SELLING FASTENERS in China, the world’s biggest manufacturer of this kind of component, is no easy task for a Western company, but Cork-based fasteners and components supplier GWS is hoping its links to companies in the region will translate into a growth in sales in Asia.
“We’re looking to push the boat out a bit further. And our strong business in Asia has given us a global presence,” said sales manager Cathal Kiely, who spends a large portion of each year in China and other parts of Asia.
Kiely was speaking during an interview at Galway-based CF Tooling’s plant in Shenzhen, which GWS supplies with fasteners and foams.
Sourcing components takes Kiely all over the country – the day after our meeting he was boarding a bus to Ningbo, which is a long way from Ballincollig, where GWS is based. It has been doing business in China for 20 years, and has also started providing supply-chain management services for some customers. These include allowing customers to keep stock to cover two or three months of their production requirements.
GWS also offers Kanban systems to manage stocks on a daily or weekly basis to ensure continuous flow, and vendor management to consolidate products in one location and ship direct in one container.
The company’s work with CF Tooling has been a springboard to other firms in the region. “It’s been the key to the lock,” said Kiely.
“We are trying to expand here in China. We are a joint venture but sometimes it’s difficult to get sales here because they often think when they see a Western guy that the price is going to be sky high. It’s very easy to buy here, but it’s not so easy to sell,” said Kiely.
Asia now accounts for around 15 to 20 per cent of the group’s business. Most of the components it sells are fasteners, foams, casters, hinges, labels and locks.
“At the end of the day we’re a fasteners company and there aren’t too many who have come out here to Asia to do this. Asia adds value for us,” said Kiely.
In the last year, GWS has expanded its business from six to 10 people in Shanghai, and the group has brought in its own internal quality control engineers.
“I suppose a big challenge is the language, but we have a great person in Shanghai and that’s invaluable. It’s getting harder to find the right people, but you have to get staffing right. You couldn’t come over here in our business and set up off the plate without Chinese help or contribution,” he said.
