’ strategic evolution from supplying traditional foam sheets to producing advanced 3D preforms for the athletic footwear market. This technological transition requires both Zotefoams’ expertise in supercritical foams and Seoheung’s manufacturing process expertise to ensure successful implementation and rapid market adoption. The Joint Venture allows Zotefoams to continue to serve and work in collaboration with all its customers in the footwear business.
The Joint Venture will also leverage over 30 years of local knowledge. It will explore best practice for injection moulding and footwear manufacturing systems and processes, while assisting in providing greater longer term market access.
Zotefoams is also announcing the appointment of Brandon Thomas as Managing Director – Asia, a newly created role that reflects the strategic importance of this region to Zotefoams’ growth ambitions. Most recently, Brandon served as General Manager, Asia at Nike, based in Vietnam, where he set up and led their Air Manufacturing Innovation facility. Brandon is based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and will lead the execution of the Group’s investment and Joint Venture in Asia. He joined the business on 21 July and is a member of the Group Executive Team.
Ronan Cox, Zotefoams plc CEO, said: “The Joint Venture with Seoheung will provide significant benefits to our investment in Asia. Collaborating with an experienced local footwear manufacturing partner significantly de-risks the project from a financial and technical perspective and will enable us to ramp-up more quickly and effectively as well as guarantee excellent quality, service and value to all our Tier 1 factory partners in the region. Furthermore, this underpins our confidence in the substantial growth potential of our footwear business in Southeast and East Asia and our commitment to deliver attractive returns for our shareholders.
I am delighted to announce the appointment of Brandon, who brings to Zotefoams a wealth of technical and commercial experience and whose expertise will be invaluable as we strengthen relationships with all our partners across the region.”
