Marco Bertola, General Manager of Fosber Asia, tells how Italian business has developed in China
“In 2015, when I came to Foshan, I saw that it really was a great city in terms of development: I mean the quality of transport, food, restaurants, environment, etc. Everything related to the lifestyle was really nice.”
“Fosber Asia started with a project led by Italy and a team of 35 Chinese specialists. What challenges did you face and how did you get through them?”
“For several months we tried to understand how to do business in China, starting with the approach to the peolpe. We studied the local management style, which is very different from the European one. The best solution was to combine the needs of the business with the Chinese and Italian approaches.
“I think we have found the right way. This has been my main goal from the very beginning, the request of our company.
“4-5 years ago it was not easy to find a qualified supplier whose product quality would meet our company’s standards. This was mainly because we have not yet developed the right approach on how to share sensitive information and balance it with protection of the IPR (Intellectual Property Rights). Now the situation is much better.
“It was also difficult to find an English-speaking worker in Foshan. Today, this is a little easier, because the development of local education is following the development of the country.”
“Can you find talents in Foshan who can do technological work in your company?”
“If we are talking about software engineers, it’s not easy. When looking for them, we always have to go further: Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai. The main business in Guangdong area is mechanical equipment, automotive and, to a lesser extent, Internet and software technology.”
“How would you comment on Foshan’s business environment?”
“Speaking of Foshan, you can find more and more skilled manufacturing companies here. There are many big names in the Foshan automotive market. Their presence means they can find quality technologies and services here, and the same goes for us.”
“How many production lines your company has?”
“Today we can produce five different configurations of the machines. Our closest customers are in Gaoming, Dongguan and other areas in South China.”
Fosber Asia has over 200 qualified employees. The production program includes complete Pro/Line corrugators with a width of 2200, 2500 and 2800 mm and an operating speed of 270 and 320 m/min, as well as equipment management software, based on the principles of Industry 4.0 (Pro/Syncro, Pro/Active, Pro/Care).
The Pro/Line design is based on proven Fosber technologies such as:
- Fosber Gapless AOC – automatic gapless order change on the dry end of the corrugator;
- Fosber Beltless – technology of prolonged contact of single face web with a corrugated roll and a soft-touch roller clamp;
- Fosber Oil Free – a set of patented design features that eliminate the need for lubrication of longitudinal, transverse cutting tools, etc.
The company’s equipment is available both in China and all adjacent markets, including the Middle East and the post-Soviet space.
For reference
Fosber Asia was founded in 2014. It is is a joint venture established by Fosber Group and Guangdong Dongfang Precision Science & Technology Co., Ltd.
The company’s headquarters and a 15,000 square meter manufacturing center are located in Foshan (Guangdong Province, China).
Fosber Asia produced its first complete corrugator in 2017.
Today, the company has installed almost four dozen complete corrugators operating in the Asian and Middle East regions.
On May 23, 2022 the Gofromashiny company announced official representation of Fosber Asia in the Russian Federation.
gofro.expert
