Starting in 2009, after five years of tempering and the unremitting efforts of Xie Feng and others, this new frontier has begun to take shape——namely, using cost-effective construction machinery made in China to boost national development and economic construction in the Asia-Pacific region, thereby achieving mutual benefit and a win-win situation.

The process of striving was clearly arduous. Xie Feng told reporters that before 2009, the new construction machinery market in the Asia-Pacific region was almost entirely controlled by international giants from the United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea and elsewhere. China's construction machinery legion not only had little market share, but was merely a “minor player” in the Asia-Pacific construction machinery market, let alone having a say.
Under these circumstances, Sany decided to take the lead in breaking the deadlock, striving to make Chinese manufacturing shine in the Asia-Pacific and to gain recognition for Chinese construction machinery from Asia-Pacific customers. In 2009, a group of marketing elites like Xie Feng were dispatched to multiple countries in the Asia-Pacific region to shoulder this important task.

Xie Feng still remembers vividly the days of making his way in the Asia-Pacific. According to him, when they first dealt with customers, many would either brush them off or directly refuse to meet them upon hearing that the construction machinery was made in China. Xie Feng and his team members almost all encountered such cold shoulders. Some customers even preferred to use second-hand machinery from Europe and America rather than equipment made in China.

Temporary setbacks did not defeat these determined “pioneers.” According to Xie Feng, because they have worked and lived overseas for many years, many Sany employees have fully integrated into local life and become localized Asia-Pacific talent. Quite a few marketing staff and service engineers have even married and had children locally. Employees with slightly better financial conditions have brought their families to the regions where they work.

The prerequisite for doing so is that they must spend a great deal of time and energy persuading their families. Fortunately, most family members of Sany employees are relatively supportive of their work, but there are individual exceptions. Just last year, a Sany service engineer married a local Indonesian girl. On the day of the wedding in Indonesia, the groom's mother cried her eyes swollen because she thought that after returning to China, it would be difficult to see her son and daughter-in-law.

Persuading family members and retaining localized talent is a problem Xie Feng has been working to solve.

But the benefits of internationalized and localized talent are obvious, and this has made Chinese manufacturing increasingly recognized by customers. In Thailand's largest construction machinery order in 2013, because Xie Feng and Da Rui, Thailand's national chief representative, had been stationed locally for many years, they quickly learned of this information, and through their efforts, Sany successfully won the order. “In particular, Da Rui not only speaks fluent Thai, but has also worked and lived in Thailand for eight years and has integrated into Thai culture, while still maintaining Sany's philosophy of 'quality changes the world, service creates value.'”

Similarly, the localization approach has a more direct and obvious effect on agents. Xie Feng believes that the agency system is the foundation of Sany's overseas market development. In selecting the 27 agents, agents in the Asia-Pacific region were strictly screened in accordance with the group's requirements to achieve a strong alliance between agents and Sany.

It is precisely this strong alliance that has enabled the Asia-Pacific region's performance to increase sixfold over five years. According to relevant reports, Sany ranks first in China's industry in export value in several key markets including Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Singapore. Especially in markets such as Thailand in 2013, Sany's market share of new truck cranes exceeded 70%.

Nearly 50 key projects in Asia-Pacific “escorted” by Sany equipment

Sany Asia-Pacific's cooperation with agents is reflected not only in sales but also in service work. Xie Feng said that Asia-Pacific has always adhered to developing agent marketing channels and following the agent service model.

Up to now, the Asia-Pacific region has established an excellent service team of 291 people, including 6 service department managers, 72 service managers, management representatives and technical and parts support engineers who support agents on the front line, and 213 agent service personnel, with an average of 15 units of equipment served per person; 103 service vehicles, with an average of 40 units served per vehicle; and 56 parts outlets.

Complete hardware has earned Sany Asia-Pacific customer recognition. “More importantly, our excellent service philosophy has abandoned sectarian prejudices and maintained an open and inclusive mindset, which makes customers favor us even more.” An incident three years ago remains fresh in Xie Feng's memory.

That day, Xie Feng met a customer on a plane. In conversation, he learned that the customer had bought a product from a Chinese competitor, but after a short time of use, the equipment broke down. Because the customer could not contact maintenance personnel, the equipment had been unusable. After hearing the customer's story, Xie Feng told him that Sany Heavy Industry not only has maintenance outlets in Thailand but also parts warehouses, and Sany Asia-Pacific could serve him.

After returning to Thailand, Xie Feng sent service engineers to repair the customer's equipment. After inspection, the service engineers found that an electrical component was damaged, and at that time such an electrical component was not available in Thailand. Xie Feng then instructed other service engineers to bring the part with them when returning to Thailand.

After the equipment was repaired, Xie Feng did not take the matter to heart. One day, Da Rui called Xie Feng to tell him that a customer had specifically asked to see him when purchasing Sany products. When Xie Feng arrived at the negotiation table, he discovered that the customer was none other than the person he had met on the plane.

Later, this customer purchased nearly 20 units of Sany equipment in succession. In this regard, Xie Feng said, “At the time, I did not expect the customer to buy Sany products; I just felt that since it was a product made in China, we should protect this brand, and everyone should work together so that construction machinery made in China can be recognized by Asia-Pacific customers.”

Xie Feng, who believes in the philosophy of “honor for all, disgrace for all,” has also won the respect of customers. According to incomplete statistics, Sany products have participated in nearly 50 key projects, including Thailand's national railway station, Indonesia's Tsingshan Industrial Park, Malaysia's second airport, Vietnam's thermal power plant project, Cambodia's Koh Kong Hydropower Station and Sihanoukville Thermal Power Station, the Philippines' tallest building, and Australia's largest natural gas project, and have been widely praised by customers.

Having walked through the “golden decade” hand in hand with Asia-Pacific countries, Xie Feng believes that the Asia-Pacific region has always been the vanguard of Sany's internationalization, and in the future “diamond decade” of cooperation, the horn for Sany Asia-Pacific's great leap forward has only just sounded.