Even with seven percent growth, China remains the biggest and most important German trading partner. Despite the cautious economic activity, there are many flourishing business branches with outstanding future perspectives, like the field of electronic production equipment.
User report | published in: EPP 09/2016
Author: Ulrich Dosch
Even with seven percent growth, China remains the biggest and most important German trading partner. Despite the cautious economic activity, there are many flourishing business branches with outstanding future perspectives, like the field of electronic production equipment. This is a report from the Middle Kingdom, where the 100% Kurtz-Ersa daughter – Kurtz Shanghai Limited, is successfully doing business for 15 years.
Anyone who starts nowadays to put out feelers in Asia to become established there has a hard job to do. Kurtz Ersa on the contrary has been active there for many years: Already in 1988, Kurtz Far East was founded in Hong Kong, since 1990s, the Kurtz and Ersa systems were sold via distributors on the Chinese market. Soon Kurtz Ersa realized the multifold opportunities of the Chinese market – but in order to use them it was necessary to have direct contact to the customer. However, this is impossible without local products and application specialists or a nationwide distribution and service network with one’s own employees. Therefor Kurtz Shanghai Ltd. (KSL) was founded in 2001, starting with a small sales and service team for Kurtz forming machines. One year later the KSL portfolio was extended by the Ersa Tools range with soldering irons as well as rework and inspection systems, followed in 2006 by Ersa machines. KSL Manager David Chen who is heading the operative business for Ersa in Shanghai, was an essential part of the Kurtz Shanghai Ltd. success story from the beginning: “We are positioned very well in China and cover nearly the whole electronic manufacturing market from the distribution office in Shanghai, a nationwide support with our Chinese application engineers, up to our manufacturing site in Zhuhai, the Kurtz Zhuhai Manufacturing Ltd, where the reflow soldering system HOTFLOW 3/20H is built.
Who´s who of Chinese Electronic Manufacturing Industries
Close to the customer: KSL-Manager David Chen (right) and Ersa General Sales Manager Rainer Krauss (2nd on the left) with Kimball employees in Nanjing (China).
Manufacturing Director Avis Zhang, who is enthusiastic about the temperature stability and the lower N2 consumption of the Ersa Hotflow, says Rainer Krauss, Ersa’s overall sales manager.
The festive opening of the Ersa Democenter on the island of Penang, Malaysia, in January 2016. Another successful step from Ersa to provide its customers and prospects in the Southeast Asia region with the best testing and evaluation opportunities.Besides the catchpenny performances on Asia’s trade fair stages Avis Zhang appreciates the possibility to experience the Ersa systems in a production-like surrounding and to put assemblies through their paces in the Ersa demo centers. This is possible in Shenzhen and since spring 2016 also in Shanghai, where the performance and flexibility two selective soldering systems, either a VERSAFLOW 3/45 or a SMARTFLOW 2020, can be tested. Of course, both Ersa demo centers are ideal places for workshops on soldering specific topics or for systematic staff trainings, too. These services are widely accepted therefor further machines will extend the Shanghai demo center and the upgrade to an application center with flexible office workspace is already in progress. Furthermore Manufacturing Director Avis Zhang is convinced of the “the fast responses of the KSL engineers and the absolute determination to continuously improve alongside their customers.” The extended networking abilities of the service engineers, who communicate in real-time via chat to be able to establish a fast solution in one of the largest and most populous regions of the world, contributes to this strength. One can eagerly look forward to the further developments in the Middle Kingdom. Good luck to the KSL team!
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