On March 29, 2018, Sullair Asia held the distributor conference themed around “United ? Growth ? Win-Win” at the Hangzhou Marriott Hotel Qianjiang. During Sullair Asia's 20-plus years of growth, the company's exceptional and reliable distributors have continued to support Sullair and written a new chapter of growth alongside the company. On the day of the conference, over forty distributors from China and Southeast Asia gathered to look back over the past, and look forward to the future for embarking on a new journey together.
The distributor conference was the first one held by Sullair since the company joined Hitachi Group. Hitachi placed a great deal of importance on the conference, which was attended and addressed by Mike Aoki, Executive Vice President of Hitachi, Ltd., CEO of the Industrial Division and Chairman of Sullair and Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems Co., Ltd., as well as Charlie Takeuchi, Sullair's COO. The President of Sullair Asia Sean Xie along with his team extended a warm welcome to Mike Aoki, Charlie Takeuchi and all of the distributors.
Mike Aoki welcomed all of the distributors on behalf of Hitachi Group and Sullair and shared his insights on the air compressor sector building on 40 years in the industry. In fact, Mike Aoki first visited the Sullair American headquarter in Michigan as early as 1982, forming a strong bond with the company. He said, "Sullair is one of the leading brands in the air compressor sector. Enjoying a strong industry reputation, it is well respected by clients, partners, and even competitors from across the globe. Hitachi has worked in the air compressor sector for over 100 years, while Sullair boasts more than half a century's experience in the industry. Hitachi's modern Internet of Things technologies and Sullair's products are highly complementary. A strong partnership between the two companies will create an one and only leader in the global air compressor market. Hitachi's core values are harmony, sincerity and a pioneering spirit. We strongly believe that our close partnerships with distributors form the foundation of our business success. At this conference, we are fortunate enough to be able to talk openly with our important partners about future development and growth. This not only strengthens the trust and bonds between each other, but also helps establish a sturdy launch pad for creating future opportunities for growth."
Charlie Takeuchi, who traveled a long way to the conference from Sullair American headquarter, also expressed his heartfelt welcome to the distributors at the conference. He said, "This is the first Asia distributor conference since Sullair has become a part of Hitachi. The conference is incredibly significant for us and is a chance to showcase the new Sullair after the company joined Hitachi Group. We are full of confidence in the new Sullair and very pleased to witness the company's change alongside everybody. Building on Hitachi's strengths, Sullair will add new products including oil-free rotary screw air compressors and oil-free scroll air compressors. Hitachi and Sullair's deep synergy and close cooperation on products and sales channels will help both companies further develop business. At the same time, we also need the strong support of all of our distributors, to work with us and join us on this journey to become China and even the world's top air compressor company."
In his opening speech, Sean Xie noted that Sullair and its distributors must fight for the business growth and market share. He said, "Over the past year, Sullair China and Southeast Asia have achieved huge growth in sales, but the company must be faithful to its mission and continue marching forward. For the new year, President Xie has proposed new targets, new strategies and new product requirements for Sullair. Employee growth and stable, long-term relationships with distributors are Sullair's top priorities. President Xie hopes Sullair can aim at “being fast” in responding to the market, taking actions, providing services, and delivering goods so that Sullair can become the future leader of the air compressor market.”
Sullair Asia's CFO Howard Qin explained the Sullair finance department's new role in customer services and sales projects and emphasized that Sullair will continue to implement its strategy for long-lasting, healthy and profitable growth. Building on the concept of “Being Fast” proposed by Sean Xie, Sullair Asia's Project Improvement Group Leader Catherine Huang gave a more detailed explanation of the lean value process and noted that the process will incorporate all of the improvement measures adopted by each department to ensure that customers are provided with efficient, on-time delivery. Sullair Asia's Channel and Marketing Leader Vicky Ye shared Sullair's new brand concept as well as the strategic plan for future channel development and marketing campaigns. Meanwhile, Sullair Asia's Engineering Director Zhu Wang shared Sullair's product development trends with distributors and gave an overview of the performance features and applications of Sullair's new products, providing direction and guidance for distributors to expand into new industry markets.
Group discussions were also held during the conference, which further energized the meeting. In addition, Hitachi and Sullair management representatives visited meetings of four different sales teams, listened to the feedback and requests of distributors as well as joined in discussions to provide solutions, which helped further flesh out the details of Sullair's development plans.