Etteplan steps it up in China

The new cyclical nature of China’s market and the rise in labor costs in all pay classes has led China on a quest for cost-efficiency and flexibility. This has caused not only the purchasing of expert services to become more popular but also the modernization of production in order to reduce labor costs.

“Modernizations have been made in Western-owned plants but they are now also spreading to Chinese-owned companies. This development opens up entirely new opportunities for an expert company like Etteplan, which specializes in industrial engineering services, embedded systems, the industrial internet and technical documentation, ” says Etteplan’s CEO, Juha Näkki .

The growth in business in China is currently at a few tens of percent for Etteplan annually. To further boost this growth, the company is opening two new offices in Beijing and Xi’an, China. Etteplan’s current offices are located in Shanghai, Kunshan and Suzhou and employ as many as 250 people.

“Our recruitment needs in China will grow with the establishment of two additional offices in entirely new areas. One of the offices will be based in the city of Xi’an, which houses an excellent university of technology. We wish to collaborate more closely with the university because we want to be near students and, in particular, graduating students. Competition for skilled people is tough in China, ” says Näkki.

Chinese people trust Finnish engineers

In addition to the industrial shift taking place in China, other growth opportunities for Etteplan result from a cultural change occurring in the purchasing of services.

“Before, the buying or outsourcing of engineering services was either unheard of or considered unnecessary in China. Chinese companies are now focusing more and more on their core business and they have come to realize that they don’t need to do or know how to do everything themselves, ” Näkki explains.

With the period of fast growth drawing to a close, Chinese companies are also recognizing the cyclical nature of business, which can be compensated for through outsourcing to create flexibility.

“Our service offering meets this need because it combines broad engineering expertise, tailored service solutions and digitalization expertise. This is the direction that the sector is taking – away from traditional engineering work. We have strong expertise in, for instance, the industrial internet and technical documentation, which is shaped by digitalization.

“In addition, there is faith in the high quality of Western companies and in our reliability in IPR. We do well in price competition as well. It’s fair to say that if your products and services succeed in China, they can succeed anywhere, ” Näkki concludes.