 BIZ TALK INTERVIEW: Kuno Kohler - Regional President, Asia North Region, Ciba (China) Ltd.
Kuno Kohler first joined Ciba-Geigy AG in its Basel headquarters in 1986 and worked as the controller for its group companies in Europe. He has since developed a long track record of working in Asia Pacific, including Australia, Taiwan and Indonesia. He took up his present position in 2004.
In 2005, Ciba SC opened an R&D centre in Shanghai and last year a
new pigment plant in Nanjing. How do these investments fit into your
Greater China strategy?
K.K.: The establishment of the Ciba R&D Centre has enabled us to
consolidate our Technical Service Centres, Product Application Centre
and the research unit in one location in Shanghai. Adaptations of our
products for the Chinese market as well as the opportunity to offer
solutions rather than just products to our Chinese customers are now
made possible because of the R&D Centre and with our
Mandarin-speaking scientists and experts. Capitalising on our
in-country R&D competence is one of the pillars of our strategy in
China and the centre has a role to play in differentiating Ciba from
its competitors.
The Nanjing High Performance Pigment plant is on track and will allow
us to serve the growing coatings industry in China directly and
speedily, minus the long lead times. The decision to build a
manufacturing plant in the Nanjing Chemical Industry Park is also very
much part of our strategy in terms strengthening our foothold here with
local production.
Foreign R&D in China is a rather new phenomenon. How does your
Shanghai facility operate and perform compared to your R&D centres
in other countries?
K.K.: In terms of size, it is smaller compared to our facilities in
Switzerland and the United States. But nevertheless, the China R&D
centre is one of the key facilities in our new constellation of
innovation roadmap. Its primary role will be that it’s part of a
network of Regional Technical Centres, which work together with other
innovation facilities around the globe to support the growth of Ciba's
core businesses.
The China R&D centre also functions as a satellite centre for the
global Research Centres, particularly Colors and Interface &
Rheology. The specific focus of the Research Team in China is on the
development of effect pigments and dispersions.
To build up competence and expertise in a new centre takes some time;
our local R&D staffs have strong scientific educational backgrounds
and through collaboration with our global researchers and the Chinese
scientific community, such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences and
selected universities, we have established a good foundation in a
number of technology areas and successfully filed a number of new
patent applications.
In 2004, Ciba SC announced plans to double sales in China to USD1 bn.
How will this be achieved, and what is your progress towards this
objective?
K.K.: When we announced the target to achieve USD1 bn in sales in 2004, we
still had our Textile Effects business as part of our business
portfolio, which was divested in 2006. However, our compound annual
growth rate of close to 20 per cent has met our expectations in the
past three years.
Several companies have made headlines when quality standards for
Chinese-made products were below global standards. How do you manage
quality assurance and product safety in China?
K.K.: Ciba is a multinational company, which puts a lot of importance on
safety and quality and implements high Environmental, Health and Safety
(EHS) standards in all our sites worldwide. In terms of quality control
and safety standards, global procedures and guidelines apply, and we
make no difference between China and other countries.
As China's economy continues to evolve and diversify, what role should
global companies like Ciba play in terms of social, as well as
economic, responsibility?
K.K.: MNCs like Ciba are supportive of the government’s efforts to improve
the environmental standards in the country. For example, AICM
(Association of International Chemical Manufacturers), of which Ciba is
an active member, brings its members together in advocating Responsible
Care practices and cost-effective, science- and risk-based policies.
Responsible Care is a global and voluntary initiative developed
autonomously by the chemical industry for the chemical industry to
improve health, safety and environmental performance.
According to a recent report, your company is one of the top employers
in Shanghai. In the ‘war for talent,’ do such distinctions help attract
the right key employees?
K.K.: To be an employer of choice in China is something every company aspires
to. In such a dynamic labour market, the challenge is to differentiate
oneself from other companies. Ciba has worked hard in attracting and
retaining its talents and over the years, we have learned that personal
development opportunities are regarded as an important factor to many
of our staff.
We have also been successfully running an Asian Leaders programme where
members of our senior management in Asia mentor our future senior
managers. The programme calls for this next generation of senior
managers to also take an active ownership of their own career
development while we develop them.
Last update : Saturday, 26 July 2008
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