RILAND,CLOOS: Partner for success

SHENZHEN RILAND INDUSTRY CO., LTD, CN-Shenzhen, and CARL CLOOS SCHWEISSTECHNIK GMBH, DE-Haiger, signed a cooperation agreement on 11 June 2014 at the international trade show “Beijing Essen Welding & Cutting“. The companies agree to a far-reaching strategic cooperation in the field of product development. The declared aim of the cooperation is the development of a completely new generation of welding equipment, which to date is neither part of CLOOS’ nor RILAND’s high-tech product portfolio.

Although there are hints that the new product will be positioned in the middle-class segment, CLOOS Managing Director Gerald Mies refused to make specific comments. Instead, he refers to the international autumn trade fairs and specifically to the EUROBLECH in Hannover in October 2014: “Together with RILAND, we will soon start our productive development work and test the first prototypes in the near future in order to introduce the welding equipment to the market at its world premiere.”

The today agreed cooperation continues as the foundation for a long-time existing mutual business relationship between CLOOS and RILAND, as Simon Qiu, founder and president of SHENZHEN RILAND, points out with justifiable pride: “We have sourced our high-tech welding power sources from CLOOS in Haiger for the Chinese market and will continue to do so, while supplying a variety of high-quality electronic components to CLOOS. CLOOS and RILAND therefore know how harmonious coexistence creates a foundation for success.”

And Gerald Mies points out: “We don’t only know each other, we also have in-depth knowledge of our poducts – and most importantly, we know our respective strengths. We now need to build on this for an innovative joint product strategy.”

Whether there might be a far-reaching strategic alliance in the future, the two partners did not want to reveal at this stage. However, Gerald Mies doesn’t rule out anything: “Even the longest journey begins with the first step, a Chinese saying states. We have now taken this first step together with our partner RILAND. And we are confident that the synergy of our strengths will generate excellent products. How these products will finally be brought to the customer, the future will tell.“

The focus of the current and future market campaign would definitely be the BRIC countries Brazil, Russia, India and China, and the MIST countries Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey, Simon Qiu emphasises. And Gerald Mies adds: “With the new welding equipment, CLOOS and RILAND are both developing into full liners. With a product portfolio ranging from entry to high-tech and from handheld devices to automated welding system, we are able to meet every conceivable customer requirement at the highest level.”

In his final statement Simon Qiu refers to this diversity and points out that the expertise of each company would create new strategic opportunities for both partners. It will be interesting.