FCCC MEMBERS’ PORTRAITS IN CHINA - flanders-china · has grown into the world’s leading brewery...

FCCC MEMBERS’ PORTRAITS IN CHINA


1

China and Flanders are no strangers to each other. Over the last few years, exchanges of business and official delegations have taken place on a regular basis. For example, During the EU-China

Business Summit in Brussels this October, I had the honor of meeting China’s Prime Minister, Mr. Wen Jiabao, who was heading up a large business delegation to Europe. These contacts are, of course, very valu-able to both our economies.

Our interest in China is nothing new. Imports of Chinese goods and ser-vices are growing with every passing year. The same is true in the other direction: China is our second largest market in Asia, with exports from Flanders to China growing annually. Because of this, Flanders has devel-oped a thorough strategy for doing business with Chinese companies.Today, four China-based economic representatives are helping Flemish companies to enter the Chinese market and look for concrete business opportunities. They have offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong. Another essential player is Flanders Investment and Trade, which developed a three-year strategy of actions and events to support companies. They attend trade fairs, organize trade missions and road shows, hold investment events, invite buyers to Flanders, host seminars, and welcome Chinese delegations to Flanders. If a company has plans to export to China, FIT plays the role of local consultant, establishing key contacts and giving advice on a solid market approach. FIT also reimburses certain costs related to prospecting trips and supports companies financially if they set up an office at selected FIT business centers in Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou. Finally, Flanders was proud to take part in World Expo 2010, one of this year’s biggest global events. Following in the footsteps of the success-ful Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and the Europalia-China exhibition and activities in Brussels in 2009, the Shanghai World Expo was another fan-tastic forum for economic and cultural interaction. I am convinced this experience has further nourished and strengthened our existing positive relations. Looking at the busy schedule of the Flanders China Chamber of Commerce for the coming year, I am happy to see that the interaction between Flanders and China will continue to develop at a promising pace.

Kris PeetersMinister-president of the Flemish Government

Foreword


2


2

CONTENTS

Foreword by Kris Peeters, Minister-president of the Flemish Government

Introduction by Bert De Graeve, Chairman of the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce


AB INBEV: ‘Brewing a better World’

AGFA GRAPHICS: ‘A technology and market leader in China’s competitive printing industry’

AHLERS: ‘Linking China with the world’

ATLAS COPCO: ‘Providing sustainable productivity solutions in a fast-growing market’

BARCO: ‘Future vision in China’

BEIJING GLOBAL STRATEGY CONSULTING: ‘Gold medal for olympics advisory’

BEKAERT: ‘Bekaert in China… embracing cultures’

CGL MANAGEMENT CONSULTING: ‘An incubator providing start-ups with everything they need’

DELAWARE CONSULTING: ‘Bringing state of the art solutions and professional IT support to companies in China’

DND CONSULTING CHINA: ‘Convincing bright minds to make a clever career move’

HUBER ENGINEERED MATERIALS: ‘Making toothpaste better for a growing market’

INTERCHINA CONSULTING: ‘Partners for strategic advice and M&A’

KBC BANK: ‘Belgian banking pioneer in China’

PICANOL: ‘Powering China’s textile Revolution’

RECTICEL: ‘All roads lead to foam’

REYNAERS ALUMINIUM: ‘Framing the buildings of China’

UMICORE: ‘Bringing clean technology to China’

VYNCKE: ‘Firemakers help China turn agricultural waste into energy’

Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce

Useful contacts


3


3


The China-based managers of companies that are members of the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce are doing an excellent job. Unfortunately, not many of their achievements are reported in the

mainstream press. In an effort to change this, the FCCC has compiled a series of interviews with 18 such managers, turning the spotlight on the experiences they have gained. Some are responsible for running dozens of wholly-owned companies and joint ventures. Others have founded their own consultancies and have just a few – if any – employees. Some have been in China for more than 20 years and have made the Middle Kingdom their second home. Others have done stints of three or four years in the country, coming from another assignment abroad and mov-ing on to the next stage in their expatriate career. Many of the compa-nies they represent in China are founding members of the FCCC.

Diverse as these managers are, do they have anything in common? The interviews show that they are all very dedicated and hard-working. They make it a point of honour to listen to their Chinese colleagues and em-ployees. They did not come to China with a fixed and arrogant attitude. On the contrary, they are flexible and quickly adapt to the Chinese busi-ness world. That is one of the main reasons for their success. They are all very busy, yet some of them insist on spending a few hours a week on learning the basics of the Chinese language so that they can talk to their drivers, suppliers and customers.

The managers you will meet in these pages are all happy to be in China. Those who are leaving invariably insist that they will always fondly re-member their time in China. They are not only proud to have helped their company overcome challenges and grow in this part of the world, but they also have a keen interest in Chinese culture and cuisine. In fact, some even refuse to contemplate returning to their home base. They will continue to be part of their company’s success story in China.

The 18 managers not only offer you a brief history of their company in China, they also graciously list their tips and tricks, their dos and don’ts for doing business in China, so that anyone thinking of entering this large and fascinating market can benefit from their wisdom and experience.

The remarkable growth of the Chinese economy is continuing. The coun-try’s GDP rose by 8.7% in 2009 and will do even better this year, outper-forming most other countries. China remains the most attractive destina-tion for foreign direct investment (FDI). Chinese banks are much better off than their counterparts in developed countries and are able to offer billions in loans to help sustain economic development. The managers’ stories on the following pages show that it is possible to run a successful business in what is arguably the most competitive market in the world. As many of them explain, doing business in China is not that different from doing business elsewhere. To be successful and make a profit you have to do your homework. This booklet may help you.

We at the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce hope you enjoy read-ing their stories!

Bert De GraeveChairman

IntroductIon

4


AB INBEV BREWING A BETTER WORLD

rapid expansion of brewery partnershipsAB InBev, whose origins go back to the Artois Brewery in Leuven in 1366, has grown into the world’s leading brewery group. “If you want to be a global player, it’s impossible not to be present in China”, explained Miguel Patricio, Zone President, AB InBev APAC. “China is expected to account for 44% of worldwide growth in beer consumption by volume between 2005 and 2020”.

AB InBev has experienced rapid expansion of its partnerships and pro-duction in China. In the early 1980s, Artois Engineering went to China to help Chinese companies build breweries. From 1984 to 1986, it offered its technical expertise to the Zhujiang Brewery in Guangdong province and also provided Chinese managers with training in brewing technol-ogy in Belgium. When Artois became Interbrew, the company left China in 1986/87 to concentrate on its home market in Europe. Engineering manpower was needed in Belgium in Leuven and Jupille. A decade later, in 1997, the company re-entered the Chinese market by acquiring two Nanjing breweries, Jinling and Yali, which the company consolidated into one brewery. It became Interbrew’s first operational presence in China.Rapid expansion followed. Interbrew took over the beer assets of Ma-laysia’s Lion Group, thereby inheriting a number of partnerships with breweries in China, including K.K. Brewery, a joint venture in Ningbo. The deal with Lion Group increased Interbrew’s number of breweries in China by 12. Interbrew also engaged in a strategic partnership with Zhujiang Brewery in Guangzhou by acquiring a stake of close to 25%, and finalised its buyout of Zhejiang Shiliang Brewery. In 2004, Interbrew and AmBev merged to become InBev, which a few years ago acquired the market leader in Fujian province, Sedrin Brewery.

So the company grew from a family-run business based in Leuven (Belgium) in the 1980s into Belgium’s largest brewer, Interbrew, in the 1990s, expanding its reach from a few countries in Western Europe and Africa to the whole world. In 2000, Interbrew was listed on the Brussels Stock Exchange. The Interbrew/AmBev merger left the new entity, AB InBev, with operations in over 30 countries, holding the no. 1 or no. 2 position in 19 key markets around the world. In 2009, AB InBev’s com-bined annual revenue exceeded USD367.58 billion and the company em-ployed close to 116,000 people worldwide, including about 36,000 in China. Following a successful integration process, AB InBev was formally established on November 18, 2008. It is the leading global brewer and one of the world’s top five consumer products companies. A true con-sumer-centric, sales driven organization, Anheuser-Busch InBev manag-es a portfolio of well over 200 beer brands that includes global flagship

brands Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck’s, fast growing multi-country brands like Leffe and Hoegaarden, and strong “local champions” such as Bud Light, Skol, Brahma, Quilmes, Michelob, Harbin, Sedrin, Klinskoye, Sibirskaya Korona, Chernigivske, and Jupiler, among others. In addition, the company owns a 50 percent equity interest in the operating subsidi-ary of Grupo Modelo, Mexico’s leading brewer and owner of the global Corona brand. AB InBev ranked no.1 on 2009 the Most Admired Corpo-ration among Beverage Industry by Fortune Magazine and no. 70 in the 2010 edition of The Global 2000 published by Forbes Magazine.

AB InBev’s ambition is “to become the best beer company in a bet-ter world”. It aims to achieve this by producing the highest quality beer and creating long-term economic value. The company is also striving for sustainable operations that make a positive contribution to society. Tal-ented people continue to represent its most important, and indeed only, sustainable competitive advantage.

In China, AB InBev currently has over 32 wholly-owned, jointly owned and strategic partnership breweries in 12 provinces: Fujian, Guangdong, Henan, Heilongjiang, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Jilin, Liaoning, Si-chuan and Zhejiang. This makes it one of the largest brewers in China, with a sales volume of more than 50 million hectolitres, distributed among three key brands – Budweiser, Harbin and Sedrin – and six other local brands: Red Rock, Double Beer, KK, Jinling, Tangshan, Baisha and Jinlongquan.

AB InBev characterizes its presence in China by greater geographical coverage, more balanced exposure to markets, an unparalleled portfo-lio and distribution network, comprehensive coverage of all consumer groups and combined ‘best practices’. The company was ranked no. 1 in the food and beverage industry on the 2009 World Top 500 Companies’ Contribution in China list. Overall, it ranked no. 29 on the list, leaping up 59 places compared to 2008.

AB InBev brews strategy for expansion“We are investing in the future. We are investing in China. We are invest-ing in our brands. China is for us a big priority. The Chinese market will represent about 30% of the growth of the beer industry in the world. And today already represents 20% of the beer consumed in the world,” said Miguel Patricio, Zone President of AB InBev APAC.

But we didn’t really have a national brand, with exception of Budweiser. Budweiser in China is the leader in the premier segment. But then we have many brands around China, and we didn’t have a national player. We knew that to win in this market you need national brands. And we picked Harbin Beer to be this brand.

Harbin Beer, the first beer in China, becomes the official partner of FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa. Due to the sponsorship, Harbin Beer achieved sales volume growth of more than 20%. The brand awareness of Harbin Beer also multiplied by four times in the first half of 2010, compared with the corresponding period of last year.

Furthermore, our Greenfield project is a symbol of our strong confidence and long-term commitment to China, the world’s largest volume and fastest growing beer market in the world.

This year, we launch three Greenfield projects as part of our expansion strategy within the China market. In Xinxiang, Henan province in Central China, the Belgian-US brewer has signed an agreement to build a brew-ery which will have an annual production capacity of 3 million HL in its

5


first phase brewing both Budweiser and Harbin beer. The project is the third step in AB INBev’s more than 1 billion RMB three-stage investment program for this year.

To reach its expansion goal, AB InBev has pushed forward its investment scheme and launched its first project in Ziyang, Sichuan province in April 2010, establishing a production base with an investment of 650 million Rmb.

The Ziyang Greenfield, will produce annual 3 million HL of Budweiser and Harbin beer in its first phase, is scheduled to begin operations in June 2011.

The Sichuan base will not only serve the province itself, but also the en-tire Southwest region including Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, Chong-qing municipality and the Tibet autonomous region, said Patricio.

AB InBev also signed an agreement with Zhangzhou, Funjian province in August 2010 to build a brewery with 3 million HL of beer annually. My confidence is that these projects are based on the country’s positive environment for investment, said Patricio.

talking the language of efficiencyAB InBev prefers to rely on local management, keeping the number of expatriates in its operations to a strict minimum. In 2004, when Inter-brew merged with AmBev to become InBev, the world’s largest brewer, Miguel Patricio’s predecessor Dirk Moens set up AB InBev China’s man-agement team in Shanghai, with a strong focus on financial reporting. There was a clear need to boost efficiency and get all the managers at its growing number of breweries talking the same language. But the com-pany’s management is keen to stress that local managers are extremely valuable for ensuring the success of the business. Miguel Patricio’s advice to companies thinking of setting up their own business in China is brief but to the point: “In China everything is pos-sible but nothing is easy...”.

contAct InFormAtIon

MIGuEL PATRIcIOZone President, AB InBev APAC16th Floor, 381 Middle Huaihai Road, Shanghai, China

T +86 21 6170 5822E [email protected] www.ab-inbev.com

AB InBev’s man in china: miguel PatricioMiguel Patricio has worked as AB InBev APAC President since January 2008. So far, he has established an excellent management team in Chi-na, and is leading his team to deliver ABI’s ambition of becoming “the best beer company in a better world”.In November 2008, InBev merged with AB and AB InBev was formal-ly established. Under Miguel’s leadership, the integration of the two companies was successfully completed within less than a year and the integration synergy was also realized. Currently, Miguel is leading his team to build the two national brands of Budweiser and Harbin, which achieved double digit volume growth this year. Meanwhile, the brew-ing technology and processes used at all AB InBev China breweries has greatly improved, and the quality, safety and efficiency of China’s supply chain are now world-class. Miguel Patricio actively promotes corporate social responsibility and is committed to promoting responsible drinking and all environmental initiatives. In August 2009, AB InBev was named one of China’s leading companies on CSR by the domestic media. As the founder and head of ABI APAC University, Miguel Patricio is commit-ted to providing training to employees on leadership, corporate culture, functional skills and management systems. By the end of 2009, over 2,000 AB InBev China employees had received systematic training.

miguel Patricio’s chinese favoritesMiguel’s favorite book about China is Deng Xiaoping and the Making of Modern China by Richard Evans. His favorite restaurant for Chinese food is the dumpling restaurant Din Tai Fu. For Western food, he prefers Mr. And Miss Bund. His favorite places in China are Xiamen and Hangzhou.

6


AGFA GRAPHIcS A TEcHNOLOGY AND MARKET LEADER IN cHINA’S cOMPETITIVE PRINTING INDuSTRY

Building a center of excellence in wuxiAgfa’s Graphics Division has a state-of-the-art production plant in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, in which additional investments are being made to fur-ther expand capacity and introduce the company’s latest generation of digital plates to serve the fast-growing Chinese and Asian markets. In 2010, the Wuxi plant became Agfa Graphics’ Center of Excellence in Asia for all digital plates. Today, 95% of all digital plates sold in China are manufactured in China. “Quality should not be ignored when doing business in China and defin-ing which quality is “just good enough” is critical to the success of any company in China,” says Tim Van den Bossche, President Agfa Graph-ics Asia, based in Shanghai. “Many people believe that because prices are extremely competitive in China you can automatically lower product specifications. This is not always true. We had many heated debates in-ternally about quality requirements for the Chinese printing market and how these translate into product specifications. In general, maintenance of printing plants and equipment in China is not optimal, printers use extremely aggressive chemicals, paper is of a lower quality and opera-tors are less rigorous in following suppliers’ instructions. In the end, we concluded that we had no other choice than to offer our latest, most robust but also most costly digital plate technology at extremely com-petitive prices to successfully accelerate our penetration of the Chinese printing market. You have to stay one or two steps ahead of the local competition. Innovation is very important. In 2011, we will introduce our first digital plate specifically developed for the China market, another important milestone for our company.”Agfa Graphics has its Asia headquarters in Shanghai, and sales offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Taipei. The company’s China business today accounts for almost 8% of Agfa Graphics’ world-wide turnover, but the plan is to double that figure to 15% by 2015. According to Van den Bossche, “China is an important contributor to the future growth of our company.” China is already very important to Agfa Graphics’ traditional graphic film business, as one out of two graphic film rolls manufactured by Agfa is sold in China. early beginningsAgfa-Gevaert as a group started its activities in China in 1984. Tech-nology-related cooperation with Aermei resulted in a joint venture to manufacture, sell and service Agfa’s products in China. The joint venture mainly provided Agfa film products for the healthcare, non-destructive testing (NDT) and consumer imaging markets. Agfa’s first factory in Chi-na came on stream in 1997. Agfa Graphics initially started its China busi-ness from Hong Kong, with a strong focus on the sales of graphic film

imported from Agfa’s headquarters in Mortsel, Belgium. The opening of the Agfa Wuxi Printing Plate plant in 2003 was an important milestone for Agfa’s Graphics Division in China as it gave the company direct access to the Chinese market with locally manufactured printing plates. “The key problem for Agfa in the start-up phase was the development of a viable business model and quality assurance,” comments Van den Bossche. “This all comes down to people. The number one challenge for any company starting up a business in China is attracting and retaining the right people.”

Solid expansion plannedAgfa Graphics plans to more than double its business in China in the next five years. “Competition in printing is global,” says Tim Van den Boss-che. “This is especially true for books, package printing and non-time-sensitive materials. Today, most of this non-time-critical printing work is done in China, with other Asian tigers like Vietnam ready to take over should China lose some of its global competitiveness. We estimate that by 2012, about one out of three digital plates in the world will be sold in Asia. It is crucial for Agfa Graphics to play a leading role in this part of the world if we have the ambition to continue being a truly global graph-ics player. The stakes are high and only through innovation and cost leadership can we achieve our ambitious targets and prosper. To support these growth objectives, we continue to invest in our China organiza-tion, sales channels, localization of products and production facilities. I see our success and growth in China as the overall measurement of our global competitiveness.”“If we can grow and expand in China, we are most likely in good shape to maintain our leading position in the world. “If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere...” In the past, that meant New York. Today it means Shanghai or any other major city in China. Drupa, the largest trade show in our industry, is held every four years in Düsseldorf, Germany. At Drupa 2004, Chinese exhibitors were rare. At Drupa 2008, the exhibition sur-face of Chinese exhibitors equalled those of all Japanese companies, in-cluding giants like Fuji-Xerox, Canon, Epson and many other well-known Japanese brands. This shows how much progress Chinese players have made in our industry. We counted more than 10 direct competitors, many of them unknown to us before. They were not there to introduce their products to their Chinese customers, but to contact large European and North American customers. I am sure we will increasingly see the same phenomena in other industries. The key challenge for technology leaders like Agfa is to leverage and protect our intellectual property. Eve-ry year we invest around 5% of our turnover in research and developing new products - and we have no qualms about taking a tough stance on companies that infringe our patents. ” wholly Foreign-owned enterprise (wFoe) or joint venture (JV)?Which company structure does Agfa Graphics prefer and why? “That’s an interesting question,” muses Van den Bossche. “Over the years, Agfa has explored both options. The joint venture established with Aermei in the early days is still very active and successful. On the other hand, we have for many years successfully managed our graphics sales activities and our Agfa Wuxi Printing Plate plant as wholly foreign-owned enter-prises. Only early this year, we decided to establish a new joint venture (JV), in which Agfa Graphics holds the majority, with our longstanding business partner in China, Shenzhen Brothers. Our aim is leverage the JV to further accelerate growth and consolidate distribution channels. It is important to be strategically flexible and to adjust your company struc-ture to changing market conditions. Your fiercest competitor today can be your partner tomorrow, and vice versa.”

7


Any company that wants to explore the Chinese market has to ask itself two fundamental questions, says Tim Van den Bossche. How fast and how deep do you want to penetrate the Chinese market? And secondly, how much control do you want to keep over your Chinese operations? “Companies that prefer quick market penetration over control will most likely be better off with a JV to achieve their business objectives. Com-panies with a strong IP portfolio that have the resources to build their Chinese business gradually over time could opt for a WFOE structure,” says Agfa Graphics’ Asia President. Agfa Graphics has a 70% market share in the newspaper segment in China thanks to a long-standing partnership with Beijing’s Founder Elec-tronics. The People’s Daily received in 2009 CNY500 million in govern-ment funding to build a brand new printing plant. doing business in china is not all that different from doing business elsewhere 1. “People are afraid of the unknown, but in fact doing business in China

is not all that different from doing business in other countries,” says Agfa Graphics’ Asia President. “It is important to go back to the fun-damentals of doing business and running a company: understand the local customers and market, see if you have or can develop a product or service that satisfies an existing, unmet need (or even better, a need that no one is aware of yet) and, finally, develop a business model that allows you to generate a decent amount of money.” Asked for some specific advice on China, Van den Bossche shared the following thoughts: Be realistic in your expectations, and know that total failure is also possible.

2. Make sure you have deep pockets, the investment required is often of a different scale than in Europe.

3. Be open-minded and forget all prejudices about China.4. Understand the local quality requirements, don’t just go for a low-

cost, low-quality product or service.5. Focus on innovation and stay one or two steps ahead of the local

competition in terms of technology or value offering.6. Keep a close watch on how the local companies operate and under-

stand their cost structure.7. Act, think and calculate like the Chinese and don’t take overly large

margins, because your local competitors won’t.8. Be consistent in following a strategy, without having too much pa-

tience.9. Localize your go-to-market strategy, because China is too big for one

strategy.

Agfa Graphics’ man in chinaTim Van den Bossche (39) relocated to Shanghai in August 2008, but has been responsible for the Asia business of Agfa Graphics since Sep-tember 2007. He is an economist with a strong appetite for technology. He started his carrier at KPMG Peat Marwick in Brussels. Subsequently, he was involved in setting up the European activities of Indigo, an Is-raeli public company (later acquired by Hewlett-Packard) and a global leader in digital printing technology. In 2001, he joined Agfa. Van den Bossche was responsible for “Horizon” and “Orion”, two reorganiza-tion programs aimed at streamlining Agfa’s worldwide organization and processes. In August 2005, he moved to Seoul from where he managed Agfa Graphics’ business in Korea and Japan. He is married with two daughters aged four and seven.

tim Van den Bossche’s favoritesThomas L. Friedman’s classic “The World is Flat”, because it is easy to read and very insightful to anyone who wants to better understand why China is what it is today. Although written from an American perspec-tive, 90% is equally applicable to Europe.

Tim has no favorite restaurant, but would recommend Shanghai Bund Garden (200 Hankou Road in Shanghai) because it offers a nice fusion of Shanghai cuisine and delicacies from other regions in China, all served in a fabulous setting with excellent service.

Only three hours away by plane from Shanghai, Zhangjiajie in Hunan province, is a vast natural resort where you can breathe healthy air and recover from the busy city life. An ideal stay lasts three days. One disad-vantage: “It rains about 50% of the time, but that shouldn’t be a major issue for us Belgians...”

contAct InFormAtIon

TIM VAN DEN BOSScHEPresident, Agfa Graphics, Asia Shanghai Agfa Imaging Products Co., Ltd., 2802-2805, Hong Yi Plaza, 288 Jiujiang Road, Shanghai 200001, China

T +86-21-23082100E [email protected]

www.agfa.com

8


AHLERS LINKING cHINA WITH THE WORLD

Ahlers is an international logistic and maritime service provider with a network of offices in Europe, Asia and the CIS/Baltic states. Founded in Antwerp almost a hundred years ago, the company has developed over the years into an international group with an established place in the markets in which it operates. Headquartered in the port of Antwerp, Ahlers is present in 20 countries with more than 900 employees. It is part of the AXE Group of companies.

Ahlers started its China adventure in 1993 when it set up Sibelcon, a 50/50 joint venture with the Shanghai Port Authority, and started its forwarding business. Five years ago, Ahlers acquired the majority (75%) in the joint venture, leaving the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) with a 25% stake. Now known as Ahlers China, the joint venture is a fully licensed Class A forwarder and NVOCC operator (non-vessel operating common carrier). Ahlers still values its partnership with the Shanghai International Port Group, which also has a presence in other ports of China. On the other hand, SIPG can also use Ahlers’ network in Europe. “It’s more cooperation, than competition,” concludes Dai Lipeng, Gen-eral Manager of Ahlers China.

The fast development of the Chinese economy led to a huge increase in its foreign trade and consequently its demand for international ship-ping. Besides its headquarters in Shanghai, Ahlers China also has offices in Guangzhou, Ningbo, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Xiamen with a total of 80 employees. All offices have Class A Forwarder and NVOCC licenses. Ahlers also has an office in Hong Kong. The fast expansion of its workforce is not a problem. “Job hopping is not a major issue,” Dai Lipeng is glad to say. “We have loyal, committed senior employees, but it is also important to have loyal branch managers and finding good sales people is not so easy.”

Although Ahlers China’s headquarters are located in Puxi, on the west bank of the Huangpu River, the company is registered in Pudong, giving it a significant tax advantage. But Dai Lipeng admits that tax equaliza-tion is acceptable, although it will affect the company’s budget. “No problem, we will just have to work harder,” he adds jokingly. Labor costs are increasing fast, and people working in the logistics sector are earning higher salaries in China.

“Joint ventures in China call upon us for their warehousing and distribu-tion activities. In the meantime, we have also been entrusted by certain Chinese multinationals with their European distribution from our ware-

houses in Ghent (pharma) and St. Petersburg (cars). We expect our rev-enue in China to grow by 120% next year,” adds Luc Maton, responsible for Asia and Ahlers’ international forwarding operations.

Ahlers China’s biggest client in the forwarding business is Shanghai Krupp Stainless (SKS), a joint venture between German steel company ThyssenKrupp Stainless and Shanghai Bao Steel. The company produces cold-rolled flat stainless steel. Other clients of its forwarding business include Umicore, which has been using Ahlers China’s services for more than 16 years, as well as Packo, Polo, Beaulieu, Vyncke, Duvel, Trislot, Ontex, Hermoo, among others.

Ahlers’ man in china: dai LipengDai Lipeng has been with Ahlers right from the start of its China adven-ture. He used to work at the headquarters of the Shanghai Port Author-ity. In 1991-92 he studied port management at Rijksuniversitair Centrum Antwerpen (RUCA), now part of Universiteit Antwerpen (UA). In the past, port work was a low-class occupation, Dai Lipeng recalls, but he is happy to note that big changes have occurred and it is now very rewarding.He travels to Belgium once a year on average for meetings at Ahlers headquarters in Antwerp.

mr. dai’s adviceIt is very important to immediately bring in a lawyer (either from inside the company or from an outside firm) when your company is confronted with a legal issue, because in this ever changing and highly competi-tive market any negligence involving a legal contract may result in major losses! mr. dai’s favorites• Dai Lipeng’s favorite book on China is The Art of War by Sun Tzu. • His favorite restaurant is Kathleen’s 5 on the top floor of the Shanghai

Art Museum.• And his favorite place: Tianzifang at Taikang Road, Shanghai.

9


contAct InFormAtIon

DAI LIPENGGeneral Manager Ahlers ChinaC-E, 8F1, Alison International Tower, 8 Fuyou RoadShanghai, 200010, China

T +86-21-63338618; F +86-21-63338610E [email protected]

www.ahlers.com

10


ATLAS cOPcO PROVIDING SuSTAINABLE PRODucTIVITY SOLuTIONS IN A FAST-GROWING MARKET

12 production plants in china, and still investingThe Sweden-based Atlas Copco Group, a world leader in industrial pro-ductivity solutions, is active in 160 markets and sells its equipment in almost all countries around the world. Its products and services range from compressed-gas and compressed-air equipment, generators, con-struction and mining equipment, industrial tools and assembly systems to related aftermarket and rental activities. The Group has 12 production facilities in China, with its flagship site for compressors located in Wuxi, Jiangsu province. The Group also has 114 field offices and 635 dealers in the country. In China, Atlas Copco produces air and gas compressors and generators for a wide range of sectors, including oil, industry and ports. Equipment for the construction and mining sector is also in very great demand in China, production for this sector being concentrated in Nanjing, said Jos Van Beneden, General Manager of Atlas Copco (Wuxi) Compressor Co. When Atlas Copco acquired Dynapac, it also gained a facility in Tianjin. The plant in Antwerp is Atlas Copco’s largest pro-duction facility for compressors worldwide, closely followed by its Wuxi facility. “That’s partly why I was interested in Wuxi,” said Van Beneden. Shared services necessitate central guidance for a decentralised administrationThe financial management of the Atlas Copco Group can be characterised as a centrally guided decentralised administration, with the same core guidelines and procedures implemented throughout the entire Group, while each site has a decentralised administration. Engineering support is available in India, and Atlas Copco has its own bank for internal financing. On the other hand, each company in the Group emphasises its local management. “We highly value people’s development”, said Jos Van Beneden. “We have four expatriates here for the moment, and I am happy to see that more and more local Chinese professionals are taking over the responsibility of managing the company,” he went on. The company strives to be a preferred employer and aims to attract, develop and hold onto qualified, motivated individuals in a professional environment.

Recently, Atlas Copco (Wuxi) Compressor received a ‘Very Good (Green)’ company certificate from Wuxi’s Municipal Environmental Protection Bu-reau. The Water for All programme, which is organised and managed by Atlas Copco employees, is promoted by the Group’s headquarters in all its companies. Under the scheme, Atlas Copco donates one yuan for every one yuan contributed by the Group’s employees. So far, 90% of staff on the payroll of Atlas Copco (Wuxi) Compressor have contributed to the programme.

The strategy of the Group is to go for wholly-owned subsidiaries. All Atlas Copco companies in China are centralised within a single hold-ing company, the Shanghai-based Atlas Copco (China) Investment Co. Thomas Kung, based in Hong Kong, is its Chairman and the Swede Mag-nus Gyllo is its Vice President. The Group also has a trading company and distribution spare parts centre in Shanghai. In fact, the emphasis in increasingly shifting to China, and Chris Lybaert, the President of the Oil-Free Division, moved his division office to Shanghai and is responsible for the Compressor Technique business area operations in this part of the world.

Atlas Copco produces equipment under a wide range of brands, in-cluding Dynapac, Bolaite, Pneumatech and Liutech, Quincy, and many more. The Group has three business areas: Compressor Technique, Con-struction and Mining Technique and Industrial Technique. The Group’s slogans are “Sustainable productivity” and “First in Mind––First in Choice®”, interaction, innovation and commitment with all Atlas Copco group stakeholders why wuxi?Although Atlas Copco has its Chinese headquarters in Shanghai, the Group also has a critical production cluster in Wuxi, where three of its 12 plants are located. In addition to Atlas Copco (Wuxi) Compressor Com-pany and Atlas Copco (Wuxi) Exploration Equipment, Pneumatech Wuxi officially started production in brand new facilities at the end of May 2008. “The inauguration of Pneumatech shows that Atlas Copco is con-tinuing to invest in China,” Van Beneden continued. Wuxitec, launched in October 2006, is the only Atlas Copco production facility outside Ant-werp to make compressor elements. Wuxitec actually doubled its capac-ity in 2008. The Shanghai-Wuxi axis is very important to the mechanical engineering industry, which is why the company chose Wuxi as its core production site,” he went on. Flagship enterprise: Atlas copco (wuxi) compressor co.Atlas Copco’s activities in China started with a licensing agreement con-cluded back in 1984, followed by a joint venture agreement clinched in 1994. The joint venture has since gone through two extensions in 1999 and 2001, and in 2003 it became a wholly-owned Atlas Copco busi-ness. Third and fourth expansions of its production capacity followed in 2004 and 2006 respectively. If sales income is put at 100 in 2004, when Jos Van Beneden took up the post of General Manager, sales revenues have more than trebled, topping 300 in 2008. One of Van Beneden’s top priorities was to increase exports. Here, he enjoyed remarkable suc-cess, boosting foreign sales by a stunning factor of 26 between 2004 and 2010. Atlas Copco (Wuxi) is now exporting to a whole range of countries, including Japan, Singapore, Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Russia, the United States, and many more. “Exports are booming again after the financial crisis but the Asian and domestic Chinese markets are becoming more important too.” Atlas Copco (Wuxi) Compressor Co., producies Atlas-Copco-branded oil-injected stationary and portable screw compressors, oil-free screw compressors, advanced technology turbo compressors and generators.

The company’s mission statement is to “build and design compressors and generators adapted to the Asian markets with main focus on the lo-cal Chinese market”. To be able to meet this challenge, Atlas Copco Wuxi became an official design centre for the Atlas Copco Compressor Tech-nique business area in March 2009. The company is committed to excel-lence in manufacturing, creating customer value and trust, and deliver-ing world class quality to all its customers worldwide. The top priorities for success are quality, the supply chain and logistics, and people. But

11


contAct InFormAtIon

JOS VAN BENEDENGeneral Manager, Atlas Copco (Wuxi) Compressor Company,22 Changjiang Road, New District, CN-2140028, Wuxi, ChinaT +86 510 8521 6496F +86 510 8521 1410E [email protected]

www.atlascopco.com

according to Jos Van Beneden, “everything starts with people. I started to show respect for the Chinese culture. I asked employees why they always told me their English name and insisted that they would use their Chinese name, as Chinese names have rich meanings,” he continued.

The company has duly strengthened its engineering structure to estab-lish a strong technological base and develop the required design and R&D capacities. Quality control procedures used to lag between 30 and 40 years behind modern European methods. Inspections of procured goods and post-production testing and audits have been tightened up to a level of 100% quality control. Atlas Copco (Wuxi) also set some basic cost-control requirements for China, requiring competition between at least two local suppliers for every delivered component, with global sup-pliers having to meet Chinese prices. The company has set itself the goals of achieving “a single worldwide quality standard for all its customers” and “getting things right at the first attempt”.

“This development in China was only possible because of support from Compressor Technique managers in Antwerp, the help provided by many people in the Group’s various business areas and, last but not least, the strong impetus and support from the Atlas Copco board and our Presi-dent and CEO Ronnie Leten.” Atlas Copco has 12 production plants in China. 114 local Atlas Copco sales and service offices and more than 600 distributors. This strong presence guarantees a nice coverage of the Chinese market. Lately we see a movement of our coverage to the west following the push for de-velopment of this part of China. retaining qualified personnel“Retaining qualified employees is a big challenge,” admitted Van Bened-en. “Over the past five years we have been recruiting on university cam-puses. Three key people in engineering and three in purchasing attended a two-year training course in Antwerp and have now returned to the factory in Wuxi as engineering managers and key team leaders. During the crisis, our priority was to keep a well-trained workforce on board but focus on cost reductions. This strategy has enabled us to emerge from the crisis even stronger than before. Business is booming again, with growth rates even higher than before the crisis. Another crucial factor is excellent communication and cooperation with suppliers, which makes many things possible,” Van Beneden concluded.

Jos Van Beneden has also launched a traffic safety campaign in the com-pany because he felt responsible when his employees were involved in traffic accidents. “Now that I have warned them to be careful, it is their responsibility to avoid taking risks in traffic and to follow traffic rules,” he explained. Flemish ceo to head Atlas copco GroupIn June 2008, Ronnie Leten, a Fleming born in Limburg, became the At-las Copco’s Group’s President and CEO, taking over from Gunnar Brock. It is only the second time since Atlas Copco was founded in 1873 that a non-Swede has been appointed head of the Group, which has 34,000 employees worldwide. Ronnie Leten started his career at Atlas Copco in 1985 and rose through the ranks to become head of its Airtec Division in 1999 and of the Industrial Air Division in 2001. Since 2006, Ronnie Leten had been President of the Compressor Technique business area and of Atlas Copco Airpower NV/SA in Wilrijk, near Antwerp. He relocated from Mol to Stockholm to lead the Group.

Learning from experiencesJos Van Beneden has some advice to give companies thinking of invest-ing in China, saying that anyone “only starting to think about doing so now is way too late unless their priorities are manufacturing or a strong sales structure on the Chinese market.” Before any company takes the plunge, he suggests it contact other well-established companies in Chi-na to learn from their experiences. Atlas copco’s man in chinaJos Van Beneden is an Atlas Copco veteran and has been working in Atlas Copco for 25 years, spending five years in Germany for the Group from 1996 to 2000, followed by four years in France. In 2004, he went to China to become General Manager of Atlas Copco Wuxi after the Group decided to double the company’s production capacity in China. His wife accompanied him to China. The couple feels at home in Wuxi and are not envious of others living in bigger cities like Shanghai and Beijing. Communication is sometimes difficult, as Chinese is a difficult language. The Van Benedens visited China for the first time in 2001, on holiday, not knowing that a few years later they would move there. At weekends, Jos likes to play golf, while during the week his wife joins and organises activities for the Wuxi Ladies Club.

Jos Van Beneden’s favouritesJos’s favourite book on China is Wild Swans by Jung Chang, because it shows how things used to be in China, in contrast to all that the country has achieved today. His favourite restaurant is the Provence Steakhouse in Wuxi, which serves French cuisine and is also warmly recommended on the Wuxi Life website. Jos Van Beneden’s favourite spot in China is the River Li and the sur-rounding hills of Yangshuo in Guilin province, which are also depicted on the 20 yuan banknote.

12


BARcO FuTuRE VISION IN cHINA

From difficult beginnings to fast growthBarco has eight offices and one product base in China. It started explor-ing the Chinese market in 1985 through a Hong Kong distributor, but that business was very modest. In 1994, Barco established its first China office in Beijing. In 2001, less than 2% of Barco’s worldwide sales came from China. In 2002, Barco decided to focus on the growth potential of China and moved its headquarters in China from Hong Kong to Shang-hai.

“In the beginning it was very difficult,” recalls Mr Yan Fei, Managing Director, Barco Greater China, “but since we moved our headquarters to Shanghai and bought out the Chinese partner in the joint venture, Barco’s activities in China can be considered an amazing success.” The volume of business is now 10 times bigger than in 2001 and China now accounts for 12% of Barco’s worldwide sales.

more and better peopleAs Yan Fei explains, the main issue when doing business in China is hu-man resources: how to attract and retain more and better people. “For each division in China, you need strong managers comparable to a coun-try manager elsewhere. We believe in management by local people, but finding the right people is not easy. The major mistake some companies make is that they don’t invest in people. Hanging on to people once you have found them is a second headache. We organise about 10 training programs a year, including an MBA program. We also send people to Belgium for a training of six months. Developing your employees is very important if you want to keep them”.

Barco is also actively involved in a number of corporate responsibility programs. For example, the company rebuilt a primary school that col-lapsed after the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan. The school’s official reo-pening took place in September 2009 and restoration was co-funded by contributions from Barco employees from all over the world. In Han-zhong, near Xi’an, Barco also contributed to the construction of a learn-ing center for an orphanage for handicapped and abandoned children. A third project provides mobile eye care across China’s poorer provinces. The ‘Eye VAN Project’ offers free cataract and other eye operations to patients who cannot afford to go to a hospital.

“Barco Visual”: the product baseBarco has one product base in China. It develops and produces LED pan-els for fixed indoor and outdoor applications, as well as digital cinema projectors. Set up in 2003 as a joint venture in which Barco held a major-ity stake, the base became a 100% Barco subsidiary as part of the com-pany’s media and entertainment business back in 2006. An autonomous R&D team there develops products for the world market. John Paulissen runs the product base, and next to him there is just one more expat to manage its operations. Mr. Paulissen pointed out that one of the major operational challenges was to establish the necessary rhythm and rigor, and ensure continuous improvement by defining strict processes. An-other focus concerned attempts to set up a systematic, cross-divisional project management culture. “Barco has a total staff of around 300 in China, 150 of whom work at its product base. Chinese employees are committed to working day and night to ship an order on time or meet a deadline”, Paulissen said. “Chi-na presents major opportunities. It is a huge market and people have a ‘fast-moving, can-do’ mentality. The best way to protect intellectual property is to be creative and very fast,” he concluded.

13


dos1. Always be compliant.2. Be proactive so you can track changes in economic policy.3. Network with Chinese organizations and business associations.4. Compete by differentiating yourself from local companies: brand,

technology, quality, scale.5. Think positively about price pressure (if you’re competitive in China,

you’ll be competitive everywhere).6. Protect your IP.7. See China as both a market and a product creation location.8. Offer your employees a career (not just good pay). don’ts1. Don’t engage in partnerships without extensive due diligence and a

thorough strategy review.2. Don’t compete with Chinese companies on the same compliance/eth-

ics practices.3. Don’t underestimate the potential of local companies: they might be-

come major competitors locally and globally.4. Don’t react slowly to the market.5. Don’t locate product management and R&D totally outside China.6. Don’t locate your supply chain totally outside China.

contAct InFormAtIon

YAN FEIManaging Director, Barco Greater ChinaBarco Visual (Beijing) Electronics Co. Ltd.No.16 Changsheng Road, Chang Ping ParkZhongguancun Science & Technology ParkChangping District, 102200 Beijing, ChinaT 86 10 8010 1166F 86 10 8970 2793 E [email protected]

www.barco.com.cn

Biography Yan FeiMr Yan, who is of Sino-European origin with French citizenship, brings more than 20 years of cross-cultural professional experience to Barco. He has worked in Belgium, France and China, covering the manufactur-ing, electronics and technology industries. Before joining Barco, Yan Fei served as Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Global Flat Panel Display BU at TCL-Thomson Electronics (TTE), managing a USD 1.4 billion global business covering some 60 countries. Prior to this role, he served as General Manager of TTE Europe, where he successfully restructured Thomson’s European business, turning around the company’s fortunes and achieving three consecutive profitable quar-ters. Before taking over TTE Europe, Yan Fei was the General Manager of the company’s television business and Vice President of TTE Strategic OEM unit. Before joining TTE in 2004, he held various technical and general management positions in multinational companies, including at Safran (Sagem), Saint-Gobain and Schlumberger. Yan Fei has been man-aging multicultural teams in Sino-European joint ventures since 1999.Yan Fei has a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Northwestern Poly-technic University, China, a master’s in engineering, and a PhD in applied sciences from the University of Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium, where he was also an Assistant Professor at one time.

Yan Fei’s favouritesYan Fei’s favourite book on China is Romance of Three Kingdoms by Lo Kuan-Chung - a constant source of inspiration and wisdom.His favourite restaurant is FLO in Beijing. It has good food, decoration and atmosphere, especially dining on the terrace in spring and autumn.And his favourite place in China is Guilin, where you feel in harmony with nature and understand the meaning of eternity.

14


BEIJING GLOBAL STRATEGY cONSuLTING GOLD MEDAL FOR OLYMPIcS ADVISORY

A successful Games after allGilbert Van Kerckhove, Founder of Beijing Global Strategy Consulting, played an important behind-the-scenes role in the organisation of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, which successfully concluded on August 24. Guiding the tendering process, advising the Beijing municipal gov-ernment, and serving as an intermediary between Chinese and foreign companies involved in Olympic projects have occupied a big chunk of his time since the Games were awarded to Beijing in June 2001. Now that the Olympics are over, Gilbert Van Kerckhove confesses he has a big hang-over. ‘I have been so emotionally involved in the Olympics that it’s still hard to believe it’s all over.’

The first burning question to ask Van Kerckhove is obvious: What’s his assessment of the Games? ‘I found one fundamental problem: what you see and read in the media is often very different from what is actually happening. But in the end, what I believe is not important, what counts is what the world perceives through the media. During the opening cer-emony, I was locked up in an RTBF TV studio, so I wasn’t in the Bird’s Nest, but I had already seen most of the ceremony at one of the rehears-als. My wife, Sun Bin, daughter Valerie and myself liked the wushu and drum sequences in particular. Most foreigners and Chinese thought the opening ceremony was fantastic.’

The fact that Li Ning (owner of a sports shoes and apparel company) lit the Olympic Cauldron was the most blatant example of ‘ambush mar-keting’, says Van Kerckhove, as Adidas was an official sponsor of the Games. ‘Anyway, once the Games started, all the problems the foreign press focused on, such as Tibet and Darfur, were quickly forgotten. Sport was all that mattered, world records were broken. The stadiums were fantastic and apart from a malfunctioning replay in the Workers’ Stadi-um, there were no technical problems. Everything turned out quite well.’

‘The government made a big effort to pre-empt possible trouble’, adds Van Kerckhove. ‘Chinese from outside Beijing were encouraged to watch the Olympics on TV. In fact, Beijing was relatively empty dur-ing the Games. Businesses hoping to make money – such as hotels and restaurants – were disappointed since there were 10% fewer tourists in Beijing this year compared to last year. The atmosphere was all a bit too artificial and too friendly, but of course people visiting Beijing for the first time didn’t notice.’

‘The biggest disappointment was the ticketing chaos. Prior to the start of the Games, I wasn’t even able to get one ticket. Many people were very disappointed they couldn’t get tickets.’ Gilbert Van Kerckhove man-

aged to obtain a bunch of tickets from the BOIC for the Belgium-Italy football match at Workers’ Stadium, which is very close to his home and office. When his wife distributed the tickets to Belgian compatriots at the stadium entrance, she was briefly detained by plainclothes police, who thought she was a ticket tout. Following a call to the chief of security at the Games, she managed to watch the second half of the match. Beijing’s night life was affected less than Van Kerckhove had feared. ‘Some well-known bars had to close, but others were still full of people late into the night.’

‘Pollution was a very big worry and the authorities knew that only dra-conian measures would help. They kept trucks outside the city, closed many polluting factories and shut down all construction projects. Less people working means less pollution, so the authorities made it difficult for Chinese from outside Beijing to enter the city. These measures have had a massive impact on the economy. In October, after the Paralympics end in September, activity will return to fever pitch to make up for lost time. The government faces a big economic challenge, in that it is try-ing to keep inflation in check on the one hand, even though the prices of many commodities and services should increase in order to promote economic growth. The Chinese will find a way out, but it won’t be easy.’

‘The Games gave an enormous boost to the modernisation of Beijing. Contrary to what some media reported, projects such as the construc-tion of metro lines and Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport are not ‘white elephants’ at all; they are sorely needed. The government didn’t spend much money on building the Olympic facilities as they were mostly financed by private sponsors. There will be no problem making use of most of the facilities in the post-Olympic period - apart from the Bird’s Nest. Since it may be difficult to fill it up with spectators, the Bei-jing government is now looking for a company to lend its name to the Bird’s Nest.’‘To sum it all up: the Chinese government achieved what it wanted to achieve – a flawless Olympic Games.’

Advising the Beijing Investment Promotion BureauIn December 1999, Gilbert Van Kerckhove and his wife Sun Bin set up their own consulting company – China Strategy Ltd – in Mauritius, with representative offices in Beijing and Hong Kong. As representative of-fices are not legally allowed to do business and issue invoices, he closed the Beijing office and set up a Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprise (WOFE) in Beijing called Beijing Global Strategy Consulting Co Ltd to serve as an adviser to the Beijing Investment Promotion Bureau. Sitting on the Chinese side of the table, he helped foreign companies pursue business opportunities in connection with the Olympic Games. Moreover, he as-sisted the Beijing municipal authorities in the tendering process and the city’s economic planning. He acted as Delegate Investment Promotion for the Beijing Development and Reform Commission (BDRC) for Olym-pic Ownership Tenders, where he delivered studies on attracting private investment and avoiding post-Olympic problems. He also organised a study tour to Europe for a BDRC delegation to visit Olympic cities, attend seminars and meet potential investors.

In 2003~2004 he acted as Negotiation and Development Director for the Beijing State-owned Assets Management Co (BSAM), focusing on Olympic projects. BSAM was in charge of the National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) and National Swimming Center (Water Cube). When a conflict arose about construction of the Bird’s Nest between organisers and Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, Gilbert Van Kerckhove managed to defuse the problem at the de Meuron offices in Basel. At the Or-ganising Committee for the 2008 Beijing Olympics (BOCOG) he quickly

15


earned the nickname ‘Fireman’. At one point he travelled to Munich to do research on the membrane technology to be used in the construction of the Water Cube.

In April 2005, Van Kerckhove was officially appointed Senior Consult-ant for the Olympic Economy by the Beijing Municipal Government. In January 2006, he delivered a 1,500-page report with recommendations for the development of the Beijing economy. Further reports alerted the authorities to weak spots in the preparation of the Games. Meanwhile he tried to find funding for the Olympic stadiums and organised events with diplomats and representatives of chambers of commerce in an ef-fort to ‘sell Beijing to the foreigners’.

One project Gilbert Van Kerckhove is particularly proud of is the sculp-ture ‘Athletes Alley’ by Belgian artist Olivier Strebelle. It is the only sculp-ture in the Olympic Green. Only through tenacious lobbying with the Chinese authorities could Van Kerckhove secure this prestigious place for the statue. Post-olympic plansNow that the Olympics are over, Gilbert Van Kerckhove needs to find an-other focus. First of all, he plans to take a break. ‘I really need to clean up my desk,’ he muses. Recently he worked on a project for airplane com-munications for an Israeli high-tech company and he is also working on oil projects in Saudi-Arabia. ‘We are based in China, but can do project work all over the world,’ he adds. Beijing Global Strategy Consulting is a small company, with six employees. Says Van Kerckhove: ‘The work we do cannot be delegated. If a company doing business in China is blocked somehow, we try to solve the problem and improve their strategy. We also often work as subcontractors for big consulting companies, for ex-ample finding out who are the decision makers at the China Investment Corporation (CIC). Being an active member of chambers of commerce such as AmCham and the European Chamber is all part of the job. Net-working takes up a lot of time.’In the near future, Gilbert Van Kerckhove is planning to organise more seminars and accept speaking engagements. He is also thinking of writ-ing a book and improving his blog. A final word of advice for companies planning to do business or invest in China: Do your homework. ‘It sounds obvious, but many companies are still not doing it.’ Gilbert Van Kerckhove is also happy to share his 12 top tips and tricks for doing business in China:1. Be patient and never forget the motto ‘step by step’.2. Chinese pay for ‘hardware’ but ‘software’ is a still a hard sell.3. Don’t leave behind your good business sense. China is different yes,

but don’t be blinded by the ‘exotic Eldorado’. Be realistic and not naïve.

4. ‘Face’ is important. Be diplomatic, friendly and considerate without abandoning your goals.

5. Bring enough boxes of business cards, standard size and in correct English / Chinese.

6. Presentation of your company: on paper, in Chinese. Short and to the point. Show your real expertise and strengths. Give practical and real examples. No lengthy PowerPoint presentations.

7. The Chinese market is more advanced than you guessed – at least on the surface.

8. Your customer is not waiting for you and your competitors are al-ready here.

9. Find your niche after spending time to understand the market and what you can bring of value while still making a profit.

10. It is cheaper to spend money on legal advice before than after –

when the damage is done.11. China: very hard to get correct and relevant information, even when

‘obvious’, so don’t blindly trust what you read.12. Be aware that operating and manufacturing costs can be much high-

er than expected. Do proper research before calculating a budget.

Beijing Global Strategy consulting Founder Gilbert Van Kerckhove (59) earned a Master’s Degree in electronic engi-neering from the University of Ghent (Belgium) in 1973. He started his China adventure in December 1980 as Regional Director China for Acec. He also worked in China and the Far East for Barco, Alcatel and Alstom, before setting up his own consulting company in 2000. He is a frequent speaker at seminars and briefings for executives and boards of directors.In 2005, he received the Friendship Award, the highest honour for for-eigners in China, following the Great Wall Friendship Award in 2004 in Beijing and the Magnolia Silver Award from the Shanghai municipal gov-ernment in 1999. He is also a Knight in the Order of the Crown (Belgium) and advisor to the Belgian Minister for Foreign Trade. Apart from China, he has also worked in Brazil, Spain, Nigeria, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar. He speaks fluent Dutch, French, English, Portu-guese and German, and has an average knowledge of Spanish and basic understanding of Chinese and Italian. He is an active member of Ben-cham and the American and European Chambers of Commerce. He fre-quently works out at the gym and has run six full marathons since 2003.

Gilbert Van Kerckhove’s favouritesOne Billion Customers by James McGregor. ‘It is like a detective novel and offers a realistic view of doing business. Recommended for naive people who believe gold can simply be scooped up in China.’ He also likes China Shakes the World by James Kynge. Gilbert admits he really doesn’t have time to read books.The Belgian restaurant Morel’s at Gongti Beilu remains his favourite. Dur-ing the SARS period in 2003 it practically became his office as visitors were barred from the compound where he lives and works. He can still frequently be found at his personal table discussing business over lunch or dinner while sipping a beer. He also likes the excellent pizzas at The Tree. Gilbert likes to escape from China when he can. His favourite place to unwind is Bangkok – where he lived for more than three years – and the Thai resort of Phuket.

(This interview was taken in 2008.)

contAct InFormAtIon

GILBERT VAN KERcKHOVEFounderBeijing Global Strategy Consulting Co LtdJulong Garden 5-3-201, Xinzhong Street 68, Beijing, 100027, China

T +86-10-65532151 - 65520764 - 65530858 (DL)F +86-10-65532148E [email protected]

www.strategy4china.com Personal blog ‘Surviving Beijing since 1980’: http://blog.strategy4china.com

16


BEKAERT BEKAERT IN cHINA… EMBRAcING cuLTuRES

Long-term commitmentBekaert’s presence in China goes back to 1992, with the creation of the China Bekaert Steel Cord Co., Ltd. and the subsequent start-up of the first production plant in Jiangyin, Jiangsu province. Convinced of the market’s sound opportunities for growth, Bekaert continued expand-ing rapidly and today operates 17 entities with over 10,000 employees in Jiangyin, Shenyang, Weihai, Chongqing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Huizhou and Shanghai. Bekaert’s growth strategy will further accelerate in the coming years, amongst others by acquiring part of Xinyu Holding, a subsidiary of Xinyu Steel, in Xinyu Jiangxi province (the transaction is currently going through various approval processes).

A global leader with local presence Bekaert, a global market and technological leader in advanced metal transformation and advanced materials and coatings, headquartered in Kortrijk (Belgium), has become a major investor in China. From an eco-nomic perspective, Bekaert’s expansion plans in China have been - and continue to be - driven by the country’s rapid and robust development over the past decade.The wide range of products Bekaert offers on the Chinese market are produced locally by one or more of its 17 subsidiaries around the country and include:• steel cord products for tire reinforcement, hose and belt reinforce-

ment and clean energy applications• steel wire products for bookbinding, card clothing and spring wire• Dramix® steel fibers for concrete reinforcement• carding solutions for the textile industry• filtration systems and media for polymer, hot-gas and diesel particu-

late filters• conductive grains avoiding electrostatic dissipation• and many more…

A major investor as well as a corporate citizenBy the end of 2009, Bekaert’s investments in China were worth roughly USD 1 billion, and the turnover generated by its entities in Asia Pacific accounted for about one third of the group’s consolidated sales.

“In China, we’re seeing major growth in our steel wire and cord prod-ucts because the domestic automotive demand is on the rise”, said Mark Goyens, President of Bekaert Asia. “Moreover, true to our ambition of

being a global technological leader, Bekaert has continued increasing its R&D efforts and resources, both at the corporate level and in China. Our new BARDEC Research and Development Centre in Jiangyin is proof of that, and already hosts 250 researchers, laboratory experts and techni-cal staff. This way, we intend to guarantee a constant flow of innovative solutions and technical support for our customers in China”. To keep pace with rapid growth, Bekaert has constantly built up its production capacity of tire cord products in China over the past years. “Our greatest asset is our people”, says Mark Goyens. “When times were difficult (in late 2008 to early 2009), instead of laying off our staff we trained them in several operational excellence programmes, involved them in improve-ment projects and machine upgrading and kept them motivated. The result? When the market picked up again - which it did as suddenly and sharply as the crisis hit - Bekaert and its employees were ready to seize opportunities and serve our customers immediately”.

Bekaert CEO Bert De Graeve, who is also the Chairman of the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC), has a special affinity with China, having spent several years in Shanghai in the 1990s as General Manager of Shanghai Bell. He is actively supporting Bekaert’s expansion programs in China, and was personally involved in negotiating and signing the partnership agreement with Ansteel that led to the construction and operation of the two companies’ steel cord joint-venture in Chongqing. Bekaert was a main sponsor of Europalia China (2009-2010). Europalia is a prestigious cultural festival that takes place every two years in Belgium and dedicates hundreds of cultural events to a single guest country over a four-month period. The latest edition played host to China and was a great success. Bekaert was also a golden sponsor of the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.

A challenging market with plenty of opportunities“China presents opportunities as well as challenges”, Mark Goyens ex-plained, “because it is a huge market with tremendous potential. Its vast population is consuming more and more. Moreover, China is develop-ing and modernizing its road, railway, port and airport infrastructure throughout the country and thereby increasing the mobility of its people and the capacity of its logistics services. At the same time, the volume of foreign investment is growing and China is definitely on the way to becoming an economic world power. In fact, it already is in many do-mains”. True to its slogan of better together, Bekaert teams up with its custom-ers to help them meet the challenges they are facing in light of this accelerated growth in local demand. Driven by its expansive market and technological knowledge, Bekaert helps them improve their processes and methods, thus enabling them to grow and innovate too.

Finding and retaining committed employees is a challenge, but staff turnover rates at Bekaert are relatively low. In China, Bekaert currently employs 8,000 people, more than one third of Bekaert’s total number of employees.

By continuing to invest in talent, education, health and safety, research and development, and environmentally friendly processes, Bekaert ac-tively supports sustainable economic development wherever it is active. Furthermore, Bekaert also stimulates and supports external educational and social projects as part of the company’s answer to the needs aris-ing in a fast-developing environment. Naturally, Bekaert also assumes its responsibility when devastating natural disasters like the Sichuan earth-quake in 2008 call for urgent help. In fact, over the past years Bekaert has received several honors and awards for its efforts to support local communities in China.

17


Bekaert’s man in china: mark Goyens Mark Goyens joined Bekaert in 2003, after gaining more than 20 years of international experience at a number of multinationals. He had lived and worked in the UK, USA, Switzerland and Holland before moving back home to Belgium to take up the post of Chief HR Officer at Be-kaert. During his international career, he has fulfilled executive duties as a legal counsel, HR executive and general manager in different parts of the world.As head of HR at Bekaert, he was very closely involved in developing the growth strategy in China from an HR and organizational point of view.Early in 2009 he moved to Shanghai to take up his current position as President Bekaert Asia. In Shanghai, he also serves as a director on the Board of the Benelux Chamber of Commerce, is a member of the Advi-sory Board of the China European International Business School (CEIBS), and is Vice Chairman of the International Consultative Committee of the city of Jiangyin, one of 8 locations where Bekaert has manufacturing facilities. Bekaert’s man in China enjoys Shanghai as a vibrant city reflecting the country’s speedy growth and as a dynamic business environment. Living with his wife in China is also an exciting opportunity for him to explore the cultural wealth of this great country, in between his fast-paced busi-ness life.

From humble beginnings to market leadership Bekaert entered the Chinese market in 1975, when it started supplying steel cord products and participated in Belgium’s first industrial exhibi-tion in Beijing. From its first investments in the early 1990s onwards, Bekaert’s web of steel has spread across China, and today its network of factories, offices and technology sites is as follows:

China Bekaert Steel Cord Co., Ltd. – Jiangyin (1992)Bekaert (China) Technology Research & Development Co., Ltd. – Jiangyin (1996)Shanghai Bekaert-Ergang Co., Ltd. – Shanghai (1997)Bekaert-Shenyang Steel Cord Co., Ltd. – Shenyang (1998)Bekaert Jiangyin Wire Products Co., Ltd. – Jiangyin (1999)Bekaert Advanced Products (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. – Shanghai (2002)Bekaert (Shandong) Tire Cord Co., Ltd. – Weihai (2003)Bekaert Management (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. – Shanghai (2004)Bekaert Binjiang Steel Cord Co., Ltd. – Jiangyin (2004)Bekaert New Materials (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. – Suzhou (2004)Wuxi Bekaert Textile Machinery & Accessories Co., Ltd. – Wuxi (2005)

contAct InFormAtIon

MARK GOYENSPresident Bekaert Asia Bekaert Management (Shanghai) Co. Regional Headquarters Asia17/F Block E, Waterfront Place, No. 31 Lane 168 Daduhe Rd, Shanghai 200062T +86 21 2219-7001F +86 21 2219-7399E [email protected]

www.bekaert.comwww.bekaert.com.cn

Bekaert Shenyang Advanced Products Co., Ltd. – Shenyang (2005)Bekaert Binjiang Advanced Products Co., Ltd. – Jiangyin (2008)Bekaert Ansteel Tire Cord (Chongqing) Co., Ltd – Chongqing (2008)Bekaert (Jiangyin) Advanced Coatings Co., Ltd – Jiangyin (2008)Bekaert (Huizhou) Steel Cord Co. Ltd -- Huizhou (2010)

In September 2010, Bekaert announced the acquisition of 75% of the shares of the spring wire and overhead conductor business of Xinyu Iron & Steel Co., Ltd in Xinyu, Jiangxi Province. This acquisition and partner-ship will open up new opportunities for Bekaert. After years of intensive expansion of our Steelcord platform in the country, this agreement will ensure – upon deal closing - the immediate extension of Bekaert China’s wire business.

AdviceIn China, more than any place in the world, it is important to take all the time needed to understand the points on which an agreement can be reached with your partner. We, in the West, tend to spend more time in discussions to get diverging perspectives aligned during a business dis-cussion. In China, you can make more and faster progress by focusing on the ‘common ground’ between parties and using it as a basis for reach-ing agreement on other different viewpoints. This also has to do with the fact that building relationships (the so-called guanxi) with Chinese business partners is generally much more effective than pushing for a signature on a contract.

18


cGL MANAGEMENT cONSuLTING AN INcuBATOR PROVIDING START-uPS WITH EVERYTHING THEY NEED

A business incubator offering both hardware and softwareThe Flemish Business Center in Shanghai, operated by China Global Leaders (CGL) Management Consulting, is an incubator for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that clearly stands apart from other business centres in the city. ‘We provide both hardware and software’, said CEO Peter Buytaert, ‘whereas most other business centres only provide hardware, meaning an office and secretarial services. Our cli-ents don’t just come here to have office space, an address and meeting rooms, but also and in particular for the added value we can create. For example, we assist clients by allowing them to send their local staff to work here until a proper legal entity of their own has been set up.’

Consultants are assigned to help clients develop their business. Clients may opt for direct representation to test markets, find dealers and part-ners, or prepare for an investment without first spending time and mon-ey on setting up a legal entity’, explained Buytaert: ‘Then, one or two years down the line, they decide whether their strategy is working. That way, all overheads remain variable until the business model’s success has been proven. In addition, we offer payroll management and, if need be, play a supervisory role, provide strategic advice and link clients into a network of local Chinese resources.’

CGL Management Consulting also offers globalisation programmes for Chinese firms and/or joint ventures (JVs) and international teams. Es-sentially we assess the overall skills of companies’ staff, assist them by providing coaching or training and help their management develop bet-ter international awareness and boost the company’s performance. ‘The skills in question may be soft or entail essential organisational know-how about quality processes, lean manufacturing, etc. For these pro-grammes we team up with reputed international experts in the domain being represented in China’ added Buytaert. He is confident that both CGL Management Consulting and the Flemish Business Center will prove highly successful in the coming years. ‘In a depressed world, China offers excellent business opportunities for SMEs, but the road to success is of-ten paved with risks and unnecessary costs. Our programs are designed to make that process less time-consuming, more transparent and more cost-effective.’ Buytaert says his business centre fills a real market need in the current climate of financial and economic crisis. ‘We offer a more cost-effective

and less risk-prone way to enter China, one of the few growth markets in the world and a real opportunity in a time of crisis. With our help, com-panies can enter the Chinese market more quickly. In addition, Chinese firms are also increasingly looking outside China to invest in cheaper as-sets and grow internationally. So our globalisation solutions match that trend as well.’The business centre’s main focus is on Flemish companies. Companies from other countries are also welcome, but will not be able to benefit from the incentives on offer from Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT). Start-up with a unique selling pointPeter Buytaert launched China Global Leaders (CGL) Management Con-sulting in December 2007, but its trading licence was only granted in April 2008. In August 2008, the Flemish Business Center in Shanghai opened its doors. ‘Starting up the centre taught me two things’, said Buytaert. ‘Firstly, the ponderousness of administrative procedures and the lack of absolutely clear policies are major issues, and small businesses need to invest a great deal of time and effort to comply with their re-quirements. Secondly, there is a lack of transparency, so everything has to be checked at least three times.’

The centre’s unique selling point is that it not only provides offices and secretarial services, but can help clients with all their business needs, from prospecting markets to setting up a joint venture or a wholly for-eign owned enterprise (WFOE). ‘I’m not aware of any other business centre offering such extensive services’ continued Buytaert.

‘We plan to form additional partnerships with one or two international consulting firms that can offer complementary programmes and solu-tions to those we are already providing. We expect to open new incu-bator services in various locations, possibly focussing on specific new technologies. We have also just formed a partnership with an estab-lished executive search company to offer our clients unique value in a recruitment context. We guarantee the lowest search fees around and add value by conducting final interviews to assess whether candidates will fit in well within the cultural context of a Flemish company.’At the moment, five Flemish clients use CGL’s services and plans exist to increase that number to between 10 and 15 by mid-2009. The centre has consultants on its payroll to assist its clients and Peter Buytaert himself leverages his time, experience and network to assist on strategy and execution. ‘We do everything for our clients’ added Buytaert; ‘all they have to do is turn the key in their office door and they’re in business’.The Flemish Business Center in Shanghai is endorsed by Flanders Invest-ment & Trade, which also reimburses up to 50% of the costs incurred by the centre’s clients during the first 18 months. The business centre offers three distinct service packages plus additional services tailored to the client’s own requirements. More information is available on the website www.zakencentrumchina.com and www.chinagloballeaders.com. The Flemish Business Center is located in the ’Green City’ interna-tional community in Pudong, the first urban area to have been awarded ISO 14000 international environment protection certification. It is just a few blocks away from the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), which offers world-famous MBA courses. It is also easy to reach from Pudong International Airport. wFoes and JVs both have advantages and disadvantages ‘Anyone with a WFOE controls their business and is assured of inde-pendent decision-making’ stressed Buytaert. ‘On the other hand, a joint venture may be necessary from a legal point of view in some business sectors or can generate short-term value through the local partner. But it is important to always have a fall-back strategy, because joint ventures

19


don’t usually last. So an exit strategy needs to be considered from the very outset, especially where SMEs are concerned. It is also important to control any key management positions and ensure that a consensus is reached on shared objectives and confirmed in writing from the start. JVs commonly fail due to divergent management strategies and objec-tives. A typical scenario would entail one partner seeking to invest on a long-term basis and the other wanting to reap immediate benefits. Al-ternatively, partners can clash over their business approach, e.g. whether to run a volume- or value-oriented business, the former aiming for low margins and high quality, the latter for higher margins. Obviously such differences are bound to create problems, but often such hidden ‘inten-tions’ are not clear when signing the contract.’ the 8 commandments for success in china‘If you asked me for some advice for companies that are new to the Chinese market and want to do business here, I’d refer you to my 8 commandments for success in China, which I increasingly believe are absolute prerequisites for success’, said Buytaert, adding that eight is considered a lucky number in China.1. Define clearly how China will add value to your operations (sourcing,

export, manufacturing, assembly, etc.) and know precisely what you want to achieve.

2. Choose the correct legal structure and keep costs as variable as pos-sible to begin with.

3. Face up to a paradigm shift: Unless you are in the top-end luxury goods segment, China is a volume market rather than a value market. Also accept the fact that your products may need to be re-engineered even if you are at the top end of the market. In fact the best quality will almost invariably require re-engineering due to external factors that are specific to China.

4. Understand your respective market and be realistic when assessing its ‘real’ potential size.

5. Deploy a dual strategy for your market approach, always have a ‘plan B’ to fall back on, and minimise your risks.

6. Use and develop a vast information network.7. Remember: what you see is never what you get! Check everything

three times.8. Change is the only constant, so instead of drawing up three-year

plans, gear up for scenarios that change every 6 months. cGL management consulting’s man in chinaPeter Buytaert (43) is a commercial engineer who graduated from EHSAL Brussels and also completed the advanced management course at IN-SEAD. When aged 18 he was already dreaming of going to Asia, initially as a diplomat, but he quickly opted to pursue a business career instead. He arrived in Hong Kong in 1993 as a trainee of the Prince Albert Fund to explore the medical imaging systems market for Agfa. Peter then stayed on in Asia, living for 4 years in Tokyo, which he liked very much, followed by Manila and a 7-year stint in Kuala Lumpur, which he appreciated for its cheap and good quality of life and rich culture. He worked for Agfa in Seoul for about 2 years before moving to Shanghai. Altogether he worked for Agfa for 15 years, last serving as President Agfa Graphics Asia, based in Shanghai. Finally Peter decided to set up his own consultancy. He was also the Chairman of Bencham Shanghai and advises the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Trade. He feels it is important to have a second residence to get back to earth, so he set up one in Australia. Peter’s wife is Korean-American, and the couple has a 12-year old daughter.

Peter Buytaert’s favouritesPeter Buytaert’s favourite book is China – The Race to Market: What China’s transformation means for business, markets and the world order by Jonathan Story. His favourite restaurants are Laris at 3 on the Bund and the Paradise Garden Jinmao. His favourite place in China is his apartment in Pudong, because it is an oasis of peace in bustling Shanghai, and he is particularly fond of his roof terrace.

contAct InFormAtIon

PETER BuYTAERTCEO, Shanghai China Global Leaders (CGL) Management ConsultingSuite 2003, Block 4, 18 Huangyang Road, Pudong, Shanghai, China

T+86-21-61652716; Fax: +86-21-61652889E [email protected]

www.zakencentrumchina.com

20


Supporting customers locally and worldwideDelaware Consulting is an IT consulting company focused on providing business solutions based on SAP and Microsoft technology. The compa-ny has three offices in China: one near People’s Square in Shanghai, one in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, and one in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, which began as a joint venture but is now fully owned by Delaware. ‘We don’t just supply innovative IT solutions, we also provide support world-wide. We have people on standby 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to support our customers’ IT solutions,’ said Bert Van Genechten, Gen-eral Manager of Delaware Consulting China. ‘We also do web design,’ he added – Delaware Consulting designed the websites of Heilongjiang Province and the Belgian pavilion at the Shanghai Expo.

Bert Van Genechten: ‘Why did we come to China? Suzhou was actually our first office outside Belgium for a very simple reason – we wanted to follow our customers. We had already been supporting our Chinese customers for a long time, so it was the right time for us to set up an office near them. We believe we can support our customers better by being present where they are. Today, Delaware Consulting’s Chinese of-fices provide services to both local customers and international custom-ers who do not originate from our home market or customer base. In fact, we have five-year plans of our own. Over the first five years, we pri-marily provided services to companies headquartered in Belgium. Over this second five-year period, we will be expanding our customer base to include a broad spectrum of international companies and successful Chinese companies too.’

According to Van Genechten, the fact that Suzhou does not have an airport does not pose a problem since it is only one hour from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport by car. Delaware Consulting chose to locate its Su-zhou office in Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) because many of its European customers have facilities there. ‘We followed our customers,’ said Van Genechten. ‘We didn’t move to SIP because the government gave us preferential policies, but because we can build up a stable pool of con-tacts here.’

In China, Delaware Consulting provides support and consulting services in SAP and Open Text from its Suzhou and Shanghai offices. It delivers industry-specific solutions for the food, chemicals and manufacturing in-dustries, plus roll-out and continuous support (AMS) services for foreign and local companies.

DELAWARE cONSuLTING BRINGING STATE OF THE ART SOLuTIONS AND PROFESSIONAL IT SuPPORT TO cOMPANIES IN cHINA

Delaware’s monitoring services are based in Harbin and monitor and support customer systems 24/7. The company’s off-shore Microsoft and SAP development team and its mobile and e-commerce competence centre are also located there. ‘It is close to four of China’s top universities for IT, including HIT,’ pointed out Van Genechten. ‘This enables us to efficiently support customers all over the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at a lower cost.’

‘The Shanghai office was set up earlier this year, meaning that we are now represented in a tier 1 city and can service the local and global markets from our offices there. There is a larger pool of personnel to choose from and we are closer to the headquarters of our local and global customers,’ he went on.

30 years of It services The company was set up in 1981 as Delaware Computing, a computer services company. In 1989, it became part of Bekaert and a full-fledged Belgian IT services provider. Later, after having been owned by Arthur Andersen and Deloitte, it became independent again, as Delaware Con-sulting, following a management buy-out. The buy-out saw Delaware Consulting relaunched as an independent consulting partnership with 124 consultants. The company opened its first office abroad in Suzhou, China, in 2005, followed one year later by Harbin Kepler Delaware Soft-ware Development in Harbin, in China’s north-eastern Heilongjiang Province.

The group has expanded rapidly over the years. It is now represented in several countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and the USA), has numerous offices (Antwerp, Kortrijk, Wavre, Lille, Lyon, Den Bosch, Atlanta, Shanghai, Suzhou and Harbin) and employs over 550 people worldwide. In Belgium, a Walloon consulting company re-cently joined the Delaware family.

Delaware Consulting has been servicing and following international cus-tomers all over the world for three decades now. Since 2005, Delaware Consulting has been steadily expanding its structure to form a Delaware Consulting International partnership, a move that is fully in line with the trend towards globalisation of the economy. ‘We believe in a ‘glocal’ approach. This is based on the winning combination of local entrepre-neurship and a global vision and collaboration. Local entrepreneurship allows us to fully integrate in the local business community and foster local autonomy’, states Delaware Consulting’s website. A clear strategic framework allows the company to facilitate international collaboration and exchange of people, knowledge and tools in line with Delaware Consulting’s baseline ‘Combining strengths, delivering solutions’. With offices all over the globe, the company is now able to ‘follow the sun’, which allows it to offer even more continuity and flexibility to its custom-ers. With a view to buttressing this partnership of autonomous Delaware Consulting entities, the company has also invested in offshore software development and application support capacity, enabling it to provide top-quality services at competitive rates to customers anywhere in the world. The company adheres to four core values: care, team spirit, entrepre-neurship, commitment and respect.

Helping customers in need In recent months, Delaware Consulting China delivered a food and sup-ply chain ERP solution to Sinodis, a leading Chinese importer of Western food products. The company adopted the Delaware food solution to support its growth.

21


Sinodis has four distribution centres in China, from which it supplies res-taurants, hotels and retailers. Its supply chain is becoming increasingly complex: a larger distribution network, different distribution centres and expiring products in a fast-growing market with long delivery lead times from the suppliers.

Delaware gave Sinodis a solution that combined business intelligence reporting with the SAP global Best Practice for food to provide the com-pany with a transparent planning overview and forecasting, which can then be compared with actuals reports. The integrated ERP process, which features full traceability of food products, ensures that fresh food is delivered to Chinese customers. Delaware also set up a warehouse management system to enhance Sinodis’s efficiency and follow-up in the warehouse.

The Delaware China team also assisted companies like Q8 and Sodexo with their roll-out and system support in China to ensure that the com-panies’ business software functioned well at all times.

Some advice for companies looking to do business in chinaNever rush into anything. It is essential to conduct a good market study up front. This can help you to determine what Chinese customers want and could really set you apart from the rest if you want to tackle the Chinese market. Naturally, doing business in China is different, but the basics remain the same. You have to provide the right products or ser-vices for an affordable price. Listen to people who are familiar with the Chinese market, ask for advice. Surround yourself with good profession-als. Keep your promises and invest time in building relationships of trust. That has been our recipe for success for many years and has helped us to become the trusted partner of a great many companies. We believe it works in China too.

delaware consulting’s man in chinaBert Van Genechten arrived in China with his family in January 2009, after spending half a year travelling back and forth. He has worked for Delaware Consulting for more than 10 years. He described the chance to move to China as ‘a big challenge in a different culture – and well worth taking the plunge’. His top priority is to expand Delaware Consulting’s business in China and help the team grow in size and expertise. Bert Van Genechten and his wife have two children.

contAct InFormAtIon

BERT VAN GENEcHTENGeneral Manager, Delaware Consulting China25 F The Headquarters Building, Room 39-40, No. 168 Xi Zang (M) Road, Shanghai, CN-200001, People’s Republic of China

T +86 512 691 77262F +86 512 69 177263E [email protected]

www.delawareconsulting.cn

Bert Van Genechten’s favouritesBert’s favourite book on China is One Billion Customers By James McGregorHis favourite restaurant is Lost Heaven Yunnan Folk Cuisine at 7 Yan’an Dong Lu (near the Bund), Shanghai.And his favourite place in Chi-na so far is Yangshuo.

22


DND cONSuLTING cHINA cONVINcING BRIGHT MINDS TO MAKE A cLEVER cAREER MOVE

Finding that special personDND Consulting China is an executive search firm with offices in Beijing and Shanghai. It specialises in finding managers and highly skilled pro-fessionals and convincing them to join one of DND Consulting’s custom-ers. The company has four partners, three Chinese and one Belgian, the Managing Partner Christophe Ruyssen. ‘The fact that I am a partner of the firm makes it ideal for Flemish companies looking to attract top man-agers. Flemish companies are not that well known in the world market, so sometimes it takes some persuasion to convince executives, manag-ers and skilled technicians to make an important career move and join one. Our track record proves we are up to the task, as the many Flemish companies we have worked with can attest,’ said Christophe Ruyssen.

Ruyssen discreetly declined to name his firm’ clients, as that informa-tion has to remain confidential. Many of DND Consulting China’s clients are already established in China and have their own Human Resources Department. So why are they not hiring staff themselves? Ruyssen ex-plained that ‘HR directors or managers have far more pressing tasks than hiring staff and usually focus on promoting the respective corporate cul-ture in their Chinese subsidiaries. They are not specialists at searching for top personnel. We can assist them. We have managed to find the right person in a matter of days or weeks in cases where the HR manager had been looking for years, without any success’.

‘Say you need a Chinese national with an internationally acknowledged PhD in physics who is a specialist in particle acceleration. Such persons do exist, but there are not that many. The extensive network of contacts that we have built up and our experience in executive search since DND Consulting was founded in 1997 enable us to quickly find potential can-didates anywhere in the world. A global search may be necessary since the Chinese diaspora is so large’. making a decisive career moveFinding potential candidates to fill a position at a company is just the first step. Christophe Ruyssen explained: ‘The people in question already have a promising job in a well-known company. They will not move unless you convince them that doing so will benefit their career. Inter-cultural knowledge is very important. You need to be capable of understanding

what might be important to them and then tip the balance in favour of a move to another company. Carefully explaining Flanders’ economic importance and high technical standing in Europe and the world, step by step, gives candidates a very different perspective’.

Commitment to getting the job done is very important to DND Consult-ing. As Ruyssen went on, ‘if necessary we will put one of our employees on a plane on Friday evening to meet a busy prospective candidate in the lounge of an airport in another city, and he will be back in the office on Monday morning. There are not many human resources managers who would be willing to make that extra effort, but if you do, things can move pretty fast and the desired result is within reach’. one of the first executive search firms in chinaDND Consulting China was established in 1997 by alumni of the Univer-sity of International Business and Economics, a top Chinese university in Beijing. At the time it was one of the first executive search firms in China. Christophe Ruyssen joined the firm in 2002, first as an intern, but went on to become a partner. He emphasises that the company charges competitive Chinese-level fees for its services, giving it an edge over its international competitors pricewise. The executive search sector has developed very fast since the company was established. The kind of personnel it seeks for its client companies include general manag-ers, heads of research and development centres, chief financial officers (CFOs), mainly in sectors such as steel, electronics, energy and finance. The firm’s clients range from relatively small companies to the largest multinationals. Although mainland China is the main market served by DND Consulting China, the company has also sought and found person-nel for posts based in Hong Kong and Singapore. the skills required by an executive searcherAccording to Christophe Ruyssen, a range of skills and capabilities is re-quired to do a good job as an executive searcher and contact, select and convince potential candidates. ‘Firstly, you need to have a thorough knowledge of the industrial sectors concerned. Secondly, you need to have a feeling for what potential candidates might be thinking and what they consider to be important. You also need advanced cultural sensibili-ties. If you are dealing with Chinese people who have been educated abroad and are returning to mainland China, you must understand any potential problems and pitfalls. Finally, you will also be well-advised to convince candidates’ future employers to make cross-cultural efforts to integrate their new employee. Cross-cultural understanding needs to be encouraged from both sides. It is very important to approach candidates the right way, as this is part of the client company’s reputation on the human resources market.’

‘Our firm has been in existence for 13 years now, so our database in-cludes the names of many potential candidates. We have helped large numbers of satisfied candidates to take a major step forward in their career and can always ask them for recommendations’.

Christophe Ruyssen then added: ‘We pride ourselves on acting ethically, as this is beneficial to our clients’ human resources reputation’. chinese employees: equal treatment and trustChristophe Ruyssen’s main recommendation for foreign companies in-vesting in China is to treat Chinese staff as equals and to trust them. ‘Chinese employees are expected to adapt to the corporate culture of the foreign company. Foreign employers should also make a continuous effort to bridge the cultural gap (e.g. learn some Chinese and some-thing about China’s history and get acquainted with China’s many dif-

23


ferent provinces and regions). Expats should be aware that their English pronunciation is sometimes difficult to understand, so they should be prepared to explain a bit. Foreign investors should also stay alert and pro-active, capable of reacting quickly. The Chinese economy is like a pressure cooker. House prices are rising very fast and cars are replacing bicycles, making China the world’s largest automotive market. It is hardly surprising that the expectations of potential employees are also rising, and this should be taken on board when evaluating human resources.’ dnd consulting’s Flemish partner in chinaChristophe Ruyssen (49) joined DND Consulting in 2002. He studied law in Rotterdam and sinology in Leiden. He started his professional career at Alcatel-Bell in Antwerp and joined its team in China in 1991. He also took a one-year course at the University of International Business and Economics. He left the telecom company in 1996, but stayed on in Chi-na to seek other opportunities. He ultimately joined the Kredietbank in Brussels and was briefly based in Dublin, before returning to China to join DND Consulting.

Ruyssen first visited China 32 years ago on a family visit (his mother is from China, his father is from Ghent). He has now lived in the country for many years, which has given him a deep cultural understanding essential in the executive search field. He is fluent in Mandarin.

Christophe Ruyssen’s wife is Chinese. The couple has a son…and no plans to leave China.

christophe ruyssen’s favouritesChristophe’s favourite book on China is ‘Three Kingdoms’, a famous Chi-nese historical novel set in AD 160 and written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century. The book has been translated by Moss Roberts. His favourite restaurant is ‘Ba Xiansheng’ (Mr Eight), whose name is a ref-erence to the Chinese zodiac where the sheep is in the eighth position. It is a restaurant chain that specialises in serving Mongol hot pots, where diners can order razor-thin slices of lean meat and an endless variety of vegetables to boil in the hotpot.Christophe Ruyssen’s favourite place is Shanghai Century Park, a green oasis with lakes and a tremendous variety of trees, close to the Maglev Line and Shanghai’s financial centre, Lujiazui.

contAct InFormAtIon

cHRISTOPHE RuYSSENManaging PartnerDND Consulting ChinaC-1206, Yihe Yangguang Plaza; #12 East Tu Cheng Road, Chaoyang District; 1001013 Beijing

T +86-10-8454 0417F +86-10-6466 7091E [email protected]

www.dndchina.com

24


Huber’s Qingdao plantProduction of toothpaste ingredients (Zeodent® dental silicas) started-up in new Qingdao production facility.Huber Engineered Materials (HEM) celebrated the official opening of its state-of-the-art Qingdao silica plant in September 2009. Representatives of Huber and its national and international customers attended a spe-cial inauguration ceremony. The plant produces a wide range of high-performance dental silicas, which are key ingredients for producing top toothpaste products. Huber delivers dental silicas to Chinese and foreign toothpaste producers. ‘Before opening its Qingdao plant, Huber sup-plied the Chinese market from its manufacturing facilities in the USA and Finland’, said HEM China Country Manager Chris Vanhee.

According to Chris Vanhee, ‘Chinese toothpaste brands traditionally con-tain a lot of ground calcium carbonate (GCC). In Western markets, calci-um has largely been replaced by silica. There were two main reasons why Huber came to China to produce silicas. Firstly, we noticed that more and more Chinese are brushing their teeth regularly, and secondly in China silica is increasingly replacing calcium as a toothpaste ingredient. Huber Zeodent® dental silicas provide excellent cleaning performance and are fluoride compatible’.

HEM’s Silica Strategy business unit wanted to increase its production capacity beyond the company’s five existing silica plants in the USA, Bel-gium, Finland and India, so it made sense to build a facility in Asia. Silica is also used in paper manufacturing, food processing and numerous in-dustrial applications.

The Qingdao plant started production trials in May 2009, producing samples for prospective clients, who would then take months to per-form age tests and complete other trials to ascertain whether HEM’s ingredient was compatible with their manufacturing processes. Accord-ingly, production remained low-key during the first six months of the new plant’s operation.

Chuck Herak, Vice President and General Manager of Huber’s Silica busi-ness unit, said: ‘We are very excited about opening the Qingdao plant, as the new facility significantly expands Huber’s global silica manufactur-ing footprint and is a critical element in our strategy designed to meet the needs of customers in this important region of the world’. And he went on to add that the plant would offer the full range of Huber’s dental silica products. After the plant’s inauguration in September, an oral care technical seminar was organised to provide information about the performance characteristics of all of Huber’s Zeodent® dental silicas

that would be supplied to its customers in the Asia-Pacific region. The Qingdao plant has an annual output of 40,000 metric tons of precipitat-ed dental silica and complies with cGMP standards. It is also supported by a dental application laboratory at Xingyuan High-Tech Plaza, Shang-hai. That lab has full toothpaste preparation and testing facilities and is located in the same building where CP Kelco (another Huber Division) has its Asia-Pacific headquarters. In China, CP Kelco produces carboxy-methyl cellulose (CMC) and biogums at its two plants located in Taiqing (Jiangsu province) and Wulian (Shandong province).

‘The Qingdao plant is large by silica business standards, and the total in-vestment in Qingdao is about 318 million yuan’ Vanhee went on. ‘There is room to double the current production capacity. We have 65 employ-ees, but the headcount will rise to 90 in the near future. We chose the development zone in Qingdao because of the good government support provided there. In addition, a location close to the sea is useful because of the salty wastewater produced during the manufacturing process. Also, raw materials are available and products can be shipped to our customers in Korea, Japan and other Asian countries. We expect exports to account for no more than 20% of production in Qingdao’, Vanhee continued.

Part of the diversified multinational J.m. Huber corporationHuber Engineered Materials has four divisions: alumina trihydrate (ATH), ground calcium carbonate (GCC), silica, and health & nutrition. The Qingdao plant is part of its US-based Silica business unit in Atlanta, Geor-gia. HEM is part of the New Jersey-based J.M. Huber Corporation, one of the largest family-owned companies in the United States, generating revenues of around $2 billion. The J.M.Huber Corporation is a diversified multinational that provides products and services in three major sectors: engineered materials, natural resources and technology-based services.

The Group’s engineered materials sector consists of HEM, Huber Engi-neered Woods (HEW) and CP Kelco. Businesses in this sector provide value-added specialty products that help improve the performance of consumer and industrial products.

HEM manufactures materials that enhance hundreds of products, in-cluding cosmetics, toothpaste, industrial coatings and pharmaceutical excipients. HEM employs more than 1,800 people in 15 countries. CP Kelco, which Huber acquired in 2004, is a leading global producer of hydrocolloids, including pectin, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), refined carageenan, xanthan gum, gellan gum, welan gum and diutan. Huber Engineered Woods (HEW) produces specialty wood composites such as AdvanTech® flooring, ZIP System wall® sheathing and OEM products for the millwork and transportation industries.

Huber’s natural resources sector comprises two business areas: energy and timber. The company operates gas properties in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming in the USA. and is seeking to expand to other gas basins in North America. The timber division owns timberlands in several American states and uses sophisticated forest modelling to regenerate forest and sustain harvest yields.

Huber’s technology-based services consist of Demica and the Huber Resources Corporation. Demica provides consulting, advisory and tech-nology services to multinational clients, whereas Huber Resources Corp maximises forest yields by applying advanced technology and operates a facility designed to maximize the value of sawlogs.

HuBER ENGINEERED MATERIALS MAKING TOOTHPASTE BETTER FOR A GROWING MARKET

25


Producer of innovative dental silica solutionsHuber is a world leader in dental silica. It started producing silica in the U.S. in the 1950s and today has six manufacturing facilities serv-ing customers worldwide. It is a pioneer in the manufacture of precipi-tated silicas and silicates (PSS) and is able to control PSS characteristics to produce customised products to meet a wide variety of specifications and functions. The company’s Zeodent® dental silicas offer expanded versatility as a dentifrice polishing and a thickening agent with maximum fluoride compatibility. Single silica applications, where one type of silica acts as both a polishing and a thickening agent, have also been devel-oped. Suitable control of the polymerisation process results in dental silica products with different functional properties when used in tooth-paste manufacture.

Besides specialty silica and silicates, HEM also produces ATH, magnesium hydroxide (MDH), barium sulphate and natural calcium carbonates, as well as advanced pharmaceutical excipients.

recommendations for doing business with chinaWhen asked if he had any recommendations for companies preparing to invest in China, Chris Vanhee said that developing good relations with suppliers, customers and government authorities is very important, be-cause nurturing such good relations is the only way of getting things done. ‘When a delegation of Qingdao visited Flanders, we made sure that they could visit our plant in Ostend and were given a suitable wel-come. If you organise an official banquet, you have to hold a meeting to make sure there will be no surprises’, he continued. ‘I learned this the hard way. You also have to be careful that nobody ‘loses face’, though it is not easy to understand what this means’, he went on.

‘Doing business in the USA and China is quite different; you have to reconcile two different worlds’, Chris Vanhee concluded.

Huber’s man in chinaChris Vanhee arrived in China in November 2007, but had previously been travelling to China for about four years. He started up Huber’s plant in Ostend (Belgium) in 1999 and has been working for the company for the past nine years. He became the manager of the Ostend plant in 2003. Previously he worked for the engineering company that designed the Ostend plant. He has a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Leuven University and a postgraduate degree in petroleum engi-neering from the Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP).He is married and has two daughters.

chris Vanhee’s favouritesChris’s favourite books on China are Jan Van der Putten’s Chinese tekens and Oliver August’s Inside the Red Mansion.His favourite restaurant is Napoli in Qingdao, and his favourite place in China is Hangzhou’s West Lake.

contAct InFormAtIon

cHRIS VANHEEGeneral Manager, Huber Engineered Materials Qingdao T +86 532 8691 8701F +86 532 8691 8705E [email protected] www.hubermaterials.comwww.huber.com

26


INTERcHINA cONSuLTING PARTNERS FOR STRATEGIc ADVIcE AND M&A

eight partners, 70 employees, four offices ready to give adviceInterChina Consulting comprises eight partners, four of whom are based in Beijing. Jan Borgonjon is Chairman and CEO of the company and is the main shareholder. Each partner also owns a share. The consultancy has two offices in China, in Beijing and Shanghai, and Washington and Madrid. InterChina Consulting employs a total of some 70 people. The offices abroad mainly scout for business opportunities and maintainhigh-level contacts with clients. InterChina Consulting is now mainly in-volved in strategic advice and mergers and acquisitions. Its sectors of special expertise include automotive components, machinery, chemicals, health and pharmaceuticals, food and new energy.

Jan Borgonjon explained: “We handle 50 to 60 relatively large projects every year. Of course, with just eight partners, six of whom are Chinese, we are still a lot smaller than other consultancy companies like Bain or McKinsey, which employs 250 people in China. Our main competitors are large consultancy and accountancy companies. We can compete suc-cessfully in sectors we know well, and our methodology is better suited to China than the approaches adopted by our large competitors. McK-insey’s global presence mans it is better informed about what is going on around the world, but we are very competitive, especially for client companies well acquainted with China”.

“Some companies think they know better themselves, but since China joined the World Trade Organisation, the number of complications has increased, along with the need for strategic and management advice. Solid advice will always be necessary.”

Boutique management consultancy based on partnershipInterChina’s Board of Partners has both Western and Chinese members, and all the partners are active consultants. The partners are responsi-ble for the long-term development of the company and provide stability through their commitment to the company. They also define the organi-sation by embodying its corporate culture. Anyone who has worked for InterChina Consulting for a considerable period and has added value to the company is eligible to become a partner. Most partners have been with the company for over 10 years. Some will retire in two to three years from now, at which time new partners may be added.

Jan Borgonjon added: “It is very difficult to build a partnership with a stable structure. Some large consultancy companies have experienced ups and downs when partners left the company. We, as a small com-pany, wouldn’t be able to survive if several partners left. This is also limit-

ing the speed at which we can grow. Because of our limited staff, we very clearly define the limits of our growth for the following year. In the beginning we expanded very slowly, but now we have achieved a stable structure with limited staff turnover. Over the past 10 years, five senior people who had left rejoined the company. Sometimes you have to grow more slowly than the market permits and pay attention to aspects other than short-term profits”.

A 16-year history of cooperation and adviceJan Borgonjon came to China in 1988 to work for the China Europe In-ternational Business School (CEIBS), first in Beijing and later in Shanghai. Following his stint at CEIBS, in 1994 he set up his own consulting com-pany together with a Chinese partner, starting in a hotel room. “If you want quality, you have to grow slowly”, Borgonjon said. “During the first six to seven years, the main focus of our activities was on gathering mar-ket intelligence, because it was not easy to obtain reliable information, and the problems encountered were relatively simple. During phase two of our consultancy’s development, we switched to advising companies on how to better organise themselves. Here, information is only one part of the puzzle. We also started dealing with mergers and acquisitions. Consequently, today 50% of InterChina Consulting’s work entails pro-viding strategic advice and 50% involves mergers and acquisitions. Our clients’ profile has also changed substantially over time. Initially, compa-nies sought advice on how to enter the Chinese market, whereas now they are more intent on improving their business in China”.

Borgonjon went on: “All our clients are Western companies and 60% to 70% are returning clients. We don’t have Chinese companies as clients because they are not yet ready to go to a consultancy for advice. How-ever, we are looking into the possibility of helping Chinese companies invest abroad and have already launched initial activities in this domain”.

Value creation for customersHow InterChina creates value for clients is best illustrated by looking at a few case studies. The company provides three case studies in PDF format on its website:• Energy and power: Entry point strategy: For Western companies

that are vertically integrated or have a wide product and service port-folio, deciding which business to bring to China is often the core issue in the development of their market entry strategy.

• Machinery: Total China strategy: More and more Western compa-nies are factoring China into their global strategy planning process: China as a cost-competitive sourcing base, China as a market oppor-tunity, and China as a threat to home markets.

• Food and beverages: Negotiation support: Why do the majority of M&A projects in China end in failure? Many negotiations between Western and Chinese companies end up breaking down, though bridging or workaround solutions could have kept talks on track.

The company also publishes its own InterChina Insight newsletter, which aims to pass on to its readers some of the insights and knowledge acquired by InterChina’s consultants in the course of their work.

Users registering on InterChina Consulting’s website can gain access to several interesting publications. • “China 2009: Business Perspectives” is InterChina’s forecast of the

main issues and risks that will need to be factored into strategic and business planning in China over the coming year. InterChina produces this forecast on an annual basis. In addition to presenting the outlooks of its own consultants, the process includes several months of discus-sions with China-based CEOs, economists and policymakers, and is aimed at senior executives with interests in China.

27


InterChina Consulting has a clearly defined vision, mission and values:• Vision: In China’s dynamic business environment, InterChina will main-

tain and further strengthen its position as a leading boutique manage-ment consultancy (i.e. medium-sized, specialised and client-focused) for companies doing business in China. At the same time it will also maintain and further strengthen its unique corporate culture.

• Mission: To deliver unmatched value to clients by converting its knowl-edge of China into pioneering and practical solutions that position clients to enjoy sustainable competitive advantages there and maxi-mize returns for both its clients and China’s long-term development. To deliver unmatched value to its employees by placing them at the forefront of the most exciting consultancy market in the world, of-fering them a unique corporate culture and helping them develop by seizing opportunities, undergoing training and facing any challenges that arise.

• Values: Integrity is InterChina’s fundamental value; its work approach is characterised by its full commitment to its clients; the company pro-vides a cooperative, caring and supporting working environment in which biculturalism guides its outlook.

Some free adviceAs Jan Borgonjon put it: “Any companies seeking to invest in China or do business there need to prepare their entrance to the Chinese market very thoroughly. They need to have a very clear idea of what they want to achieve. An in-depth study may prompt someone to decide not to enter the China market or to postpone such a move. It may also expose flaws in a would-be entrant’s strategy. A second major area is human resources, which will remain a big issue over the next decade. HR prepa-ration and management are very difficult areas, but any company that is successful in these domains may well succeed in China”.

“You also need to have a good product and be able to invest the neces-sary funds. Just ‘having a go’ is no longer an option, because China has become a very competitive market.”

China has evolved from a market for pioneers into a market for sophisti-cated companies with a clear competitive edge which pursue excellence all the way along their value chain. Having said that, as with any market, local peculiarities need to be taken into account. Consumption is boom-ing and will be the main driver of China’s growth over the next 20 years. It is over this relatively short period that the largest consumer market in the world will take shape. And whereas the precise impact this will have is hard to predict, it will far exceed China’s global influence over the past decade, both the positive consequences in terms of business opportuni-ties, and possibly the negative effects re global resource allocation and sustainability.

This rise in consumption will open up unimagined opportunities for Western companies in China, though local competition, which is increas-ingly being supported by the government, and a fickle consumer market, will make China a difficult nut to crack. Success will depend on the fol-lowing factors:

1. Having a clear understanding of the market, competition and com-petitive strengths is obviously a key precondition for success in China, even more so now than in the past. Companies have to spend time and resources on continuously assessing and re-assessing their com-petitive position in the market, and making necessary changes to their strategy and operations.

2. Considerable resources will be required in this market, both quantita-tively and qualitatively. With mounting competition, barriers to new

entrants are going up all the time, and the extent of the investment essential for success is also increasing. Human resources are the key to success: China needs first-rate managers, and finding them poses a major challenge in a country with a chronic lack of qualified executives.

3. The third success factor is operational excellence. Sub-par operations, with sub-optimal purchasing, multiple production sites, long produc-tion times, and complex, disperse distribution systems, have to be brought up to global standards if actors are to remain competitive and to absorb higher costs.

Interchina consulting’s founderJan Borgonjon (49) came to China in 1988 to work for the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) and then went on to set up his own consultancy company. He studied Chinese at the KU Leuven, followed by two years of Chinese at Nanjing University and then gained an MBA from Henley (UK). Jan’s wife is Chinese. They have two children.Jan would like to spend more time in Europe, whereby a 50:50 split between China and abroad would be ideal. But that may remain just a dream, since most of his business is in China. He also retains an inter-est in management education, being a Board Member of CEIBS, and Vice-Chancellor of the International Academy of Management. Other interests of his include the never-ending task of exploring Beijing. An-other idea of his is to resume his Chinese studies, possibly focussing on modern literature. He is trying to live a more healthy life, eating and drinking less, which is difficult, but also important, in the business envi-ronment of China.

Jan Borgonjon’s favouritesAs I tend to eat Chinese at home, my favourite restaurants seem to be more western: Carmen in Beijing, and M on the Bund, more for its at-mosphere than for the food, and Martin (Berasategui), in Shanghai. My favourite places in China are its mountains and the Great Wall to the north of Beijing, where I sometimes go cycling As for books, there are now so many about business in China that it’s hard to choose. Mr. China by Tim Clissold is a classic in my view, as it astutely pinpoints the main issues in the 1990s and the early part of last decade, many of which are still relevant. But I also like the books by Peter Hessler, who describes so well - and with great empathy - the tremendous challenges facing peo-ples at all level of Chinese society due to the country’s modernization, and reveals their differing levels of success in coping with the associated changes.

contAct InFormAtIon

JAN BORGONJONChairman and CEO1106, Golden Land Building, 32 Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100016, ChinaT +86-10-84512088F +86-10-64671943

3110, Haitong Securities Tower, 689 Jiujiang Road, Shanghai, 200001, ChinaT +86-21-63410699F +86-21-63410799E [email protected]

www.interchinaconsulting.com

28


KBc BANK BELGIuM’S BANKING PIONEER IN cHINA

the first Belgian bank to explore mainland chinaIn 2007, KBC Bank celebrated 10 years of banking in mainland China after being the first Belgian operator to launch activities in that sector from within China. For back in 1997, its competitors were still explor-ing the Chinese market out of Hong Kong. In China, KBC is licensed to deal in both China’s local currency, the yuan, and foreign currencies. The bank covers the whole of China out of its Shanghai branch. “The whole Asia-Pacific region is covered by 3 branches located in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore respectively. This regional network usually covers all the needs of our corporate banking customers”, explained Koenraad Van de Borne, Head of the European Network Desk at KBC Bank’s Shanghai branch, which is on the 15th floor of Marine Tower, one of the first high-rise buildings in Pudong, Shanghai’s new financial and commercial centre. China is developing very fast and KBC Bank is intent on securing its fair share of business there. “We offer corporate banking services in China”, Koenraad continued. “Our clients include multinationals, European com-panies, China-based subsidiaries of KBC’s Hong Kong and Singapore branches, and also local Chinese companies. Increasingly, our future ac-tivities will focus on clients with links to KBC’s home markets in Europe”, he added (see below for more details). KBC offers all types of financing as well as cover for foreign-exchange risks and employs some 50 people in Shanghai. The General Manager and CEO of KBC Bank China in Shanghai is Jason Lee. Thierry Mezeret is the bank’s General Manager Asia Pacific, based in Singapore.

Focus on Belgium and central & eastern europeKBC’s updated and refocused strategy identifies six key countries for its activities: Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. In these markets, all of which are in the European Union, KBC owns banking, insurance and asset management operations and has es-tablished a platform for sustainable organic growth.KBC’s strategy of investing in Central and Eastern European growth mar-kets has generated tremendous value and its distinctive retail ‘bancas-surance’ business model has proven highly effective. As Group CEO Jan Vanhevel put it: “Analysing the impact of the crisis, it was reassuring to note that our core business model had remained largely unaffected and that the company’s strategic rationale still applied to our Central and Eastern European presence”.

In china flexibility is a must“As an expat in Shanghai you need to be very flexible, have an open mind and show respect for the local culture”, says Koenraad. “Com-pared to other foreign countries, it takes a little longer to acclimatise to

the Chinese environment. Even in Shanghai, which is distinctly Western in appearance, the culture is most definitely Chinese. One of the major challenges facing foreign companies wishing to do business in China is managing human resources in a labour market where the demand for qualified and experienced professionals tends to outstrip the supply. You need to know precisely what your objectives are and be very well prepared. Why exactly do you want to be active in China? My advice would be to prepare yourself for immersion in a very different culture. Relations with government bodies like the State Administration of For-eign Exchange (SAFE) are very important. To become acquainted with local rules and regulations, newcomers to China should try and obtain information from companies that are already active there. China offers immense opportunities, but also poses risks. And if you need a local partner, it is essential to make the right choice”, Koenraad went on.

KBc’s man in china: Koenraad Van de BorneKoenraad is Head of the European Network Desk - China at KBC Bank’s Shanghai branch. Whilst he is new to the Chinese market, he left Bel-gium a long time ago, having completed stints in Rotterdam, Paris, Lille, London and Dublin before joining KBC Bank in Shanghai on 1 September 2010. Koenraad loves what he calls the “incredible dynamism” of Shang-hai, which he considers a ‘real place to be’. Pudong’s skyscrapers may give the city a Western look, but the culture there is very much Chinese. He has already started studying Chinese, not only with a view to com-municating in the local language, but also to gain a better understanding of what defines the Chinese mentality. His wife and young baby have now also relocated to Shanghai and together the family is greatly looking forward to exploring their fascinating new host country and getting to know some of its people.

Koenraad Van de Borne’s chinese favourites“As I only recently arrived in China I will list my predecessor’s favourites”, Koenraad said, with a smile:• Mr. China: A Memoir by Tim Clissold, because it gives a personal ac-

count of just how different China is. • China CEO: Voices of Experience from 20 International Business Lead-

ers by Juan Antonio Fernandez and Laurie Underwood is also well worth reading because it presents past experiences of foreign busi-ness people in China.

• The town of Yangshuo in the autonomous region of Guangxi. The best time to visit it is in the off-peak season, when there are not so many tourists and it is an ideal destination for a short family vacation.

contAct InFormAtIon

KOENRAAD VAN DE BORNEHead of the European Network Desk – China KBC Bank N.V., Shanghai Branch15F, Marine Tower, No. 1 Pu Dong Avenue, Shanghai, 200120, PRC

T +86 21 5879 1599 ext. 529 F +86 21 5879 1699E [email protected]

www.kbc.com/china

29


PIcANOL POWERING cHINA’S TEXTILE REVOLuTION

As one of the world’s leading textile manufacturers, the Picanol Group has always enjoyed close relations with the Chinese textile industry. Pi-canol sent its first pioneers to investigate the Chinese market as long ago as the 1950s. In 1994, Picanol Suzhou Textile Machinery (PST) started out as a joint venture with a Chinese partner. PST was Picanol’s first production line outside Belgium, and its technology and organisation were based entirely on the assembly concept applied at the company’s headquarters in Ypres. In 1997 PST became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Picanol Group. In 2006, the Picanol Group commissioned an en-tirely new assembly plant in the Suzhou Industrial Park. In addition, all its previous activities spread out across China were brought together at this site. That new investment is evidence of Picanol’s long-term commitment in China. For more than 10 years already, PST has been producing very reliable weaving machines, designed with help from Ypres. The company has three engineers living and working in Suzhou.

Imports and local productionWhile the Picanol Group has its own production facility in Suzhou, the company is still exporting weaving machines from Belgium to China. China, as a country, does take care of its textile industry, which has his-torical roots going back several centuries. Since Picanol secured its first sales contract back in 1979,it has witnessed a significant increase in the quality of the fabrics woven and the textile equipment used. China is an important contributor to the total sales of the Picanol Group, as has been – and still is – the case for the textile industry as a whole. Indeed, China is expected to remain the most important market for the Picanol Group for many years to come. Up to now, there have been large public tenders in Beijing, with financing provided. Every two years, Shanghai hosts ITMA Asia, a major textile machinery expo, which brings together people from all areas of the textile production chain. Mr Liu Ming isn’t at all worried about the equalisation of tax rates between Chinese and foreign companies. According to him “some incentives will still remain”.

the ultimate sophistication lies in simplicityPicanol’s weaving machines are sophisticated masterpieces of engineer-ing. While top-range segments of the market are served by weaving machines imported from Belgium, the machines manufactured in Su-zhou are aimed at the middle-to-upper segments, not only in China, but increasingly also in countries like India, Bangladesh, Brazil, Indonesia and Vietnam. Picanol has also developed less highly engineered weaving ma-chines to capture new markets in other segments, without compromis-ing on quality and ergonomics. Picanol R&D anticipated the green revo-lution, which has also affected the textile industry, and the company’s unique and patented features (such as Sumo motor technology) have

helped it to consolidate its position as the worldwide leader in weaving machine technology.

Picanol’s man in chinaLiu Ming studied physics at university and started his career in the phar-maceutical sector, where he acted as a regional sales manager for north-ern China and set up 3 sales offices. However, he felt the lure of new horizons and on his own initiative, decided to pursue an MBA at the University of Edinburgh. He conducted some market research projects in London before German company Hochest sent him back to China to manage its two industrial gas joint ventures in Shanghai and Ningbo. Af-ter a stint with US firm Koch Industry, which operates in the road asphalt sector, Liu Ming joined Picanol in 2003 and now manages the Picanol plant in Suzhou, China. An in-depth understanding of the two worlds, East and West, combined with one focus, namely the development and sale of the world’s best weaving machines,will guarantee Picanol’s con-tinued success in China.

mr Liu’s advice Before coming to China, you should choose your location carefully be-cause China has many different regions and the supply chain base var-ies from one region to the next. We prefer Suzhou because we have been here for a long time, it is close to Shanghai and the people and the authorities are very open-minded. Besides, there are lots of foreign-invested companies in Suzhou, so you always have friends who can help you out. You should also bear in mind an old principle that still holds true today: you have to keep very good guanxi with the local authorities. When dealing with local customers, the most important thing is getting paid because otherwise all your efforts will be in vain. Getting paid is even more important than profits. Yes, the customer is king, but only if he pays you. Finally, you have to be very adaptable when doing business in China. The environment and the rules of the game are evolving con-stantly. Everything is changing so fast: for instance, there is pressure to increase salaries, the new labour law is being implemented, and so on. If you are not adaptable, you will suffer the consequences.

mr Liu’s favouritesLiu Ming’s favourite book on Chi-na is Plain Talk by Ken Iverson, (ex) Chairman of Nucor Corporation. His favourite restaurant is Zen’s, a Cantonese restaurant in Shang-hai, Hongkong and Suzhou. And his favourite place: Suzhou

contAct InFormAtIon

MR LIu MINGGeneral manager PST, Picanol N.V. China headquartersFengting Avenue, Songzhuang Road 2, Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou, CN-215122, People’s Republic of China

T +86 512 628 70688 F +86 512 628 70715E [email protected]

www.picanol.be www.picanolgroup.com

30


Flexible Foams and Automotive divisions conquer the chinese marketChina is an important emerging market for Recticel, a leading European listed company specialising in the manufacture of polyurethane (PU) foam for numerous applications. “Recticel took its first steps on the Chinese market in 1999 by opening a representative office for flexible foam in Shanghai Mart”, explained Stéphane de Rycke, General Man-ager Ningbo RIS Automotive Interior Solutions Co (NRIS) and Region Manager Asia Recticel Shanghai Co. After a few exploratory years, in 2004 a trading company called Recticel Shanghai Co Ltd was set up to import PU components for the automotive market. This was followed in 2006 by the establishment of Ningbo Recticel Interior Solutions Co. Ltd. (NRIS). By using three different technologies, including Recticel’s unique polyurethane spray process, the factory produces automotive interior so-lutions such as dashboard skins and instrument and door panels for both domestic and foreign car manufacturers.

What made Recticel choose Ningbo, a port city in Zhejiang province, as the site for its plant? Stéphane de Rycke said: “A Japanese partner had a joint venture in Ningbo, so we could conveniently rent premises there. The plant currently has 80 employees, including a German maintenance engineer, but there are plans to expand it. We will also be opening a new facility in Jilin province, mainly to supply components to BMW and Mer-cedes. We already make dashboards and doors for Skoda, Peugeot and Youngman, which manufactures buses and trucks. It is important to be close to where your customers are to avoid logistical problems because products like dashboards cannot be stacked. One of our major custom-ers is located in Ningbo and another one in Shanghai”.

Ningbo RIS Automotive Interior Solutions Co (NRIS) was set up as a wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE). “Initially some Chinese com-panies were interested in cooperating with us”, continued Stéphane de Rycke. “So we held joint venture discussions with our partners, but they wanted exclusivity, which we were not prepared to give them. A wholly foreign-owned enterprise offers greater opportunities for setting up partnerships. Some of our customers share our investment and HR costs, enabling us to stay competitive, and since we cover our needs for cash locally, there are very few cash transfers from Europe” de Rycke went on. “The percentage of our total turnover realised in China may still be small,

but the country is strategically important to us and we did double our sales there during the period 2009-2010. Our first China project entails supplying components to Youngman in Yinghua, Zhejiang province, to be assembled in several Lotus-engineered car models. In Europe, we are also the preferred supplier of Volvo, which has now been taken over by Geely. However, GM, China’s leading foreign car manufacturer, is not yet a client of ours”.

Who are Recticel’s major competitors in China? According to de Rycke “there are no major competitors for the products we supply, but there are makers using alternative technologies whose end product is not the same as ours”.

Alongside Recticel’s Automotive division, its Flexible Foams business line has also been active in China since the late 1990s. To begin with, all products were exported directly to customers, but in 2008 Recticel opened both a regional office for flexible foams (Recticel Foams Shang-hai Co. Ltd) and a 6,800 m2 conversion plant and warehouse in Pudong, Shanghai. The state-of-the-art conversion plant is operated by highly skilled staff and is ISO 9001 certified.

Recticel Foams Shanghai is a dynamic, burgeoning company that sup-plies its customers with high quality PU foam products imported di-rectly from Recticel in Belgium. These PU foams can be delivered either non-converted (for example as PU foam rolls or blocks for automotive or clothing applications) or converted, e.g. for use as filters and paint rollers. Recticel also has a regional sales office and a bonded warehouse in Shenzhen.

Filip Goris, Regional Manager Flexible Foams Asia & Latin-America, who is based in Belgium, explained that “our wholly-owned processing plant and warehouse are located in Pudong where they were established in 2008, after 10 years of importing our products into China. The Flexible Foams division followed the Automotive division into China. Our custom-ers are companies that require higher quality than the foams currently available on the local market. The reliable quality of the foam is very important to them”. The Flexible Foams division has 35 employees in Shanghai and a small office of four in Shenzhen, where a plant may also be added at some stage in the future. As Goris put it: “We are in China not for cheap labour, but to serve the local market. We supply other mar-kets in the Far East out of Shanghai, which is our sales and logistics hub. We are following a path of controlled growth. In May we moved into our new regional headquarters in Shanghai, where we have expanded pretty rapidly over the past few years”.

From a small Belgian company to a global leaderRecticel’s long history began in Belgium in 1778. In the early 1950’s the company was one of the first in the world to start manufacturing PU foam, so it was something of a pioneer in this highly specialised industry. Today, as the leader in its market, Recticel employs over 8,000 staff in around 120 locations in 27 different countries. The Group is active both throughout Europe and in the United States and Asia. In 2009 Recticel’s turnover exceeded €1.3 billion.

Recticel’s activities are divided into four business lines: Automotive, Flexi-ble Foams, Bedding and Insulation. Although the Group mainly produces semi-finished business-to-business products, some of its divisions it also manufactures finished business-to-consumer goods, such as mattresses, bedding systems and thermal insulation products. Over the years, Recti-cel claims to have positioned itself as the global leader in innovation and creativity, always striving to meet process, market and customer require-

REcTIcEL ALL ROADS LEAD TO FOAM

31


ments. And true to its by-line (“The passion for comfort”), the company helps make everyone’s daily lives more comfortable.

Filip Goris gave a more detailed breakdown of the company’s divisions: “The Automotive division produces components such as dashboards and headrests, which are also manufactured at our plant in Ningbo. In the past, Recticel focussed on Europe, but many carmakers have now moved to China, so we are going along with them, because in the automo-tive industry you have to be a global supplier. We also have two plants in North America”. The second division also active in China is Flexible Foams. This business line makes more than 300 technical foams for all kinds of industries. Indeed, Recticel is the leading European manufac-turer of such foams. The Group’s two remaining divisions are Insulation and Bedding. “There are about 500 foam factories in China”, explains Filip Goris, “but the quality of the products they turn out is not up to our standards. Foam blocks that we import from Europe are then either converted into intermediate products by us in China or made by our cus-tomers into end products, including shoe-cleaning pads, bra cups, pro-tective clothing or acoustic foams. In fact, the first product we exported to China was foam for lingerie, which still accounts for more than half our turnover for Flexible Foams in China. Over the past 10 years many manufacturers have tried to copy this foam, but all have failed”, he said.

Some words of wisdom The Book of Rites states that “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. The Chinese market is a very attractive, fast-growing market offering numerous opportunities. But beware! It is unlike West-ern markets. The Chinese economy is a planned economy, not a market economy. So take your time to learn, study and gain experience.

contAct InFormAtIon

STéPHANE DE RYcKEGeneral Manager Ningbo RIS Automotive Interior Solutions Co Ltd (NRIS) and Region Manager Asia Recticel Shanghai Co Ltd318 Maoming North Road, Building1, Room 801, 200041 Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

M +86 1370 194 0842E [email protected]

www.recticel.com

recticel’s man in chinaStéphane de Rycke began his career at Recticel in the Raw Materials divi-sion and later switched to the Group’s Automotive division. He has spent most of his time in emerging markets in Asia and moved to China in April 2008. Stéphane is hoping to stay in China on a long-term basis, because the country is a fascinating learning environment and he is happy to be working together with a dynamic young team of Chinese colleagues.

Stéphane de rycke’s favouritesStéphane’s favourite book on China is The history of China by David Curtis Wright.His favourite restaurant is the Western restaurant M1NT at Fuzhou Lu. And his favourite place in China is Sanya, which offers tranquility and beautiful beaches.

32


Starting small to grow bigReynaers Aluminium today has its own office in Shanghai with a staff of 11. The company is expanding its contacts with architects and develop-ers to sell its aluminum window frames. Heading Reynaers Aluminium’s foray in China is Jurgen Cop, who came back to China a few months ago for his second assignment. In 2002 he introduced the company in China from a one-man office in Shanghai Mart, where Flanders Investment and Trade (FIT) had its business center for Flemish companies taking their first steps on the Chinese market. Reynaers Aluminium is a good ex-ample of a company starting small, patiently exploring the market and gradually growing to become a niche player in an important market seg-ment. When he started his assignment in March 2003, Jurgen Cop first of all explored the Chinese market to determine whether the company could find a way to sell its products. Only when this question could be answered with a resounding ‘yes’ would the company set up its own permanent office in Shanghai.

Innovative and sustainable aluminum solutionsReynaers Aluminium is a leading European provider of innovative and sustainable aluminum solutions, headquartered in Duffel, Belgium. The company was established in 1965 and now has offices in more than 30 countries. Reynaers Aluminium’s 1,250 employees realize a sales figure of more than €300 million, exporting its products to more than 50 coun-tries on five continents. Products include a wide variety of window and door systems, curtain walling, sliding systems, sun screening, skylights, screens, and systems to incorporate blinds and ventilation grids.

With the growing concern for sustainable energy conservation and the associated awareness of man’s carbon footprint, sustainable architecture has been one of the most important themes in all of Reynaers’ develop-ments over the last years. The façade is crucial for the sustainability of the building. It is the principal regulatory factor for warmth, light and air, which are of decisive importance for the interior climate for the building and for its energy consumption.

Last year, Reynaers Aluminium introduced a special High Insulation product range for curtain walls: the CW 65-EF-HI, which provides an increased insulation with Uf-value of up to 1,5 W/m²K and allows instal-lation of triple glazing up to 63mm glass thickness.

Next to being a sustainable solution, the CW 65-Element Façade offers a high execution speed: the system enables unitized façades to be com-pletely pre-assembled in the workshop. This includes the gaskets, glass panes and some anchoring components, which allows for the facade to

be mounted in place quickly at the building site, decreasing installation time. Productivity here however embraces architectural esthetic require-ments as the CW 65-EF works with slender profiles of only 65 mm. CW 65-EF is also available in Structural Glazing which is utilized in a very aes-thetic fashion. ‘The new CW 65 range is set to change the way designers and fabricators think about element facade,’ commented Reynaers.

The emphasis on insulation to achieve energy efficiency often occurs at the cost of good ventilation. Following an increasing demand by archi-tects and fabricators for more aesthetical, yet highly efficient ventila-tion systems, Reynaers recently launched Ventalis. This self-regulating ventilation solution can be integrated in the existing range of aluminum profiles. The modularity of the system allows to only integrate the neces-sary amount of ventilation units to meet the exact needs of every room.

Another development for which sustainability has been the driving force, is the solar product range. Photovoltaic panels can now be integrated in an extended range of existing products: curtain walls (CW 60 Solar), balustrades (RB 10 Solar), sun shading systems (BS 30 and 100 Solar) and standard roof applications (SR 40 Solar).

For its latest system innovation, the CF 77 Concept Folding, Reynaers was inspired by the increasing demand for transparency. The flexible CF 77 offers one of the largest dimensions on the market, as well as the highest demands regarding insulation.

china wants better quality materialsIn China more and more real estate developers and building companies are now opting for better quality materials, which makes it a bit easier for Reynaers to sell its high-quality aluminum products. ‘The quality dif-ference with locally made products is not so obvious to the naked eye, so in the past it was sometimes difficult to convince prospective clients to choose our higher quality, but also more expensive products. Luckily, the times are changing,’ says Jurgen Cop, now the company’s General manager for China and South-East Asia. Comparing his experiences in the Middle East with those in China, he says that in China everything is better organized, the people work really hard and there is a lot of con-struction going on, not only of new offices and apartment buildings, but also metro lines. ‘After years of introducing ourselves, Chinese customers and architects are starting to know us and appreciate how our products could fit in their plans,’ comments Cop. ‘From a technical point of view, our products are superior to those of our competitors. To our custom-ers, this can make a big difference.’ One expat colleague has now joined the Shanghai office for the May to October Shanghai 2010 World Expo period mainly to contact foreign architects. Jurgen Cop’s impression of the Expo is that it is ‘huge and well organized’.

Reynaers Aluminium also has offices in Mongolia, where the company is the market leader, in Thailand and in Australia, whose country managers also report to Jurgen Cop. An office in Beijing is in the planning stage. The company opened a distribution center in Liyang in Jiangsu province a few years ago, which now employs 25 people in distribution and book-keeping. ‘Liyang was chosen because one of our partners could provide us warehouse space,’ says Cop. Reynaers Aluminium has a turnover of about €400 million, of which €5 million is realized in China, but, says Cop, ‘we strongly believe in China where our annual growth is about 35%.’

Some useful tips for newcomersBased on his experience in China, Jurgen Cop recommends to take into account the local culture when doing business in the country. ‘When

REYNAERS ALuMINIuM FRAMING THE BuILDINGS OF cHINA

33


your Chinese business partners say ‘yes’, this does not always means that they agree with or understand a proposal. In business negotiations, patience is of course also very important. Knowledge of the language is definitely also an advantage,’ says Jurgen Cop.

‘Relations are very important, so do not neglect to build them up’, adds Cop. ‘Your project has to be economicallty viable; and do not believe in promises and subsidies,’ warns Reynaers Aluminium’s General Manager in Shanghai. ‘Always expect very tough price negotiations. To conclude negotiations succesfully, it is useful to know your business partners as well as possible. You also have to know the rules and anticipate possible problems. Keep an eye on everything: production, sales, accounts.... And finally, show you committment to your office and its staff and make sure your are being paid,’ concludes Jurgen Cop.

reynaers Aluminium’s man in chinaJurgen Cop started his career at Reynaers Aluminium in 1996 as a techni-cal commercial advisor. He pioneered the company’s entry in the Chinese market with a small office in March 2003. After two years, a colleague took over in Shanghai and Jurgen Cop went to Singapore for one and a half year, followed by one year in Belgium and two and a half years in the Middle East. In March 2010 he returned to Shanghai as General Manager for China and South-East Asia. He hopes he can stay in China for the long term. He usually travels to Belgium once a year for meetings and a short holiday.

contAct InFormAtIon

JuRGEN cOPGeneral Manager China & South-East AsiaUnit E, 8 F, Zhao Feng World Trade Building, No 369, Jiangsu Road, Shanghai, China, CN-200050.

T +86-021-52400604F +86-021-52400624E [email protected]

www.reynaers.com.cn

Jurgen cop’s favoritesJurgen’s favorite book on China is ‘One Billion Customers’ by James McGregorHis favorite restaurant is ‘Hong Kong Tang Palace’ in Shanghai’s Chang-ning district.Jurgen Cop’s favorite place in China is Zhongshan Park in Shanghai, next to his apartment. ‘I am happy when I’m home,’ he commented.

34


uMIcORE BRINGING cLEAN TEcHONOLGY TO cHINA

materials for a better life Umicore, one of the world’s leading suppliers of automotive catalysts, has an extensive presence in China, comprising 12 industrial plants and 6 commercial offices overseen by its regional headquarters. Including joint ventures, Umicore employs about 2,000 people in China, and nearly all of Umicore’s business units are represented. “Based on our expertise as a materials technology group, Umicore manufactures and sells a very diverse range of products in China”, said Bernhard Fuchs, Senior-Vice President and Country Manager Umicore Greater China. “Since open-ing our first sales office in Hong Kong in 1982 and establishing our first joint venture in the People’s Republic of China in 1995, we have gained extensive experience here. Today, in line with the needs of its various business units, Umicore runs several wholly owned enterprises as well as joint ventures in various provinces of China.”

“We are serving the local market as well as supplying global customers, who moved to China, where we followed them with some of our activi-ties, building up our global supply network.“ For example, automotive catalysts started being used in China in 2002, and Umicore launched production here in 2005, having previously supplied local car manufac-turers from Korea.

Umicore’s recent investments in Foshan and Jiangmen in Guangdong province (both plants were officially opened there in 2009) prove the company’s ongoing commitment to both China and environmentally friendly products and processes. “Over the last few years we’ve noted a stronger focus on environmental protection by the Chinese government. In some domains, Chinese legislation on environmental protection has already come very close to European standards. We see this as a clear opportunity for Umicore, which is already committed to environmentally friendly processes, and other local companies will now also increasingly have to heed such rules”, Bernhard Fuchs added. materials for a better lifeUmicore provides products and services based on metal-related materi-als, which can be efficiently and infinitely recycled and makes them a sound component in sustainable products. Umicore’s activities are cen-tred on four business areas: Energy Materials, Catalysis, Recycling and Performance Materials.

In China today, the company produces nickel and mixed metal hydrox-ides for rechargeable battery applications, thin film materials, cobalt powders and chemicals, fine zinc powders, germanium-based materi-als, industrial diamond grits, contact and brazing materials, automotive catalysts, and precious metal alloys and alloy solutions for the jewellery and electronics industries.

Umicore spends approximately 80% of its R&D budget on clean technol-ogy like emission-control catalysts, materials for rechargeable batteries, photovoltaics, fuel cells and precious metals recycling. Its mission can be summarised as “creating materials for a better life”.

In 2009, Umicore generated a worldwide turnover of € 6.9 billion (€ 1.7 billion excluding metals). The group currently employs some 14.300 people. more than a quarter century of expansion in china The company set up its first commercial office in China in 1982 and has not stopped expanding since. Its first industrial partnership was set up in Shanghai in 1995. Umicore Marketing Services (UMS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Umicore, has a trading company in the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone in Shanghai and other commercial offices in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu (new). Umicore has 12 plants and joint ventures in Greater China, including acquired wholly-owned companies and joint ventures set up since 1995. This underscores Umicore’s rapid expansion in China over the past decade. “Depending on our strategy for the specific business, we either establish wholly for-eign-owned enterprises (WFOEs) or make joint ventures work. A WFOE is often preferable, because you exercise total control, but we have also been successful in running joint ventures, for which partners need to be carefully selected”, continued Bernhard Fuchs.

Umicore Greater China’s Regional Headquarters in Shanghai, launched in July 2005, is a management company and platform for M&A activities as well as for HR development, legal and financial coordination and cash pooling.. Bernhard Fuchs explained that “the management company gives Umicore a better overview of its activities in China and enables us to consolidate our activities and exploit synergies. The Regional Head-quarters is also the company’s central interface for further expansion and the development of our key staff in China”.

35


where there are opportunities there are also risks“While Umicore has been successful in China overall, some acquisitions have also failed. While this is not easy to accept, the fact that not all deci-sions turn out to be the right ones is important for shaping the group’s corporate culture. Naturally, it is important not to make the same mistake twice, and we are convinced that these failures have made us stronger”, stressed Bernhard Fuchs. Consequently Umicore closed or sold two of its operations in China in 2009, after carefully transferring some parts of the business to other Umicore entities in China. “Such projects are not easy to manage as they involve a vast number of parties, including the local government. It is not always easy to explain this complexity to Europeans”, he added. Some sound advice Bernhard Fuchs advises companies not to invest in China solely for tax reasons, because this is not sustainable. The favourable taxes levied to-day may go up tomorrow. “Producing for export only is not sustainable either, because while today’s duties may stimulate exports, the situation could easily be reversed, making your export business model obsolete”, he went on. “Finding and retaining talent is still very challenging in China, especially if you want local employees who can speak English. Also the rapid 8-10% annual increase in wages should be taken into account. If you are set-ting up a wholly foreign-owned enterprise, you need to go where you can find a competent talent pool and a well- developed area with the necessary infrastructure, such as water and electricity supplies. Generally speaking, nowadays we prefer to set up our entities in an industrial zone that can support investors with respect to administrative matters and typically provide a more stable infrastructure,” Fuchs added. umicore’s man in chinaBernhard Fuchs (42) relocated with his family to Shanghai in 2009, taking over from Klaus Ostgathe, who moved back to Europe to take up an-other Umicore post. Fuchs joined the company when Umicore acquired the precious metals business originally owned by Degussa. Since 2002 he has been a member of the Board of Directors of Umicore’s global jewellery and electroplating business. Before relocating to China, since 2002 he had been on numerous business trips to China, mostly visiting Guangdong province. Fuchs, who has a PhD in law, started his career in human resources, before filling various managerial posts in Germany. He likes travelling and meeting people and is convinced that good or-ganisation makes the difference and that the challenge entails achieving and then maintaining this. The speed of changes in China reinforces his belief that provisions need to be made to deal with unforeseen develop-ments as well. Personally, he views surprises as opportunities for further improvement and to ultimately outperform others in the market.

Bernhard Fuchs’ favouritesBernhard Fuchs likes the Dream of the Red Chamber, which he maintains is still influencing Chinese society today. He also recommends Konrad Seitz’s China, eine Weltmacht kehrt zurück (China – the return of a world power), which conveys a solid understanding of China’s history and how it has impacted on the country’s current development. He likes food from all over the world. The Sichuan cuisine served in South Beauty is one of his favourites, but he also likes the Italian restaurant Cucina in the Jing Mao Tower in Shanghai, because for him the setting is just as important as the food.To relax, Bernhard Fuchs prefers either travelling to warm places or go-ing skiing. So far he has not had much time to explore China, except on business trips.

contAct InFormAtIon

DR BERNHARD FucHSSenior Vice President, Country Manager Umicore Greater China Umicore Greater China (RHQ), Unit E2, 18/F, Zao-Fong Universe BuildingNo. 1800, West Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200235, China

T +86 21 2411 6883 x 6969 M +86 139 1852 7571E [email protected]

www.umicore.com

36


VYNcKE ‘FIREMAKERS’ HELP cHINA TuRN AGRIcuLTuRAL WASTE INTO ENERGY

converting agricultural waste into clean energy Vyncke has found a big market in China. According to Ivo Lavens, the General Manager of the company’s Suzhou plant, every year, 600 million tons of agricultural waste are disposed of when they could be turned into a source of clean and reliable energy, provided the right technol-ogy is used. Vyncke’s vast experience in combustion technology, boiler construction, related automation and control systems, enables it to con-vert waste into clean energy solutions, generating between 1 and 100 MWth. This energy can take the form of steam, hot water, thermal oil, hot gas or electricity, the latter up to 15 MWe. The heart of Vyncke’s technology is the worldwide patented Dynamic Watercooled Stepgrate, or DWS, one of the best combustion technologies available, which can handle all biomass fuel types: coarse or fine, wet or dry. Vyncke is cur-rently installing an energy plant at the Jiangxi Jinjia rice mill in Nanchang, which by burning rice husks, will generate 6 MWe, enough to provide 15,000 families with electricity. Rice husks pose a challenge combustion-wise, as they are highly abrasive and far less dense than most other bio-mass types. Unlike other technologies on the market, Vyncke’s proven concept does not require co-firing with coal to maintain a stable energy output.

Four generations of harnessing fireThe Vyncke family is well-known in the province of West-Flanders. The company was set up in 1912 and soon began specialising in steam gen-eration from flax waste (at the time the flax industry in southwestern Flanders was thriving). The daily operations of the company are now be-ing run by the fourth generation, Peter and Dieter Vyncke. Their father, Dirk Vyncke, is Chairman of the Board. The company now has 220 em-ployees worldwide, dubbed the ‘Vynckeneers’, and implements about 25 projects each year, generating a combined revenue of about €50 mil-lion. Vyncke’s first energy plant in Asia commissioned back in the 1970s. “One of the main drivers behind the company’s international expansion is the family’s interest in and passion for other cultures. Of course, it also makes perfect sense to deploy our business worldwide, because bio-mass waste is globally available. Vyncke now has nine facilities besides its headquarters in Harelbeke, Belgium. These foreign plants are located in Frydek-Mistek in the Czech Republic; in Filderstadt in Germany; in Bris-bane, Australia; in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; in Gravatai, Brazil; in Pune, India; in Singapore and in Bangkok, Thailand, as well as its wholly-owned subsidiary in the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) in China” said Ivo Lavens.

“The company is mainly active in three sectors”, he explained. “We turn by-products of the wood-processing industry into energy and do the same with waste generated by the agro-industry, such as cotton stalks, wheat straw, corn cores, rice husks and empty palm-oil bunches. A third, relatively new, sector is the Solids Recovered Fuel (SRF) industry: instead of wasting fossil fuels, we burn resources derived from refuse to pro-duce, say, electricity.”Vyncke started discovering China in 1995 by delivering installations through big German contractors who were building turnkey factories in China, including energy generation facilities. Soon after that, Vyncke began attacking the Chinese market directly. The company settled for China because of the huge market potential there after holding a brain-storming session on how to expand production outside the euro zone, though the company’s management also considered countries like Mex-ico and Thailand. Vyncke (Suzhou) clean energy technologyIn 2000, Vyncke set up a sales office in Beijing. At one point between 2000 and 2004, 50% of Vyncke’s worldwide turnover was being gener-ated in China, due to surging investments in wood-based panel facto-ries. “We expect another peak period very soon, though this time in the utility industry, using agro-waste as an energy source”, said Ivo Lavens. In 2004, the Beijing office moved to Shanghai to bring it closer to its customer base. In the meantime, Beijing is once more gaining in impor-tance, as Vyncke is now targeting institutions and administrations that will decide whether or not to build dozens of biomass energy plants in the coming years. Local governments have started issuing licences for such plants, in line with the recently adopted Renewable Energy Law. Although Vyncke is primarily an engineering company, it produces about 20% of its energy plants by itself, outsourcing the rest. The company now has production facilities in three countries: Belgium, the Czech Re-public and China.

In 2006, it decided to build a plant in Suzhou. Construction was com-pleted within a year under the supervision of Dieter Vyncke, and Vyncke (Suzhou) Clean Energy Technology was officially inaugurated on June 5, 2007, the exact date of Dirk Vyncke’s 60th birthday. The quality of the facilities built in Suzhou is the same as those in Harelbeke. The core com-petencies of Vyncke (Suzhou) are manufacturing and sourcing for the global market, but also covering sales within China. “Our current priority is to further develop the Chinese market”, said Ivo Lavens. “Sourcing is also part of engineering, because you need to know what skills are avail-able locally to guarantee a cost-effective engineering process”.

Vyncke (Suzhou) is a wholly-owned foreign enterprise in which Ivo Lavens is the only expatriate. “An expat manager’s job is to ensure that daily op-erations are in line with the company’s global policies and Vyncke’s core values”, he went on. “Expats need to play a sustaining role, leading from below, not from above”, he stressed.

why Suzhou?Vyncke choose Suzhou as the location for its engineering and manufac-turing base in China because the city is not as vast as Shanghai, but is still close enough to Shanghai’s harbour to ease the company’s response to the logistical challenge of transporting bulky installations weighing up to 60 tons. For a company producing such heavy machinery, it is important to limit transport costs. A cluster of several other Flemish companies – including Bekaert, Picanol, Vitalo and Vermeiren – acted as sounding boards for Vyncke, providing solid advice and tips on how to get estab-lished in Suzhou that would otherwise have been difficult to obtain. An experienced local lawyer helped Vyncke avoid pitfalls and navigate its

37


way through the process for gaining approval to set up a company in China. The possibility of leasing a built-to-suit plant was an additional advantage, prompting Vyncke to look no further than a location at the eastern extremity of the vast Suzhou International Park (SIP).

Lavens was quick to point out that the absence of an airport in Suzhou is no handicap. The SIP has good road links with Shanghai is only around an hour away from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport. Wuxi air-port, which is 30 minutes away from the SIP, has recently become a good alternative, serving a wide range of domestic destinations as well.

SIP was set up 15 years ago as a joint project backed by the governments of China and Singapore. Initially, Singapore held a 65% stake in the park, but later reduced that to 28%. At present, about 600,000 Chinese na-tionals and foreigners are working in more than 3,200 companies lo-cated in the park. Together, they generate revenue totalling some CNY 68 billion, with an annual growth rate of 19%, helping to make Suzhou one of China’s top five cities in terms of per capita GDP. The foreign trade generated by the park totals about CNY 50 billion. SIP’s focus on high-technology and advanced industries is helping it to weather a de-cline in export orders.

re-invent yourself to succeed in chinaIvo Lavens has a few recommendations for companies wishing to explore the Chinese market. “Only believe something if you have received the same confirmation several times. Do not come to China only for produc-tion purposes, and surround yourself with reliable people at an early stage. Re-invent yourself and re-engineer your product specifically for the Chinese market. Also remember that there are very big differences between, say, Malaysia, Thailand and China. In China, you have to rely far more on your Chinese colleagues, while in Southeast Asia you are less dependent on your local team”.

contAct InFormAtIon

IVO LAVENSGeneral Manager China, Vyncke (Suzhou) Clean Energy Technology Co Ltd, Jianpu Road 15 (Susheng Road intersection), Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), CN-215126 Suzhou, China

T +86 512 6763 1008 F +86 512 6282 0009E [email protected]

www.vyncke.com

Vyncke’s man in chinaIvo Lavens started his career at Vyncke in 1996 in the Czech Republic, where he also met his wife. He then moved on to Malaysia in 1999, where Vyncke’s largest site in Asia was located at the time. While based in Malaysia, he also became Chief Representative of Vyncke Beijing and later Shanghai. Between 2004 and 2007, Lavens was based in Bang-kok, Thailand, where he had negotiated a licensing agreement. Today, Vyncke’s activities in China are centralised in Suzhou, where the com-pany has 25 employees. In 2007, Ivo moved to Suzhou, together with his wife and two children, who are now four and two years old. Lavens is the only expat at Vyncke (Suzhou). For now, he is managing to get by in English, but still very much intends to pick up Chinese.

Ivo Lavens plans to stay in Suzhou as long as the company needs him there, which he thinks will be around two more years. He is already delegating some of his duties to a three-member management team.

Ivo Lavens’ favouritesIvo’s favorite book on China so far is China CEO: Voices of Experience from 20 International Business Leaders by Juan Antonio Fernandez and Laurie Underwood.As there are good Chinese restaurants in abundance, everywhere, Ivo selected as his favourite restaurant the only one in Suzhou that has a Belgian chef: Suzhou Southern Cross is located right next to the Suzhou Garden View Hotel, which he recommends for its authentic Chinese style.Lavens’ favourite place to relax is Yunnan province, including Lijiang.

38


The six-year presence of the FCCC as the essential business plat-form for China and Flanders, set up by a group of heavyweight in-vestors from Belgium in China, has led to a number of remarkable successes. In this long – and yet, in some respects short – period of time, we were able to significantly support trade relations and mutual understanding between both sides. Appropriately so, we are eager to present the FCCC’s five main assets to you.

Business support and member meetingsThe FCCC organizes meetings with high-ranking Chinese delegations, conferences, workshops and networking lunches. Besides offering busi-ness support to firms looking for investment opportunities in China and to Chinese companies that want to invest in Flanders, the FCCC organ-izes focused missions to China, working in close cooperation with of-ficial government bodies. The FCCC is the premier business promoter between Flanders and China, offering its members a very active agenda and networking opportunities.

experience and deep knowledge baseOur uniquely broad experience in, and knowledge of, economic, com-mercial and scientific domains enables the FCCC to exchange useful in-formation with members and potential Flemish investors to China. With its broad expertise, the FCCC also acts as a lobbying group towards the authorities in Flanders, Belgium, the European Union and the People’s Republic of China.

relations in china Relationships - or guanxi - are essential for doing successful business in China. Thanks to its specific network in China, the FCCC has established excellent relations that serve as prime sources of information for inves-tors. The FCCC acts as a useful bridge to access companies and decision-makers all over China, significantly facilitating foreign investments. The FCCC’s extensive relations network also fosters the number of Chinese delegations visiting Flanders. Information and publicationsThe FCCC disseminates business advice from experts and also issues weekly electronic and sectoral newsletters on Logistics, IT & Telecom, Automotive, Metals & Minerals and Environment, and a monthly mem-ber’s portrait in China. By conveying key information through these dif-ferent channels, the FCCC offers you a thorough overview and insight into our markets.

An important stepping stoneThe FCCC is in charge of the secretariat-general of the EU-China Business Association (EUCBA), the umbrella organization for all China associa-tions in Europe. The EUCBA promotes economic and trading relations between the EU and China, working closely with the European Commis-sion and the European Chamber of Commerce in China. The EUCBA also acts as a privileged interlocutor of the PRC’s diplomatic representation in Brussels.

Founding members and structural partnersThe FCCC is endorsed by 11 founding members from a wide array of economic domains in Flanders, as well as several structural partners that include top-ranking companies, scientific institutions and various authorities.

FOuNDING MEMBERS AB Inbev, Agfa Graphics, Ageas, Ahlers, Barco, Bekaert, Belgacom, Deme, KBC Bank, Picanol and Umicore

STRucTuRAL PARTNERSAntwerp Port Authority, Deloitte, DLA Piper, Group T, ING, Province of Antwerp, Province of East-Flanders, Province of West-Flanders and VITOChairman: Mr Bert De GraeveVice-Chairman: Mr Stefaan VanhoorenExecutive Director: Mrs Gwenn Sonck

FOuNDING MEMBERS AND BOARD OF DIREcTORSChairman: Mr. Bert De Graeve, C.E.O., NV BEKAERT SA Vice-Chairman: Mr. Stefaan Vanhooren, President Agfa Graphics, Member of the Executive Committee of Agfa GraphicsMr. Olivier Van Horenbeeck, Public Affairs Manager, NV AB INBEV SA Mr. Jozef De Mey, Chairman of the Board, NV AGEAS SA Mr. Luc Maton, General Manager Agencies & International Forwarding, NV AHLERS SA Mr. JP Tanghe, Senior Vice President, NV BARCO SA Mr. William Mosseray, C.E.O. Telindus International, NV BELGACOM SA Mr. Marc Stordiau, Member of the Board of Directors, NV DEME SA Mr. Luc Gijsens, Senior General Manager, NV KBC BANK SAMr. Johan Verstraete, Vice-President Marketing, Sales & Services Weaving Solutions, NV PICANOL SA Mr. Stephan Csoma, Senior Vice-President Government Affairs, NV UMICORE SA

the Fccc is supported by:Flemish Government and Flanders Investment & Trade, Federal Govern-ment of Belgium, Walloon Government, Government of the Brussels-Capital Region and the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Belgium

FLANDERS-cHINA cHAMBER OF cOMMERcE

“The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce is our spearhead for China” Kris Peeters, Minister President of the Flemish Government

Franklin Rooseveltlaan 348 – ParkofficeB-9000 GHENTT +32/9/266.14.32/30F +32/9/266.14.47E [email protected]

www.flanders-china.be

39


Production of the film World leaders from the heart of Europe The film and brochure “World leaders from the heart of Europe” where companies from Flanders testify to

their partnerschip with China can be downloaded at FCCC-website www.flanders-china.be

40


FLANDERS-cHINA cHAMBER OF cOMMERcEFr. Rooseveltlaan 348/F - ParkofficeB-9000 GentT +32 (0)9 266 14 32F +32 (0)9 266 14 47E [email protected] www.flanders-china.beMr Bert De Graeve, PresidentMrs Gwenn Sonck, Executive Director

FLANDERS INVESTMENT & TRADEGaucheretstraat 90B-1030 BrusselsT +32 (0)2 504 87 91F +32 (0)2 504 88 95E [email protected] www.fitagency.beMr Koen Allaert, General DirectorMrs Michèle Surinx, Area Manager Asia-PacificMr Pascal Walraeve, DirectorMrs Yiwei Zhang, Project Manager APACT +32 (0)2 504 88 71F +32 (0)2 504 88 70E [email protected] www.investinflanders.com

EMBASSY OF THE PEOPLE’S REPuBLIc OF cHINA IN BELGIuMTervurenlaan 443-445B-1150 BrusselsMr Zhang Yuanyuan, AmbassadorT +32 (0)2 771 14 97F +32 (0)2 777 04 18E [email protected] www.chinaembassy-org.be

cONSuLAR SERVIcEBoulevard du Souverain 400B-1160 AuderghemT +32 (0)2 663 30 01 - 663 30 02 - 663 30 04F +32 (0)2 779 22 83

THE EcONOMIc AND cOMMERcIAL cOuNcELLOR’S OFFIcE OF THE EMBASSY OF THE P.R.c. IN BELGIuMBoulevard du Souverain 400B-1160 BrusselsMr Wang Heliang, CounsellorT +32 (0)2 771 23 03F +32 (0)2 772 39 38E [email protected] www.chinaembassy-org.be

MISSION OF PEOPLE’S REPuBLIc OF cHINA TO THE EuROPEAN uNIONBoulevard de la Woluwe 100B-1200 BrusselsMr Song Zhe, AmbassadorMr Yin Zonghua, Minister CounsellorT +32 (0)2 772 95 72F +32 (0)2 771 34 15E [email protected] www.chinamission.be

cHINA cOuNcIL FOR THE PROMOTION OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE (ccPIT)T +32 (0)2 375 87 28F +32 (0)2 375 80 05E [email protected] www.ccpit.orgMr Ye Bing, Chief Representative, [email protected] Xu Tian, AssistantE [email protected]

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, FOREIGN TRADE AND DEVEL-OPMENT AIDKarmelietenstraat 15B-1000 BrusselsMr Philippe Beke, Director AsiaT +32 (0)2 501 81 11F +32 (0)2 501 88 27 www.diplomatie.be

BELGIAN FOREIGN TRADE AGENcYMontoyerstraat 3B-1000 BrusselsMr Marc Bogaerts, Director GeneralT +32 (0)2 206 35 11F +32 (0)2 203 18 12E [email protected] www.abh-ace.org

BELGIuM-HONG KONG SOcIETYRue d’Arlon 118B-1040 BrusselsT +32 (0) 2775 0088F +32 (0) 2230 3178E [email protected] www.bhks.be

HONG KONG EcONOMIc & TRADE OFFIcERue d’Arlon 118B-1040 BrusselsT +32 (0)2 775 00 88F +32 (0)2 770 09 80E [email protected] www.hongkong-eu.org

Eu-cHINA BuSINESS ASSOcIATIONSecretariate Franklin Rooseveltlaan 3489000 GentMs Gwenn Sonck, Secretary GeneralT +32 (0)9 266 14 32F +32 (0)9 266 14 47E [email protected] www.eucba.org

uSEFuL cONTAcTS IN BELGIuM

41


EMBASSY OF BELGIuM IN cHINAMr Patrick Nijs, AmbassadorMr Didier Vanderhasselt, Minister Counsellor - Deputy Chief of Mission Mr Bart Pennewaert, Counsellor - Economic Section Mrs Isabel De Stobbeleir, Customs AttachéSan Li Tun Lu, 6District Chao Yang, 100600 Beijing - People’s Republic of ChinaT +86 10 6532 1736 F +86 10 6532 5097E [email protected] www.diplomatie.be/beijing www.invest.belgium.be

cONSuLATE GENERAL OF BELGIuM IN SHANGHAIMr Bruno Georges, Consul General127 Wu Yi Lu RoadShanghai 200050, People’s Republic of ChinaT +86 21 64 37 65 79 or 66 28 or 67 72F +86 21 64 37 70 41E [email protected] www.diplomatie.be/shanghai

cONSuLATE-GENERAL OF BELGIuM IN GuANGZHOuMr Johan D’Halleweyn, Consul GeneralRoom 1601-1602A, Office Tower, Citic Plaza233 Tian He Bei Lu510613 Guangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaT +86 20 38 77 23 56 or 51F +86 20 38 77 23 53E [email protected] www.diplomatie.be/guangzhou

cONSuLATE GENERAL OF BELGIuM IN HONG KONGMr Michel Malherbe, Consul GeneralSt. John’s Building 9/F33 Garden Road, CentralHong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of ChinaT +852 25 24 31 11F +852 28 68 59 97E [email protected] www.diplomatie.be/hongKong

EcONOMIc REPRESENTATION OF FLANDERSc/o Embassy of Belgium in ChinaMr Hubert Cooleman, Flemish Economic RepresentativeMr Tom Tobback, Commercial Counsellor (Environment & Energy)[email protected] San Li Tun Lu, District Chao YangBeijing 100600, T +86 10 65 32 49 64 or +86 10 65 32 49 68F +86 10 65 32 68 33E [email protected]

c/o Consulate General of Belgium in ShanghaiMr Kris Put, Consul (Commercial) - Trade Commissioner127 Wu Yi Lu RoadShanghai 200050, People’s Republic of ChinaT +86 21 64 37 84 67 or 79 49F +86 21 64 37 75 74E [email protected]

c/o Consulate-General of Belgium in GuangzhouMr Koen De Ridder, Flemish Economic RepresentativeRoom 1601-1602A, Office Tower, Citic Plaza233 Tian He Bei Lu510613 Guangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaT +86 20 38 77 04 63 or 93F +86 20 38 77 04 62E [email protected]

c/o Consulate General of Belgium in Hong KongMr Siegfried Verheijke, Flemish Economic RepresentativeSt. John’s Building 9/F33 Garden Road, CentralHong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of ChinaT +852 25 23 22 46F +852 25 24 74 62E [email protected]

cONTAcT DETAILS OF FIT-APPROVED BuSINESS cENTRES IN cHINA

Beijing:Kingsphere Business SolutionsRoom 2-2-121, Jianguomenwai Diplomatic Residence Compound, 100600 Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaContact person Ms Zhang Lijun, Administration Manager & PartnerT +86 10 8532 2980F +86 10 8532 5152E [email protected] www.kingspherechina.com

Shanghai:The Business Incubator Centre in ShanghaiUC18-CGLSuite 2003, Block 418, Huangyang RoadPudong, Shanghai, People’s Republic of ChinaContact personMr Peter Buytaert, General ManagerT +86 21 61 65 27 16F +86 21 61 65 28 89E [email protected] www.vlaamszakencentrumshanghai.com

Hong Kong:The Belgium-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (BLCCHK)Unit 4, 1/F Kodak House II,321 Java RoadNorth Point, Hong Kong S.A.R.Contact personMs Celine Vanhaute, General ManagerT +852 3115 7709F +852 2866 3535E [email protected] www.blcchk.org

uSEFuL cONTAcTS IN cHINA

42


EuROPEAN uNION cHAMBER OF cOMMERcE IN cHINA (Euccc)Beijing Lufthansa Centre, Office C412,50 Liangmaqiao Road, 100125 Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaMr Dirk Moens, Secretary GeneralT +86 (10) 6462 2066F +86 (10) 6462 2067E [email protected] http://www.europeanchamber.com.cn/view/about/contactus

Bencham – BENELuX cHAMBER OF cOMMERcE IN cHINARoom 5006 Xinhe Dasha, Sanyuanli No. 14, Shunyuan Street,Chaoyang District, 100027 Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaT +86 10 6465 0320 / 6465 0985F +86 10 6465 2080E [email protected] www.bencham.orgContactsMs Nicolette Groot, General Manager BenCham BeijingMs Annemarie Dijkman, Business Development Manager andDeputy General Manager BenCham BeijingE [email protected] Den Yeh, Events ManagerE [email protected]

Secretariat of the Benelux Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai:Room 1505, Regus Silver Centre, 1388 Shanxi Bei Road, Putuo District, Shanghai 200060, People’s Republic of ChinaT +86 21 6149 8312F +86 21 6149 8113E [email protected] www.bencham.orgMariska Kiewiet De Jonge-Rimmelzwaan, General Manager

cHINA IPR SME HELPDESKOffice 319, Beijing Lufthansa Centre, 50Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang DistrictBeijing 100125, People’s Republic of ChinaT +86 10 6462 0892F +86 10 6462 +3206E [email protected] http://www.china-iprhelpdesk.euContactsMr Alex Bell, Helpdesk ManagerMs Jaspal Channa, Senior IPR Helpdesk Project ManagerT +86 10 6462 0892 ext. 58E [email protected]

43


To return by fax: 09 266 14 47 or e-mail: [email protected]

cOMPANY

Name:

Address:

N° VAT:

Website:

N° of employees:

Total turnover*:

*of which realized in China (%):

cONTAcT

Name:

Title:

Tel. :

Fax:

E-mail:

AcTIVITIES

Description of the company (Delete what is not appropriate)

Manufacturer Financial Sector Services Import/Export

Sector:

Description of the Activities:

Company in China:

Wishes to subscribe as (please indicate)

O Large enterprise: 875 € (period of 1 year)

O SME: 350 € (period of 1 year)

The membership fee of …………… Euro for this period will be paid to one of the following bank accounts:

KBC 733-0253138-95 or BNP PARIBAS FORTIS 001-4486455-87

Date: Signature:

APPLIcATION FOR MEMBERSHIP FLANDERS-cHINA cHAMBER OF cOMMERcE vzw

PublisherFlanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC)Franklin Rooseveltlaan 348/F – ParkofficeB-9000 GentT +32 9 266 14 32F +32 9 266 14 47E [email protected] www.flanders-china.be

EditorGwenn Sonck (FCCC)

InterviewsMichel Lens (FCCC)

Language consultingLinguanet sprl

Layout & PrintingErik Desombere

© 2010 Flanders-China Chamber of CommerceThis publication was realised with the support of Flanders Investment & Trade

Your partner for doing business with China

FCCC MEMBERS’ PORTRAITS IN CHINA - flanders-china · has grown into the world’s leading brewery...

Documents

Transcript of FCCC MEMBERS’ PORTRAITS IN CHINA - flanders-china · has grown into the world’s leading brewery...