I’d like to share with you our recent experience at the Shanghai 2010 World Expo. In early September, Kryton was one of 20 companies to travel with Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson to Shanghai on a trade mission. My colleagues at Kryton attended the Shanghai 2010 World Expo and promoted Vancouver as a leader in digital media, clean technology, and green building sectors.
The theme for the World Expo is “better city, better life.” As Vancouver is a former Expo Host City, we were able to showcase how our city transformed industrial lands surrounding False Creek into one of Vancouver’s most attractive and modern neighborhoods. Naturally, we attributed this transformation to Vancouver having had the opportunity to host two momentous events – Expo’86 and the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. During the trade mission, we were also able to promote Vancouver as a world-class city and a great place for international travelers to visit, work and play.
The trade mission goal was to establish and develop international business opportunities between China and British Columbia. We wanted to support and pave the way for Chinese businesses to form partnerships with companies in Canada.
Kryton has had a very positive experience doing business in China. We began to export to China in the early 1990’s, but really started to invest in a serious way following a Canadian government led trade mission in 1995. We’ve made many mistakes, had many successes and learned a great deal in the last 15 years. In the early years, we started and stopped, changed direction and started again. Since then, things have gone much better and today we have a permanent office in Beijing and distribution throughout the country.
China has recently surpassed Japan to become the second largest economy in the world. It avoided the worst effects of the worldwide recession and is forecasted to continue to perform well into the future. Even with a significant economic slow-down, China’s economy continues to grow and expand at a pace that the rest of the world would envy even in good times.
China is in the midst of writing and implementing stricter building codes that demand higher quality materials and construction practices. There is also a much greater priority given to sustainable building practices than ever before. These are areas where Kryton adds value.
Our company is a pioneer of crystalline waterproofing for concrete structures and the inventor of the crystalline waterproofing admixture. Our Krystol technology waterproofs concrete in a much more effective and sustainable way compared to traditional methods. Our products help reduce construction site waste, ensure concrete structures can eventually be recycled and eliminate harmful volatile organic compounds that are used to make and apply traditional waterproofing membranes. Most importantly, our products extend the life of bridges, roads and buildings by 20 to 30 years, minimizing the environmental impact of future repairs and rebuilding.
For 37 years, Kryton has been proud of the work we do to assist the concrete construction industry to build dry, healthy and sustainable concrete structures. For Kryton, the trade mission was successful because it marked another milestone in the work we are accomplishing in China.
