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FRANCOIS LEFEVER, manager of Shenzhen CIMC-TianDa Airport Support Co.’s French branch, talked early last month about the importance of having his office in an ordinary two-story house in a small town less than three kilometers from Charles De Gaulle Airport.
“It is of profound meaning for us to establish our office in this small town,” Lefever said. “In this way, we can provide services to our clients more conveniently.”
This inconspicuous office has drawn the attention of many of CIMC-TianDa’s competitors, including world-famous airport equipment manufacturer Thyssen Krupp AG, which lost to CIMC-TianDa in the bidding for a 2010 passenger boarding bridge (PBB) project that was jointly provided by Paris Airports and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.
‘Little giant’
Lefever has good reasons to be proud of his company’s achievements in recent years.
Since entering European markets in 2004, CIMC-TianDa has conducted more than 100 PBB projects for 15 airports in Europe. The 40-set PBB project for Paris Airports helped the company occupy nearly 50 percent of European market coverage.
As a so-called “little giant” in the fields of airport and seaport equipment, modern automated material handling solutions and technology and auto-parking systems, CIMC-TianDa has come a long way from its inception as an R&D division of CIMC in 1989. It now has 50,000 square meters of factory space and about 700 employees.
Unlike Chinese enterprises that ease into overseas markets by initially avoiding the fierce competitions of developed countries and regions, CIMC-TianDa adopted an aggressive expansion strategy from the start by immediately focusing on high-end markets such as Europe.
CIMC-TianDa’s success appears to have justified that strategy.
Talents for expansion
It’s conventional wisdom for Chinese enterprises to hire local talents for overseas expansions, and that’s how Lefever became the leader of CIMC-TianDa’s French branch.
But in the opinion of Yao Leran, market director of CIMC-TianDa’s international division, Lefever has proved to be the right choice regardless of where he came from.
Lefever began his career as a printing engineer and then joined Citroen, where he became attracted to airport automation equipment of all kinds. He later helped design the first set of baggage-handling systems for Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport.
“I’m sure that this set of systems is still working, if it’s been properly maintained,” Lefever said.
He went on to serve as director of technology for Paris Airports for 13 years.
Yao Leran said that about four years ago, he was eager to find a professional administrator who was familiar with European markets. Lefever came into his sights at just the right moment.
Win with core tech
Yao Leran said airport equipment belongs to a niche market but has high demands for professional quality.
Timing is important, too — and many European airports now need replacements for such equipment. That creates a valuable opportunity for CIMC-TianDa’s further expansion in the European market, Lefever pointed out.
But the European debt crisis has intensified competition in the airport equipment industry. Lefever said that during the tenders for multiple airports, for example, a competitor from Spain resorted to starting a “price war.”
“There is no need for us to employ that kind of marketing approach,” Lefever said. “We now own our core technologies and product advantages.”
As an example, Lefever cited the PBB, which can be connected to the U1 cabin door of an A380’s upper deck. That feature helped CIMC-TianDa win a tender in 2005 because of unique design and core technology. CIMC-TianDa uses an innovative four-wheel-drive design that can ensure a stable, comfortable boarding experience for passengers entering the 8-meter-high upper deck of an A380.
“Though some competitors have attempted to imitate such a design in recent years, the core technology is still in our hands,” Yao Leran said, with a look of satisfaction and pride.
(Tan Yaoquan)
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