Forward View
recently for an anti-vibration system for its new premium model car, which it hopes will help it compete with German brands. “It is a complex chassis system, and we will be supplying a
total of 44 parts – every part we could have wished for,” says Clayton. Elsewhere in the region, optimism continues to grow.
Japan, which saw its exports shrink and domestic spending contract during a tough 2009, will experience a return to growth this year. “The green shoots of recovery, which have been so much
in discussion lately, are now developing well there,” says Weng Chong Lee, President Marketing Asia Pacific for Trelleborg Sealing Solutions. “Export orders are returning to strong levels in some Asia Pacific countries and in specific segments like semi-conductors and food processing.” Korea, one of the Asian tiger economies, has shown solid
signs of resurgence. “The weakened Korean won, which is now stable, has
fueled manufacturing activity in the automotive sector and also in the thin film transistor-LCD sector,” Lee says. “Green energy applications are also seeing increased activity.” New development projects remain buoyant for Trelleborg
Sealing Solutions. “Our customers are looking for new products, new applications and new market areas,” explains Lee. “These are often ideas they had two or three years ago but never had the time or the resources to look into.” Trelleborg has many exciting challenges ahead in North
and East Asia. It is constantly increasing its market share as the region rebounds in certain key sectors. “Adapting to new customer demands and requirements is
the order of the day,” says Lee. “This is important to keep in mind as we get back into a growth phase.”
On your bike
In the West, people are taking to their bikes in an attempt to get fit and be more environmentally friendly. In the East though, pedal power has always been a major mode of transport. In the greater China area 130 million cycles are produced each year, or 70 per cent of the world’s bicycle production. While China concentrates on the low-priced transportation-orientated models for its domestic market, Taiwan specialises in higher priced high-tech models for North America and Europe. “Bicycles produced here are high-technology machines,”
says Kevin Lai, General Manager of Trelleborg Sealing Solutions Taiwan. “From the outside it may not appear so, but the cylinders for the bike’s suspension contain numerous advanced sealing systems that keep hydraulic fluids in and external matter such as dirt and moisture, out.”
Putting people first
Globally 2009 was regarded as a dark year for the automotive industry, but in China the industry boomed. With more than 13 million cars sold, China became the largest automobile market in the world. As a consequence, the Chinese automotive jobs market is smoking hot, with plenty of opportunities emerging. The average turnover rate in 2008 of blue-collar workers was 31 per cent, while the white-collar staff turnover rate was 21 per cent.
In this context, the Trelleborg Automotive manufacturing facility in Wuxi outside Shanghai is a contrast. Here the employee turnover rate decreased from 31 per cent in 2007 to 16 per cent in 2009. In the same period, the average productivity measured as output per hour increased by 14 per cent. “Many measures have
been taken, because people really make the difference here,” says Mary Zhou, responsible for human resources at the Wuxi plant.
Here are a few
examples showing what has been achieved over the past few years:
l Training hours have increased by 100 per cent in two years to 28 hours per person (2009).
l In terms of career development, 32 people were promoted in 2008–09, and 21 people had the opportunity to rotate their jobs.
l Communications have been reinforced to include goal alignment meetings, monthly employee meetings and annual employee surveys.
“With the general awareness of the high pace of investment in China, it is sometimes forgotten that China and its neighboring countries are home to one third of the world’s population. This means that the demand for products is driven by personal consumption.”
Peter Nilsson,
President and CEO of Trelleborg. Photo: Trelleborg
l The safety culture has been strengthened with good personal protective equipment and improved workshop ventilation. Accident frequency has decreased from three cases per 100 employees in 2007 to 1.5 cases in 2009.
“We also have teambuilding activities to foster team spirit and ownership, and a family day to improve our employer branding and employees’ pride,” say Zhou. “We have nice uniforms and a shuttle bus taking people to and from work. We also do symbolic gestures such as acknowledging the birthdays of our employees.”
Flying high in China
Airbus marked a major achievement in January this year when it handed an A380 over to Emirates Airlines, the 6000th aircraft ever produced by the company in its 40-year history. This was shortly after Airbus announced that 2009 was a record year during which it delivered 498 aircraft. Another success for Airbus is the start-up of its assembly
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