Swedish door company to target China

ASSA ABLOY locks are displayed in a shop in Riga, Latvia, Sept 19, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

Swedish door manufacturer ASSA ABLOY has appointed its former deputy Asia president Lars-Gunnar Edh to a newly-created position of chief executive of the Great China market.

The move signals the company's intention to tap the big but ever challenging Chinese market.

Since the company's entry into China in the late 1990s, ASSA acquired and bought many local brands such as Panpan door, Guli and Yale electric lock. Last year, China contributed more than 4 per cent of the group's revenue.

"I would focus on production upgrading and supply management improvement," Edh said. "We aim to be the number one in the Chinese market."

It is the first time ASSA ABLOY has separated China from the rest of its Asian business.

With the slowing down of the real estate market, SAAS is trying to navigate the marketplace in second and even third tiers cities instead of focusing only on the big developers in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Edh said the company would invest in robots and smart automation to improve quality and tap the growing labor cost.

"Last year was tough. This year would be tough too. But next year would see big increase and I believe the urbanization would bring opportunity," he said.