Material ConneXion, the leading global resource for material solutions and innovations, is expanding its global reach in Asia with the establishment of its fourth international licensee, this one in Daegu Metropolitan City, Korea. Scheduled to open in June 2008, it will occupy the third-floor of the newly built Daegu Gyeongbuk Design Center (DGDC), a twelve-story building dedicated to design and color.
"Material ConneXion Daegu will serve as a catalyst for the growth of Korea's domestic material and design industry," said Jung Yong Bin, President of DGDC. "It will also help the DGDC increase its presence on the global stage."
"As one of the fastest growing design hubs in Asia, Daegu has become an important arena for the exchange and development of new ideas and processes," stated George M. Beylerian, Founder and CEO of Material ConneXion. "We are excited to contribute our materials expertise, experience and resources to the region's burgeoning design industry and look forward to the pivotal role Material ConneXion will play in the economic growth and cultural climate of Daegu and Korea beyond."
Material ConneXion Daegu will offer the same services as the locations in Bangkok, Cologne, Milan and New York: An innovative materials library, consulting services-customized materials research, innovation alerts and materials trend reporting-and a wide range of public programming, including exhibitions and conferences focused on materials innovation.
Daegu is a vital city in Southwestern Korea widely recognized as a center for textile manufacturing, high-tech fashion production, technology and design. Korea's fourth largest city, it hosts five major universities. Many of the 33,000 design students that graduate every year in Korea make their home in Daegu. Daegu's recent campaign to position itself as Korea's Cultural Industry Core has sparked an exciting period of industrial transformation and regeneration.
The DGDC will play a large part in its cultural industry expansion: In addition to Material ConneXion, the center will contain global design and color consulting businesses, multiple exhibition spaces, an IT center, and an event and conference hall. The DGDC forsees Material ConneXion will be the number one industrial design partner among large businesses in Korea.
"Our new location in Daegu will strengthen our capacity to help an existing global client base source materials and processes in East Asia," stated Michele Caniato, President of Material ConneXion. "It will allow us to provide innovative material solutions to the country's booming design industry."