This is the last blog of this "China" series.
Our last day brought some unexpected surprises, all good.
Firstly our hosts for what I thought was our only meeting, arrived an hour early. I thought I would get a chance to do some quick shopping, but, alas, Steve sent me a text message to say that they had arrived early to pick us up.
We went on an hour's drive to their premises, in a new modern technology park. The drive was pleasant enough in a large eight seater van.
When we arrived we saw many pallets of their products stacked under a cover, ready for shipping; a good sign.
They led us to their meeting room and showroom on the fourth floor of their building. As we walked in, we were struck by the obvious quality of their product offering. They offered us the usual cup of Chinese tea. We decided to do a factory tour first.
They showed us three floors of production facilities. It looked like a well calculated blend of high tech manufacturing and normal hands-on testing and calibration. We also saw them doing 100% testing of some incoming materials; impressive.
We returned to the meeting room for a very cordial discussion. It turns out that they are not selling anything into the American security market. What a great opportunity!!
We arranged to get some products to ISC West, so that we can show them to our good customers in our suite, for their input. Exciting times.
We returned to the hotel for a brief beer in the lounge before our next appointment. I was not aware, or did not remember, that we had a dinner meeting. This was with one of UPG's excellent suppliers. Dinner was at a nearby Chinese restaurant, two blocks from our hotel. Why didn't we discover this venue earlier???
The dinner discussion was enjoyable. When the discussion turned to business, I got an idea of where we could use this proven product in the security industry. A few quick e-mails were sent. We have already received some positive feedback.
We are also considering a ground breaking change of how things are done in normal security systems based on their new technology. I am hoping that we can do a presentation at one of the forthcoming security shows to discuss this new technology and how it can benefit our industry.
So another good day in China.
All the work done on this trip will give us plenty to do over the next few months. All bodes well for a strong focus on the security industry for UPG's security division.
Watch this space for further exciting news AND make sure you see us at ISC West in Las Vegas!!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
China 1.4
Hey all. I'm a bit late with this blog. I was very tired yesterday from all the running around, but now that we are back in Shenzhen, we can recover a little bit before this afternoon's meeting.
So what happened yesterday?
My meeting was canceled. Why? Well, we had an arrangement, made by the Taiwanese head office, that the factory representative would pick us up at the hotel in the morning. They called to say that they would not be doing that and if we wanted to see their factory, we should get a car to drive us there for an hour and pick us up later. Well, I have always thought that after we have flown 10,000 miles and checked into a hotel at our expense, the factory could also put in some effort. I do not want to chase anyone for business; we should both put in some effort. So we canceled and made an appointment for Steve to visit one of UPG's excellent battery manufacturers.
I had a choice of staying behind or joining them. The factory tour was interesting. Watching the factory manufacture the different types of batteries was fascinating, but as we walked through the factory an idea started to form in my mind.
While Steve and Louis were discussing various matters with the factory management, I sent out a few e-mails from my Blackberry to see if this new idea would fly.
Well..... I think it may just do that, and could be an enormous boost for UPG Security and our suppliers.
We immediately arranged for some samples to be sent with our equipment to ISC West in Vegas where we will be discussing the ideas with our security distribution customers.
This is exciting!
So what happened yesterday?
My meeting was canceled. Why? Well, we had an arrangement, made by the Taiwanese head office, that the factory representative would pick us up at the hotel in the morning. They called to say that they would not be doing that and if we wanted to see their factory, we should get a car to drive us there for an hour and pick us up later. Well, I have always thought that after we have flown 10,000 miles and checked into a hotel at our expense, the factory could also put in some effort. I do not want to chase anyone for business; we should both put in some effort. So we canceled and made an appointment for Steve to visit one of UPG's excellent battery manufacturers.
I had a choice of staying behind or joining them. The factory tour was interesting. Watching the factory manufacture the different types of batteries was fascinating, but as we walked through the factory an idea started to form in my mind.
While Steve and Louis were discussing various matters with the factory management, I sent out a few e-mails from my Blackberry to see if this new idea would fly.
Well..... I think it may just do that, and could be an enormous boost for UPG Security and our suppliers.
We immediately arranged for some samples to be sent with our equipment to ISC West in Vegas where we will be discussing the ideas with our security distribution customers.
This is exciting!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
