Considering culture differences is critical when trying to localise company machine tools and company divisions to suit different regions, states engineering and machine tools manufacturer Fatek marketing manager Matt Yen.

“The engineering and machine tools industry is very broad and is applicable to almost all sectors globally. “However, given the different environments and cultural differences from country to country, when we produce machinery, we have to be sensitive to the region for which we plan to produce. In such cases, localisation becomes imperative to sustain our presence in those regions,” he says.

As a subsidiary of steel manufacturer Femco – which has an international presence across different sectors – Fatek has introduced new production lines, which have resulted in the company’s expansion into more industries, such as the pipe production industry, and into infrastructure projects.

Moreover, this has led the company to continuously consider new technologies that will provide its customers with high-quality, affordable products to suit the different sectors.

The Femco group comprises five business divisions: manufacturing applications, engineering and construction, the pipes and tubes division, machine tools and steel technology.

“For our manufacturing applications, we manufacture five-axis machines, boring and milling machines, horizontal and vertical machines and bridge milling machines. “Offering such a wide range of machine tools and developing new technologies in this area of our business have become important,” says Fatek international sales and marketing deputy manager Raymond Lin.

Fatek international sales and marketing sales specialist Michael Lee mentions that its pipes and tubes division leads the pipes industry in Taiwan, as it uses high-frequency welding technology for the production of its pipes.

He adds that, given Fatek’s precision in the manufacturing of steel pipes, the pipes are used in industries such as petrochemicals, construction, transport and public works.

“We are looking forward to entering the African market in the next few years, as we already have agents in South Africa for our pipes division. Also, with the mining industry being so dominant in Africa, it is becoming more important for us to consider how we can localise our products to suit those industries and African conditions,” Lee says.

In the engineering and construction division, Fatek note, in recent years, the company’s engineering and construction division has undertaken a lot of State-owned power utility Taiwan Power Company tenders, which has required the company to work on the piping and equipment construction of thermal power and nuclear plants, as well as steel structures and parking facilities in the country.

The Fatek machine tools and steel technology divisions have also undertaken projects for the Taiwan Power Company, with the subsequent successful completion of these projects resulting in the company providing its services in other regions such South-East Asia.

Lin mentions that the company will consider localising its business in India in 2015, as apprenticeship programmes, with 70 Indian learners across the different Fatek departments, are under way.

In so doing, Fatek believes that it will successfully establish itself in India and localise its business. With the expertise provided for the learners through the apprenticeship programmes, the company further believes that the learners will provide a “culture advantage” for the company.

• Fatek was visited during a media trip organised by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council in December last year