Benzinga | Mar 8, 2021 08:31AM EST

ZK International Wins Three Year Procurement Bid To Upgrade Municipal Water Infrastructure With Fuzhou Water Supply Group; Terms Not Disclosed

WENZHOU, China, March 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ZK International Group Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:ZKIN) ("ZKIN", "ZK International" or the "Company"), a designer, engineer, manufacturer, and supplier of patented high-performance stainless steel and carbon steel pipe products that require sophisticated water or gas pipeline systems, today announced that the Company has been chosen as a key supplier for Fuzhou municipal water supply infrastructure upgrade program and entered into a three-year Strategic Procurement Agreement with Fuzhou Water Supply Group Co., Ltd. ("Fuzhou Water Group").

Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian province. As one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China, it has a total estimated population of 7,740,000 as of 31 December 2018. In 2015, Fuzhou was ranked as the 10th fastest growing metropolitan area in the world by Brookings Institution. In 2018, the municipal government issued a regulation to immediately begin upgrading the existing water supply infrastructure that serves approximately 310,000 households, increasing the use of stainless steel piping and decreasing the use of plastic and galvanized piping in the water supply infrastructure, due to the potential contamination plastic and galvanized piping material may cause to the water. To conform to the new regulation, Fuzhou Water Group organized a tender where leading stainless steel pipe manufacturers in China were invited to bid for the next year's stainless steel pipe procurement program.

Fuzhou Water Group started the process of accepting bids and assessing each bid by various criteria such as production quality, manufacturing capacity, delivery period, and financial liquidity. Of all the companies that were invited to participate in the bidding program, ZK International made it to the final approved supplier list. Following the new regulation, Fuzhou Water Group is mandated to use stainless steel pipe for its future water pipe construction projects and pipe replacement projects.

Mr. Jiancong Huang, Chairman of ZK International, commented, "We are pleased to be selected as a key supplier for the municipal water infrastructure upgrade program amongst several of our competitors during this bidding process as well as to begin a new working relationship with Fuzhou Water Group. We have positioned our Company with the long-term view to take advantage of the various government legislation to upgrade and improve the various water infrastructures across China. We look forward to cultivating our relationship with their team and being part of the new government regulated plans in the Fujian province. With this three-year procurement agreement, along with other key pending contracts and agreements, we are excited that this agreement will allow us to grow our revenues and profitability into 2021."