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I DA U N I V E R S A L J u l y -Au g u s t 2 0 1 5 23 NUTS AND BOLTS NEWS Nuts & Bolts continued on page 25 Pursuing global ambitions, Chinese construction machinery manufacturer Sany Heavy Industry has quickened its expan- sion overseas in recent years. When Sany fi rst arrived in 2007, Brazil's construction industry had been dominated by U.S., German and Japanese companies for decades. Eight years later, however, Sany's cranes hold at least 40 percent of the market share in Brazil. How can a Chinese enterprise develop so fast in a distant market so diff erent from China? Xu Ming, regional general manager of Sany Latin American, gave his answer: providing high- quality, low-cost products as well as excellent and catered pre-sale and a er- sale services for the clients. "For the fi rst two years, it was very hard," said Xiao Hua, marketing manager of Sany Brazil. " e most frequently asked question I got was. 'Isn't Sony from Japan?'" Xiao recalled. Like many other Chinese fi rms, Sany faced numerous challenges, including complicated local tax laws and regulations, problems with labor unions and ineffi cient negotiations. "When we fi rst arrived, we didn't have experience in working with local commission agents. Eight out of our fi rst 10 agents were delinquent on payments. It took us almost three years to solve these problems and partner with agents with a good reputa- tion," Xiao said. In addition to choosing the right partners, knowing the local laws and learning to negotiate with labor unions, Sany devel- oped its eff ective pre-sale and a er-sale service system, which helped win clients. "For big machines like cranes, downtime means huge loss," said Xiao. But since the parts of such big machines are very expensive, the operators usually don't have standby parts in their inventory. If there is something wrong with the machine, they have to turn to the a er-sale service. " e sooner we get there, the earlier the machine can get back to work and the less the loss would be." For its fi rst three years, Sany only had three clients in Brazil. But in order to provide the best service, the company sent three engineers from China to where the clients were to monitor the operations of Sany's equipment. Excellent service and a high- quality, low-cost strategy helped Sany gradually take root in the Brazilian market. In 2014, Sany signed an agreement with the Sao Paulo investment bureau to invest about US$300 million to build a new plant in Jacarei, close to the Dutra highway connecting Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, with an area of 560,000 square meters. According to Yuan Jinhua, chairman of Sany Brazil, the fi rst phase of the plant will be put into operation in early 2016, when the annual production capacity of Sany Brazil's large-scale construction machinery products is expected to reach 3,000 units, and sales to increase to 20 billion yuan (US$3.2 billion). e 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games were huge boons to Brazil's construction equipment market. In 2013, Brazil became the largest importer of Chinese truck cranes, and Chinese crane enterprises claimed an 85 percent market share of Brazil in 2014, according to Sany. Earlier this month, a China- backed transcon- tinental railway project was put into Brazil's national infrastructure program, Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff announced. Rousseff highlighted the importance of the proposed transcontinental train to improve Brazil's trade prospects. "By linking the Atlantic to the Pacifi c, Brazil gains special access to the Asian markets, and given inter- national trade transactions, that represents something extremely strategic." "With our excellent service and products with high quality and low cost, we will be a strong competitor for the construction of this project," said Xu. ● www.wantchinatimes.com,6/15 How Sany Heavy Industry Built a Reputation in Brazil