Chinese Knife Story---Five Major Factions

There are five major factions active in China. The first is the Sandvik faction. Sandvik has a large and complex tool branch, so there are many brothers in China. The second is the American faction, mainly represented by Kennametal, Widia, Star, etc. The third is the European faction, mainly based in Germany, including MAPAL, Guehring, EMUGE, TBT, Wagner, etc. The fourth is the Japanese faction, including Mitsubishi Sumitomo, Toshiba, OSG, Daijie, Fujikoshi, Hitachi, etc. The fifth is the Israel

The Sandvik Group includes Sandvik Coromant, Seco, Titex, Walter, Valenite, etc. They form a unique landscape of mountains and green mountains. For example, Sweden's Seco is still an independent world, and even in Sandvik's public performance report, Seco also appears independently. When Sandvik acquired Valenite, Seco successfully acquired the French tool holder and boring tool manufacturing company ─ EPB and the Dutch company Jabro, which produces solid carbide milling cutters, further improving its product line; after the family business Walter was sold to Sandvik, it was basically still busy with the dual expansion of Walter's business and brand in China; Titex, which has outstanding advantages in the field of deep hole processing, seemed to have been standing behind the scenes for many years until it participated in the CIMT exhibition alone for the first time in 2003. With sales of 20 million yuan this year, Titex has enough confidence to gain a larger market share with an independent image.

Among the five major factions, ISCAR's growth rate can only be described as "dizzy". IMC (Iscar Metal Cutting Group), which is mainly based on ISCAR, has become the world's third largest tool supplier. ISCAR merged with Ingersoll mainly because of its development capabilities in heavy tools, automotive industry, and mold industry special tools. The acquisition of South Korea's Taegutec marks its further expansion in Asia. IMC Group expects sales to reach US$900 million to US$1 billion in 2004.

Japanese knives, which are famous for their precision, have mature and complicated agency channels in China. Some people joke that any Japanese tool through its agency can cover the Targan Basin in Xinjiang within half a year. European and American companies pay more attention to the construction of direct sales networks, and have a mutual protection mechanism for agents, with a solid foundation and standardized operations; while Japanese companies tend to tend to expand the market and sometimes neglect brand management, resulting in numerous agents and even "each other". Pinch the goods." This situation has attracted great attention from Japanese suppliers. Strengthening channel management should be one of the important tasks of the Japanese department.

After Kennametal acquired Widia in 2002, it greatly consolidated its position in the automotive industry. As the world's second largest tool company, Kennametal's strategy in China is basically low-key, with relatively little external publicity. Except for the CIMT exhibition held every two years, you can hardly see them in too many public occasions. Both General Manager Lin Xiongsheng and business managers seem to be tight-lipped. However, there are countless knights walking on the "knife mountain", many of whom are related to Kennametal, which can be regarded as the Huangpu Military Academy of exquisite knives in China. Many agents who later became famous came from Kennametal. The 65-year-old origin, the reputation of China's years of hard work, and the huge and complete sales network still make them the most influential brand in China after Sandvik Coromant.

Other products include products from countries and regions such as South Korea and Taiwan. The influence of the Korean wave is not only reflected in the popularity of fashion and culture, but also in the popularity of Korean knives. Taegutec in South Korea has a complete range of tool products. But the price advantage is not that great; KORLOY is more affordable, and with the help of its tool handle products, it quickly entered the Chinese market.