ABOUT seven months after opening a factory in Beijing, Pico Far East is adding two more ventures to expand its exposure on the mainland. The designer and fabricator of exhibition stands has just set up a factory in Shanghai and will add Shenzhen to the list by the end of next year to support its operations in central and southern China. Shanghai Pico, the joint venture with Shanghai Ma Lu Town, occupies a site of 60,000 square feet including art and carpentry workshops, a computer graphic studio, administrative offices and storage facilities. Pico Far East vice-chairman Louis Cheng Teong-meng said the Shanghai venture had been established to tap the tremendous demand for trade and industrial exhibitions in central China. ''This facility allows us to be within easy reach of our customer catchment area,'' said Mr Cheng. Investment in the venture is about $5 million. The Shenzhen Pico plant, due to open late next year, will be its largest facility in China and will support Hong Kong and southern China operations. So far, Pico Far East has been appointed the official contractor for more than 50 exhibitions in China, one being EXPOCOMM 94, a major telecommunications exhibition. It also expects to win the contracts for the AutoChina and China International Textile Machinery exhibition next year.
