KNF China
China, the colossal Middle Kingdom. Full of stark contrasts, from secluded regions all the way up to dazzling megacities. From cultural heritage dating back to thousands of years ago to ultramodern research centers. From snow-covered Himalayan mountaintops to sun-drenched bays in the South China Sea. China is home to around 1.5 billion people, which is roughly a fifth of the earth’s population.
Following economic reforms, the country begins to open up to the outside world at the end of the 1970s. China joins the World Trade Organization in 2001, marking the start of a dynamic period of economic development, which sees the Chinese market become attractive to foreign companies. KNF is also seeing a growth in sales from Chinese customers at this time, prompting it to open a sales office in Shanghai in 2005.
This representative office means that KNF can gradually start to tap into this huge market in a systematic way. But this is not exactly smooth sailing. The exchange rate fluctuates significantly and from a vast number of potential customers, KNF has to find those who are willing and able to purchase high-quality pumps from Europe. KNF nevertheless keeps its objective of becoming a market leader in diaphragm pumps on the Chinese market firmly in its sights.
To achieve this, KNF begins by concentrating primarily on analytical instruments, medical equipment and printing technology as well as the needs of the chemical industry. In 2007, KNF founds its own sales company in Shanghai: KNF Neuberger Trading Company, Ltd. Staff can now work autonomously and forge new contacts – with tremendous success. In 2008, a new branch is opened in China’s capital city of Beijing and the Shanghai office and its increasing number of employees is relocated to larger premises, having long outgrown the old location.
As is the case for KNF’s other locations, the key to success in China are the qualified, conscientious staff who are committed to achieving the company’s objectives. Thanks to them, KNF has developed a remarkable ability over the years to deal with the constant economic changes in the country. Although products from Germany and Switzerland have always had an excellent reputation, cheap production takes precedence for many years. More recently, however, customers have been placing more and more value on high-quality products to give them a better chance of succeeding on the global market. And KNF seizes this development opportunity.
China has now become the world’s largest exporter and second-largest economy. Today, KNF has 43 employees in China working across four branch offices, meaning it is in easy reach of its customers in all of the country’s key regions. There are plans in place to recruit more staff in the coming years. KNF has also set itself the goal of breaking into new markets, such as genetic engineering or 3D printing, and to build on the excellent reputation it has established in the Middle Kingdom. After all, as a Chinese proverb goes: “If you do not seek success, it will pass you by.”
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