Russian Company Aquarius To Purchase Equity Stake in 3D Printing & Materials Company Zecotek

The Russian computing company Acquarius has signed a letter of intent to take an equity position in the Canadian company Zecotek. An equity position is an investment that is made by an outside entity (in this case Acquarius) for which they then receive stock. This creates an ownership relationship between the companies. In this case, it is one of investment and not takeover as Acquarius has an interest in the integration of Zecotek’s 3D technologies into its portfolio of technology interfaces.

The $7 million USD investment will acquire a 20% ownership by Acquarius of Zecotec Display Systems Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zecotec Photonics. Counted among the portfolio of products, its technologies include:

• Flat screen, front projection 3D auto-stereoscopic display
• Large format, rear projection 3D auto-stereoscopic display
• 3D printer technology
• New material alloys and semiconducting for 3D printing
• Accompanying interfaces for all 3D technologies

This relationship benefits both companies, as Zecotec Photonics Chairman, CEO, and President Dr. A.F. Zerrouk explained:

“The development of this relationship with Aquarius is a significant endorsement of our 3D display and printing technologies. By partnering with Aquarius and the National Computer Corporation of Russia through this strategic investment, Zecotek will complete the commercialization and integration of the 3D printer technology…Aquarius has recognized the value of our 3D technologies and we look forward to collaborating further for a speedy move to commercialization of our patented and patent pending technologies.”

Aquarius, which has been a player in the IT market for over 25 years, is a production company that manufactures computer equipment for industrial use in over 135 cities within the Russian Federation. They serve primary economic sectors in Russia such as industry, transport, communications, and financial among others. They produce desktops and laptops, servers, data storage systems, all-in-one thin clients, clustering solutions, and other specialized hardware and software. They are part of the larger National Computer Corporation, which is the largest IT structure in Russia.

Zecotek was founded in 2004 and is a developer of cutting-edge photonics for industrial, scientific, and medical markets. They work to develop technologies in the areas of imaging systems, laser systems, and 3D display systems and currently operate labs in Canada, Korea, Russia, Singapore, and the USA. They have commercialized over 50 patented and patent pending innovative photonic technologies in partnership with such organizations as the European Organization for Nuclear Research and the National NanoFab Center, among a host of others.

The team of scientists at work in the Canadian based arm of Zecotec is of Russian origin and so the opportunity to partner with a Russian company was particularly appealing. The Executive Vice President of Aquarius Group and CEO of the Production Company, Vladimir Shibanov expressed his satisfaction with the partnership:

“Zecotek’s unique 3D technologies prove for value added solutions and find clear synergy with our products. The possibilities are real and varied. A high speed, auto-steroscopic multiple view and glasses free desktop monito would open many applications and so would the interfaced 3D printing peripherals. We look forward to executing the LOI (Letter of Intent) and providing Zecotek 3D Company with the necessary support to complete their work and take their products to market.”

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