Doing Business in India and China

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Jakeman: Absolutely. One of the key challenges is the under bonnet [hood] temperature, where it's going up all of the time. We're bringing out new products and enhancing existing products to cope with that increase in temperature. This is why I mentioned that thermal products are particularly attractive to the designers at the moment, because of the high temperature range we can go to, both in silicone and non-silicone products. A lot of people don't like silicone near electronics, so the non-silicone pastes are very attractive.

Matties: Right. Now another large growth area that I'm hearing about is in the wearable electronics arena. Are you in that space, at all?

Jakeman: Yes we are. We have an initiative with Farnell in the UK. There is quite a lot of PR going on about that at the moment through our digital marketing team.

Matties: Where do you see that headed?

Jakeman: I don't know. I've been looking, like everybody, at the iWatch. I'm not quite sure it's ready for me yet. It still needs the phone sitting alongside you, but I can see the advantages.

Matties: How many employees does Electrolube have?

Jakeman: Here in China, in the Beijing operation, we have nearly 70 people. But we've also got a joint venture just outside Hangzhou where there's probably another 130–140 people. We're just over the 200 mark, worldwide.

Matties: What do you see for the coming year, 2015–2016? Continued growth?

Jakeman: Yes, we plan to see group growth of almost 20%. Last year we did just over 30%. A little less than this year but that's because we've saturated a couple of the markets. But it's still pretty impressive growth.

Matties: It sounds like the big growth area for you is in India.

Jakeman: Absolutely.

Matties: Overall, how does it feel to do business in India right now and what's next for India?

Jakeman: I took my manufacturing guy with me two weeks ago, and it was quite interesting. The comment he made was that it had very much the feel of China back in 1999, when we first came out here to set up. And if you look at the development that's happened in China, you can see the same development happening in India. It's good to be at the start, you know? I mean, if we were trying to get India into China today it would be a very different story. And we're now here in China with part of that domestic market, as well as exporting manufactured products all over the world. We want to do the same in India.

Matties: Culturally, what's it like doing business in India?

Jakeman: It's funny. In theory, we all speak the same language but we both know that probably won't happen. It's actually easier, to be frank, for a Brit operating in India because of the language. Everybody speaks English of some description. The accents can be challenging, but you can usually communicate very easily. Whereas in China, as you know, it's a lot more difficult. We enjoy it though.

Matties: Now in China, in the early days, and all the way up to today, there is plenty of corruption. Are you seeing the same kind of corruption levels in India that we've witnessed here?

Jakeman: It sort of depends on how you operate. If you will not be a party to corruption, you can still operate quite well. It certainly exists and it can sometimes cause you difficulties, and it is hard to understand what they are. But there is always a solution that does not involve being part of it. That's what I've found over the years both in India and South America, and also here in China. But it can be a frightening place for Europeans. The harshness of life is much more evident in India than it is China. And the food is a bit more challenging, as well. I mean, the thing about India is that it's spices, spices, and spices! You have to be prepared for that, really. I certainly don't go to my local Indian takeaway for a couple of weeks after I've had a visit. [laughs]

Matties: Well Ron, it’s been great talking to you and catching up. I'm glad to hear you guys are doing well.

Jakeman: It was good to see you Barry.

• < Previous Page