magazine for business and investment - Innovatives Niedersachsen
magazine for business and investment - Innovatives Niedersachsen
magazine for business and investment - Innovatives Niedersachsen
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Foreign Trade Prize<br />
46 <strong>Niedersachsen</strong> Global<br />
Foreign Trade Prize 2012<br />
The 9th <strong>Niedersachsen</strong> Foreign Trade Day 2012 in Hanover<br />
was totally dedicated to the ASEAN region. The 2012<br />
Foreign Trade Prize was awarded to the company Purplan.<br />
In the interview Purplan MD Andreas S<strong>and</strong>mann talks about the<br />
skills, expertise <strong>and</strong> international ambitions of his company.<br />
Interview: Stefanie Stüting<br />
Were you surprised to win the <strong>for</strong>eign trade prize?<br />
We were very surprised that Purplan was awarded the <strong>Niedersachsen</strong> Foreign Trade<br />
Prize. Our co-nominees are all very well placed companies with impressive international<br />
per<strong>for</strong>mance. However, we did have a little ray of hope as in the last few years we have<br />
made waves in our <strong>for</strong>eign trade activities <strong>and</strong> achieved some things.<br />
In which countries is Purplan now represented <strong>and</strong> where do you supply?<br />
In Germany Purplan is represented by the head office in Wallenhorst, <strong>Niedersachsen</strong><br />
<strong>and</strong> by another site in Freimersheim, Rheinl<strong>and</strong>-Pfalz. Added to this are our international<br />
subsidiaries in China <strong>and</strong> the USA. The latter is currently under construction. Overall we<br />
have 140 employees working <strong>for</strong> our group. A network of international representations<br />
in Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Egypt <strong>and</strong> South Africa supports our employees worldwide so<br />
that our systems can now be found spread across the whole planet - from Russia through<br />
India, Chile, the Middle East to Canada <strong>and</strong> many more.<br />
What is the biggest challenge to accessing new markets <strong>and</strong> being on the<br />
road there?<br />
A big challenge <strong>and</strong> particularly <strong>for</strong> small <strong>and</strong> medium-enterprises is to obtain the necessary<br />
local knowledge about the market in question. There<strong>for</strong>e in this regard it is sensible<br />
to build up your networks in good time. Trade mission trips, participation in <strong>business</strong> pools<br />
<strong>and</strong> in international days held by local chambers of commerce <strong>and</strong> industry can help with<br />
this. The German <strong>for</strong>eign trade chambers also provide excellent support in this regard <strong>and</strong><br />
set up contacts to the local chambers. This all enables you to gain an initial impression of<br />
the circumstances of a country/region <strong>and</strong> also to meet a few contact partners.<br />
Another challenge is the flexibility required to firmly establish yourself in an international<br />
market. It is also necessary to be flexible in the application of existing expertise<br />
<strong>and</strong> experiences so as to meet the needs of the new local customer group. Even if the<br />
technical core units of our systems are characterised by German know-how, it is still necessary<br />
to consider the specific situations of the particular country. Examples of these include<br />
the existing processes <strong>and</strong> systems in the processing industry of the respective country<br />
which require customised management concepts. It is also recommended to incorporate<br />
any different regulatory frameworks, climate conditions <strong>and</strong> existing procedural steps <strong>for</strong><br />
approvals into the project work from an early stage. Added to this are the “soft factors”
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