Compound Growth in China and Beyond

For the past years, Fiducia has accompanied ALBIS PLASTIC in their China expansion: from market analysis to company set-up and executive search, we have worked together closely, bridging family ownership generations, to achieve joint success. Find out what strategies we devised to build the perfect integrated business structure for ALBIS in China and beyond, reflecting their company values and meeting their very specialised demands.

 

Company

ALBIS PLASTIC is one of the global operating companies in the distribution and compounding of technical thermoplastics. In addition to the product portfolio of well-known plastic manufacturers, ALBIS offers the plastic processing industry a diverse product range of high performance plastics, compound solutions and masterbatches. With 17 subsidiaries, the Hamburg-based company is represented in many European countries as well as in North Africa, the Far East and North America. ALBIS manufactures plastic compounds and masterbatches at three locations in Europe – Hamburg and Zülpich in Germany and Manchester in the UK, as well as in the new production site at Changshu, China.

 

Industry Applications

As a global player, ALBIS serves clients from North America to China with the entire range of thermoplastic materials. The company’s products can be found in a wide spectrum of different applications, from automotive to electrical & electronic equipment. ALBIS materials are especially suitable for applications that require reducing weight or light diffusion, light guiding or light blocking technologies. The packaging, pharmaceutical, and healthcare industries also benefit from ALBIS’ innovative solutions.

 

China Expansion

ALBIS PLASTIC opened their first Asian sales office in 1971 in Hong Kong. Today, they have grown to 4 offices in Greater China, located in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Tianjin, and Shanghai. ALBIS expanded most recently in 2013 with a new production site in Changshu. Fiducia supported the company with an in-depth screening and analysis project to assess potential site locations for this plant. Part of the long list of criteria, identified jointly in advance, were customer and supplier proximity, and the availability of building and labour, among others. Within the 5 week time-frame requested by ALBIS, we completed a thorough analysis of several locations in China and identified Changshu as an ideal site for plant set-up.

 

Changshu is located near Suzhou in Jiangsu province on the East Coast of China. In terms of plastics output, Jiangsu ranks at the top of all provinces in China, with 11 million tons in 2014. Many automotive and component suppliers, as well as precision machinery manufacturers are located here. As part of the Jiangsu Development Zone, Changshu is particularly attractive due to the proximity to customers, availability of existing buildings, facilities and land, affordable rental fees, and easy access to logistics channels. This was a perfect fit for ALBIS Far East, as said by Managing Director Philip Krahn: “Our corporate target is to win and supply local Chinese Original Equipment Manufacturers as well as Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, using local production from the ALBIS plant in Changshu, as well as providing goods and services from various regional distribution offices.”

 

Asia Expansion

Regarding the importance of having a sales office on the ground in China, Philip Krahn explained: “We can offer custom tailored solutions and provide support to our customers directly on site – thanks to our support teams in China and Asia. Moreover, we are expanding our field of action to also ensure support for our customers in the Asian Pacific Area.” For this purpose, ALBIS Far East engaged Fiducia in the search of a qualified Business Development & Sales Manager for the APAC region. After a detailed competitor analysis in Malaysia and a talent pool analysis, we evaluated around 60 potential candidates as a result of our direct search approach. After assessing their technical expertise and personality, we found an ideal candidate: an industry expert with over 10 years of injection moulding and plastics engineering experience. According to Philip Krahn, “ALBIS will continue to invest personnel and resources in this region, allowing us to align our efforts for specific, concrete development and growth opportunities.”

 

 

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