Building a decade

Despite their current success, KLINGER Shanghai comes from modest roots. In 2014, a team of six employees in a 200㎡ (2153 sq ft) office started the difficult process of building a reputation in a competitive market. In those early days, the team operated much like a service center, doing business mainly through key accounts and transfer orders. As word spread via satisfied customers, the branch picked up the pace, though they faced some ongoing challenges due to product chain limitations. In 2019 they joined forces with Die Erste, which allowed the joint venture to flesh out a complete development model from ideation to service. With a plan for growth solidified, KLINGER Shanghai was soon able to move into highly regulated industries, including chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Think local

As the branch expanded their reach, they needed to make some changes to scale up. One major factor in this process was product localization. Government and regulatory policies make it advantageous, or even essential, to develop in-country manufacturing sources to meet China-specific standards. These policies vary by sector and geography, but may include product safety, data security, environmental protection, and anti-corruption aspects. As explained by David Xiang, Managing Director of KLINGER Shanghai, obtaining facility certification was a crucial step in this process: “Product localization will promote Chinese sustainable development, but may bring some pressure to us, as well,” he shares. “KLINGER Shanghai acquired the certificates as ISO 9001,TSG and API to upgrade the company qualification in 2023 and successfully solved the crisis.” Developing in-house resources became even more important post pandemic, as shipping limitations made the import process increasingly complex and time consuming.

With a robust supply chain and local experts at hand, present-day KLINGER Shanghai is a far cry from those early days. Today the branch boasts three product centers, including the Valves Center in Shanghai, the Sealing Center in Taizhou, and the Steam Solutions Center in Dalian. Four sales offices are located in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou. Staffing has expanded to 17 full-time employees and 21 contract workers across six cities. The Shanghai office is now a sprawling 3000  ㎡ (32,292 sq ft), shared jointly with Eurotec China and API China and offering complete valve solutions for a multitude of industries. Nearby service and warehouse facilities add another 3600 ㎡ (38,750 sq ft) of resources for projects solutions, global sourcing, actuator assembly, and product testing.

A comprehensive plan

Now that expanded facilities are in place across multiple major cities, KLINGER Shanghai turns to expanding their talent roster and partners for future growth. Maintaining a competitive edge requires fresh ideas, and the team is eager to attract a variety of experience. “Our strategy includes training long term agents to cover the market and industries, and discovering more cooperative partners for special industries,” David says. Developing a more comprehensive support team will allow the branch to provide added value across all sectors, particularly considering the explosive manufacturing growth that China anticipates over the coming years. Maintaining the ability to meet customer needs from project start to finish is a key piece of the puzzle, with improved product customization and a variety of after-market services also in the works. According to David, “We can provide a complete solution, including inspection, maintenance services, and various plans for pneumatic and electric actuators.” The Shanghai team is eager to meet the coming decade with the same proficiency that carried them through the first.