On May 1, Suzuki Shokan newly formed Overseas Sales Department under the Sales Division, aiming to expand business in the Southeast Asian region.

Suzuki Shokan’s overseas business first started in 2002 when a maintenance company for vacuum pumps was established in Malaysia. After great efforts with the employed local staff, the company grew its business up to a stable level. Though there had been no further investment since then, Suzuki established a vacuum pump maintenance company in Thailand in 2011, Suzusho Thailand to handle chemical products in 2012 and also a chemical company in Malaysia.

The recent enhancement of Suzuki’s overseas business is intended to respond to the advancing foreign business of its customers in Japan. In anticipation of continuance of this trend, at the end of the year before last Suzuki redeveloped Foreign Trade Administration Department which integratedly controls the foreign trade including the actual export/import transactions in general and compliance arrangements.

The current scale of Suzuki’s overseas business accounts for about 200 million yen, but it is planning on a five times more turnover in three years. According to Suzuki Shokan, it is rather difficult for the company itself to incorporate a local company of own. Therefore, it aims to build up business bases for the purpose to supply products to its conventional customers which had already advanced to Asia.

Judging from the recent trend in general, the company places an emphasis upon the ASEAN economic community zone, and first has named Indonesia as a top candidate where Suzuki Shokan’s customers are now advancing one after another.