Hans Andersson, executive vice president and export manager for the Asian market, explains that so far this year, Japan and South Korea have been good for Svensson, but China has entailed more difficulties. “The Chinese are good at making imitations, and they will always copy the market leader, although the quality of their fabrics is inferior, similar to the one we had when we started in the mid 80’s. Despite all the copies, we remain the biggest player in China,” affirms Hans. “We are specialised in climate solutions and they are just textile companies making screens.”Most of Ludvig Svensson’s current business focuses on high-end glasshouses and in the best plastic houses, including the Venlo style greenhouse. According to Hans, the needs of Chinese growers, like everywhere else, depend on the climate conditions and what they are cultivating.
“Most are devoted to flower growing and thus they mostly need the shade screens with 50-60% shading; usually one outside and two inside,” explains Hans. “For their part, flame retardant screens have barely any presence in the Asian market, as glasshouse/greenhouse insurances do not exist in China, and Japan refuses them.”
Svensson screens installed at a Chinese operation
On the other hand, Harmony screens for light diffusion started being distributed about two years ago and are currently gaining popularity. According to Hans, many of the best growers pay attention to what is going on in other countries at fairs and exhibitions and will follow their example. In China, most of Ludvig Svensson’s competitors are Chinese manufacturers.
The Chinese factory of AB Ludvig Svensson just outside Shanghai in Qingpu.
“The difficulty in China is that most things are controlled by the Government, which makes the whole buying and selling process very complex. You can make a contract, but then the delivery times are often delayed. It has potential to become a very large market, but you really need to become familiar with the system,” concludes Hans Andersson.
For more information: Ludvig Svensson
Hans Andersson
hans.andersson@svenssonglobal.com
www.ludvigsvensson.com