Everyday, the news is full of more bad news about the worsening state of the so-called “Eurozone”. Businesses within the EU who depend on the Euro for economic survival have become increasingly pessimistic about trade with their counterparts in the region. The CC-Link Partner Association offers European companies a possible way out of the mess with “out-of-the-box” thinking – the Gateway to China programme.
Gateway to China is run by the CC-Link Partners Association for its members who supply industrial control and communication equipment, the building blocks of modern automated factories and production plants. The programme has two key parts; assistance with product development, and then promotion of these products across the Chinese market.
John Browett, CLPA’s General Manager, explains: “While the uncertainty over the euro’s future continues, European companies are looking to global markets to help protect their business from these economic woes. As is well known, China is probably the strongest growing economy in the world right now, and offers an attractive alternative to the EU. However, a key issue is how does a company do business there? CLPA has demonstrated that CC-Link is a key enabling technology for automation in China. In some industries such as flat panel displays and automotive, it has become a de-facto standard. This position all helps to offer a large number of opportunities for European businesses looking to sell automation devices into this market. The Gateway to China (“G2C” for short) programme was created to assist European companies in exploiting them.”
CLPA’s widespread presence in China is being leveraged to help partner companies navigate the complex business culture and language issues involved in generating successful business results. Once a company has a suitable product, G2C will help them leapfrog these issues with a comprehensive offering of marketing assistance, covering many different aspects of Chinese industrial media, such as advertising, websites and fairs.
Browett says that opening up Chinese markets without the assistance of initiatives such as G2C can be hard work, often requiring fundamental rethinking, compared with exporting to Europe. However the benefits can be enormous; its economy is growing at around 10% a year, creating massive demand for automation products and systems.
“Europe and America have been suffering economically for a couple of years, and there is no sign of short term recovery. Meanwhile, the BRIC counties are developing highly sophisticated manufacturing bases as economic engines for modern global markets. Clearly there is a re-ordering of the worldwide economy in progress and old assumptions are no longer valid. The G2C offers European companies a way to maintain growth even in the face of domestic economic strife. Companies who wish to take part in this programme should contact us at g2c@clpa-europe.com or learn more about the programme at cc-link-g2c.com.
