In China for China

As an American company with operations in 17 countries and sales and technical offices in worldwide, Lubrizol isn't required to publish financial statements or inform the public of the cost of its investments in Asia. It's apparent from the raft of investments in Asia Pacific, however, that Lubrizol considers the region a significant source of revenue – which totalled $6.1 billion globally in 2012.

In August, for instance, Lubrizol opened a world-class additives manufacturing facility in Zhuhai, Guangdong, China. The plant is the latest addition to the company's long-term investment strategy and growing presence in China, where it began to supply lubricant additives through its joint venture facilities in Tianjin and Lanzhou in the 1990s.

Increasingly, doing business in China has meant focusing on specific requirements of the industries that the company serves – which can range from industrial and automobile to footwear and electronics.

Mr. Rocco Mango, Vice President and General Manager – Engineered Polymers, says Lubrizol's success in China is grounded in a foundation built over the last two decades in this fast-growing market. That foundation rests on finding the right partners and working with the right people to build up the business. "As we learned more about China, we've gotten to understand more about what products to bring to market. It's not as if you can just bring products you're selling in the U.S. or in the Europe into China – because that's not the way it works," he explains, adding, "You have a different kind of market in China in terms of how they do business and the pace of how business evolves and grows is much faster, so our response has to be tailored and we have to have a fast turnaround to respond to the demands of the Chinese market."

Solutions for and from China

For Lubrizol, the way to capture and grow business successfully and sustainably in China has been to develop product lines and solutions in China for China. "That's so we can react our customers' requirements quickly," says Mr. Mango. "So as China grows, we want to grow alongside – whether it's an equipment being restructured or the product being built – it's very dynamic, there are always new products coming out every week, and we're always figuring out what opportunities are out there."

Technical Manager for Asia Pacific, Mr. Victor Leng, spearheads the thrust in developing these solutions addressing specific requirements from customers in China. For Lubrizol, he says, ideas and opportunities are both customer-generated and stem from Lubrizol's wide technological portfolio of performance materials. "We're developing solutions specifically for China, and at the same time we're working closely with customers on their specific needs. Especially nowadays, we are more focused on the concerns of our customers in China, so we're now listening more closely to them and developing more unique solutions for them," says Mr. Leng.

Helping customers to develop and expand their markets is also part of the service and solutions package.

"What we do is work closely with our customers – they don't always know the downstream products and they may not have the organization to find out about these products, so we bring them that market knowledge, so we can drive what needs to be done with our processes. So absolutely, that means we help them development and expand their market," adds Mr. Mango.

Greener footwear

The footwear industry is getting greener as well – whether they're global brands or domestic producers in China. Serving the footwear industry, however, means being aware that manufacturers want to be cost-effective and have their eye on performanceAir Max 20K T8 Shoes