The Japan Times WORLD EYE REPORTS SWITZERLAND
©THE JAPAN TIMES	Thursday, August 2, 2001

An old hand makes a new start

SiberHegner is among the old guard in Asian trade, with a history dating back to the mid-1800s when prosperous European nations dominated sea routes around the world. Founded in Yokohama in 1865, SiberHegner is arguably the oldest foreign firm with uninterrupted operations in Japan. The trading company was initially set up to import the goods produced by Swiss firms that could not maintain an efficient, effective and economical marketing, sales and service network in the Far East. Unique among European trading houses, SiberHegner has kept its firm footing in Japan where 30 percent of the company's nearly 1,200 staff is based. The company is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland and now operates in 22 countries in Asia, the Americas and Europe.

Dr. Joerg Wolle, president and CEO of SiberHegner, has piloted a push beyond the traditional trading house concept.

But, unlike the traditional companies that stuck to trading commodities, SiberHegner focused its activities on highly specialised products and services. According to president and CEO Dr Joerg Wolle, SiberHegner is now a leading international marketing, sales and services group.

In line with increasing globalisation, SiberHegner has directed its activities into five strategic business segments - Technology, Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, Food & Ingredients, Premium Pet Products and Consumer Goods. It has also targeted small and medium-sized enterprises (SME's) as both suppliers and end-users.

"In Asia, Europe and the Americas, SiberHegner integrates the international sourcing, marketing and distribution of highly specialised products and services," explains Wolle, who began his career in the company as its representative in Hong Kong and China ten years ago and was appointed to his present positions in February 2000.

"Our multi-national, multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary market intelligence provides sound knowledge networks -- bridging Asia and the West, manufacturers and end-users, technologies and applications. This market intelligence has been developed and tested for nearly 140 years in 22 countries on 4 continents," he continues.

Pushing beyond the traditional concept of the trading house, SiberHegner's market intelligence adds value via its STAR business concept, an acronym for Services, Top-specialists, Access and Reliability.

While the company provides global services to partners and access to competitive markets, it also stresses its assets of reliability and access to specialists through its after-service. "Quite simply, our business model enables SiberHegner to deliver sophisticated solutions to complex problems." summarises Wolle.

"The economies of scale mean that for many American and European SME's, marketing, selling and servicing their products in Japan themselves would be inefficient, ineffective and uneconomical. So, since 1865, they have relied on Nihon SiberHegner (NSH) to represent them in Japan. NSH is very highly regarded and trusted in Japan because of its commitment to clients and continuity," he adds.

American and European SME's are not the only ones relying on SiberHegner's market intelligence to market, sell and service their products in high-entry countries like Japan. Many large Japanese companies that plan expansion to Europe have also tapped the veteran player for its European market intelligence.

The focus on services, top-specialists, access and reliability has proven wise. According to the Japanese Diamond Economic Magazine, NSH's pre-tax performance in the year ending February 2001 puts it among the top 5 percent of all Japanese companies. Wolle concludes, "This is clear evidence that the old hand's new start is a great success."

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