New Southco exec tells commitment to Asia

The Asia-Pacific region has always been a cornerstone of Southco's global growth and success. In demonstrating the company's commitment to customers in the region, the company has appointed Mr. Richard Hipp as managing director for Asia Pacific based in Hong Kong. International Metalworking News for Asia digs deeper into Mr. Hipp's background including his strategy in addressing the current global crisis as Southco's most senior executive in the region. Mr. Hipp holds an executive MBA degree from Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia. When he joined the company, he immediately recognized Southco's great team of talented and dedicated people. "The team is result-driven and would not mind going above and beyond to make every customer experience outstanding." Innovation is such a big part of how Southco add values to its customers. "Southco has a corporate culture that encourages employees to be creative in what we do and what we produce. It is this kind of encouraging environment that helps employees to be the best they can be and achieve the most they could." According to Mr. Hipp, Southco focuses heavily on the professional development of its people. "My MBA was achieved during my employment with Southco and is a testament to that focus. I have always wanted to be a part of a winning team and indeed all my colleagues at Southco in Asia and the rest of the world are all committed to that as well. I believe that this is what attracted me to the company." Market strategy in Asia The Asia-Pacific region is a very important part of Southco's global growth strategy. "The recent opening of our latest wholly-owned manufacturing facility in Pune, India is a proof of our determination in making every customer experience outstanding in Asia." The company's ongoing strategy for the Asia Pacific region is to drive stronger industry leadership and greater customer satisfaction through expanding its reach and capabilities for its customers and leveraging Southco's engineering and service excellence. "We are known globally for our dedication towards innovation, customer connectivity, and operational excellence. So we will continue to leverage these competitive advantages of Southco and further consolidate our trusted brand image and credibility in this region by paying close attention to what customers say and developing even better catalogue and custom-designed products for them," he said. Mr. Hipp added that they will continue to listen to their customers in order to develop even better products and services. "We will continue to invest in this region to help industries overcome any local design challenges they may have." Response to global crisis Southco is fully aware of how this present economic downturn is affecting its customers in the manufacturing industry since they pay very close attention to its customers?businesses and needs. To help these companies maintain their competitive edge and survive this economic atmosphere better, Mr. Hipp said that they have been focusing on their innovative designs and production capabilities. The company recently launched an H3 Swinghandle, which is based on a Southco modular design that builds on a common physical format with numerous cost-effective choices for latching configuration, access control/security and finish. Southco believes zero wastage in inventory means money saved for customers and a win-win situation all round. Product offerings It has always been Southco's main objective to develop products that combine great functionality with quality and performance, which can be adopted for a wide range of applications. Apart from the H3 Swinghandle, the company has also recently launched the R4-EM Electronic Rotary Latch, which combines robust rotary latch security and electronic access convenience in a single integrKobe 13 A.D. Shoes