The former “Beckhoff Representative Office” in Shanghai has now been legally established as an autonomous subsidiary company and has been trading as a self-contained company since 1st September 2007. With this step, Beckhoff has set a new milestone in the intensification of trade relationships within China.

Beckhoff has been active in the Chinese market for a decade: after being represented by a distributor from 1997 to 2001, the first representative office was opened in Beijing in 2001. Because of rapid business development, an office in Shanghai followed in 2003 and in Guangzhou in 2004 to be even more accessible for customers in East and South China. The company headquarters were subsequently relocated from Beijing to the financial metropolis of Shanghai.

With a 2005 change in Chinese law that allowed foreign investors to found Chinese sales companies with 100 % foreign shareholding, Beckhoff decided to convert the representative office into a selfcontained sales organisation. “This move offers a range of advantages such as direct marketing of components via Beckhoff China, an extended range of services covering training, service and support, and rapid availability of Beckhoff products from a local warehouse,” said Kai Ristau, International Sales Manager of Beckhoff Automation. “It enables us to change our modus operandi for the Chinese market. After 10 years in China, Beckhoff has already become a brand for automation products, but this step will lead to even higher acceptance in the Chinese market.”