Actronic CEO Mark Templeton makes sure his clients are always right. By Christine Nikiel

Mark Templeton keeps three words top of mind when his company is dealing with its Chinese clients: relationships are paramount. It’s advice from the Chinese partner which has successfully guided Templeton’s company, Actronic, through the cultural intricacies of doing business the Chinese way.

Avondale-based Actronic makes electronic weighing systems for use in rugged environments. Three years ago, the company opened an office in Shanghai, near its partner, the Chinese subsidiary of multinational precision measurement company Mettler Toledo. The multinational provides Actronic’s Loadrite products to Chinese port companies, which use them to measure coal and iron ore onto rail wagons.

When a port company suggested that Actronic was to blame for an electrical fault on a wheel loader, Templeton’s first reaction was to loudly object. He knew from the machine’s diagnostics that it was not at fault. However, Mettler Toledo advised him to swallow his objections, and forked out for one-third of the maintenance cost itself.

“If we’d been in the US or Europe we’d have protested vigorously, because of the risk of litigation against us,” says Templeton. “But Mettler Toledo told us that, in China, taking your share of the burden was a demonstration of your commitment to the relationship.”

Last year, Actronic turned over $23 million, 95% of which was generated from exports to 40 countries. Templeton says Chinese government-owned companies, such as port and rail, are yet to truly embrace commercialism. When they do, Actronic wants to be at the top of their list, but there’s still work to be done. “Until you’ve established a level of trust, it doesn’t matter how good the value proposition or brand is.”

Templeton reckons setting up business in China is at least a five-year project, due to the size and segmentation of the market.

“You can’t measure your progress from month to month, or even year to year, so all the more effort is needed to understand the cultural differences and situations.”

That point is illustrated by the situation Actronic discovered when it sent a local technician to fix a problem in a remote mine. The technician found he hadn’t taken the right tools, and had to go to the nearest supply outlet, buy them, and then go back and fix the problem.

“We said, come on, surely he should have brought the right tools to the job. But Mettler Toledo told us he would probably have travelled several hours by bus and then maybe ridden a scooter to the site,” says Templeton. “There isn’t regular transport, and he couldn’t be carrying every tool he thought he needed.”

Now Actronic has a selection of tools at suppliers dotted around the countryside – to the technicians’ relief.

Another near faux-pas could have been the end of the company’s relationship with Mettler Toledo. For the first few years of their contract (and before Templeton’s time), Actronic supplied Mettler Toledo from New Zealand, preferring to provide remote support and regular market visits before setting up overseas. The Chinese subsidiary finally questioned how committed the Kiwis were to the partnership because there was no office in China. Actronic immediately set up a Shanghai base, installed a software designer and agreed to work exclusively with Mettler Toledo.

Actronic has already made a deep impression on the board, says David Mahon, chair of the China Advisory Board for the New Zealand Trade & Enterprise Beachheads.
“Actronic was the first company to be formally accepted into NZTE’s China Beachhead programme, and it has already established its own beachhead here with a local distributor and a representative office. That level of commitment is an important part of being in the programme.”