and an expanded team of development and application specialists will be available. “We will enlarge our sales force too, so that our customers always have a direct and personal contact partner,” says Dr. Fu. The service offer is geared not only to multinational companies, but also important regional customers, for instance in the coatings and plastics industries. The managing director says that they manufacture not only for the Chinese market but, unlike the global players, do not always have their own formulational expertise. Creating True Added Value Through Local Knowhow “It is precisely here that we can create true added value with our local expertise, as regional manufacturers have differ- ent expectations of our additives than global producers,” he says. This is due on the one hand to the pronounced cost orientation, and on the other to the Chinese consumers’ constant demand for ever-new products that can only be met by innovation. Hence these markets are subject to extremely rapid change. “You cannot compare the end consumers in China to those in Europe and the U.S.,” asserts Dr. Fu. This makes it all the more important to customize existing products to match our customers’ special applications. But BYK is also considering developing new additives expressly for the Chinese market, says Dr. Fu. An important prerequisite: “We have to develop these innovations quickly.” And he is confident that “we will be able to meet this challenge.” Continuity and Change at ALTANA 21 Dr. Dechun Fu, who completed his doctorate in Materials Science, has in-depth knowledge of the different men- talities impacting the Chinese, European, and American markets because he has studied, done research, and worked on all three continents. A willingness to change is a hallmark of his career, as his switch from a position of technical responsibility to management shows. “Now I see my task as pushing ahead change at BYK,” he says.
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