and unloading docks, and a high-end Quality
Inspection Lab. Now, the company is working
on phase three of the CDC. “We will be
adding two 50-metre towers and a sorting
area within them. This will be a fully
automated racking system with shuttles inside
and it will be for pallet products. When it’s
complete the whole campus will be about
100,000 square metres.”
Larry says the CDC represents the
significant commitment Würth is making in
China. The CDC will be able to service the
company for the next 15–20 years. “It will
serve us here in China as well as in Asia–
Pacific as a central hub for Würth products
we supply in the region,” Larry says. “As
the group continues to develop and grow
globally, we have identified Asia and South
America as huge opportunities for growth.
“With the foundation that we already have in
place and now this capacity available to us, we have
every opportunity to continue to expand in this
region. The CDC and this phase in its development
is a key to that plan.”
A MAJOR MILESTONE
While Larry established Würth China in 2005, the
broader Würth Group has been in China since 1994.
The Group owns seven companies in the country
and marks its 25th anniversary this year. Larry says
Würth China is celebrating the occasion with its
workers. “We will be having a nice get-together;
bringing our employees from all over China down
to our central distribution centre in Haiyan and
having a family weekend.”
Although 25 years is a significant milestone,
Larry says it is “just the beginning”. “We’re a
very young company, so we want to have a nice
celebration, but we don’t want to lose focus of the
fact that we’re just starting. This is still something
that we can grow and develop.”
Larry attributes Würth China’s success to how
well it treats its employees and suppliers. “We allow
individuals to be successful and enable companies
to develop and adapt to the local market,” he says.
In addition to the employees, the Group emphasises
listening to and understanding what its customers
need. “That is something that has to be ingrained
within the company for it to continue to succeed.
If you don’t listen to your customers to find out
the problems they have, you can’t provide solutions
for them. They might not know exactly what they
want, but they know the problems they have. So,
the key to our success moving forward is to never
forget to listen,” Larry says.
Würth China has a lot of activities planned
in the future – it is exploring new markets and
looking further into ecommerce. “China has many
new ideas and cutting-edge concepts in place that
others outside the region don’t really recognise or
know,” Larry says. “We have a lot of new service
systems that we are perfecting in Europe and in
North America, as well as here in China, that we
want to integrate into our operations.”“THE KEY TO
SUCCESS IS TO
BE HUMBLE.”
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