“During my two years with the Marine & Industry division in Frese we have gotten a good start in the Chinese market and things are going in the right direction. We have established relationships with distributors and other relevant partners which will serve as a sound basis to support customers in all parts of China,” says Feiyan Ye who until recently was in charge of marketing.
Now he has new responsibilities in sales, but he is in no way intimidated by his new role in the company.
“The transition between marketing and sales in China is not very long or difficult. I worked a lot in operational marketing before, not just marketing communication, so for me it was not hard to move from marketing to sales. The operational side of marketing already covered most sales functions. I actually already did nearly everything,” he says, laughing.
There is no doubt that the future of the global marine industry is centered in Asia with more than 80% of the world’s marine vessels being built in China, Korea, and Japan.
Frese is still a small player in the Chinese market, but a recent order from CNOOC for OMEGA Compact 3-way valves for a 12 ship LNG carrier fleet will certainly help Feiyan Ye open new doors.
“Before, when I promoted our brand to customers, their first question was "Who are you?" But with the CNOOC project as a powerful reference case we will have a strong base to build on. And we already have our sights set on even bigger deals, he explains.”
Soren Wandy Pedersen, who is Global Sales Director for Marine & Industry in Frese, describes Feiyan Ye as the company’s “first line of support” for customers at the Chinese shipyards.
“We are getting orders from Danish and European owners and naval architects, and those ships will be built in China. So, we need a capable and efficient man on the ground to handle the dialogue with local shipyards who may not now our technology all that well yet,” he says.
He emphasises the word “yet”, as he has no doubt there will be significant demand for Frese’s energy saving solutions in the coming years.
“CII regulation and other increasing environmental standards apply to the entire global marine industry, and China is no exception. Our solutions can help ship owners to significant CO2 reductions, benefitting both the climate and the bottom line. And we are lucky to have Feiyan who also has the technical insight to act as a guide and make their transition from static to dynamic valve technology as easy and painless as possible.”
