China Hanwei Technology Group's gas sensors have achieved great success in overseas markets, with a market share of nearly 80% in the Russian security market; a market share of 80% in North American education laboratory projects; in the Korean boiler market, home appliances and home alarms In the appliance market, the market share is close to 60%; in Turkey and the Middle East security market, the market share has reached 60%; in the European home appliances and air purification fields, the market share has also reached 30%. In addition, Hanwei Technology has been in the market of alcohol detectors and combustible gas alarms for many years. For example, combustible gas alarms have a large market share in Romania, and alcohol detectors have a large market share in Poland.
Hanwei Technology Group is China's leading gas sensor company, instrument manufacturer, Internet of Things solution provider, and one of the first companies listed on the GEM (stock code: 300007). The group has achieved independent control over the entire industrial chain from material technology, design to process, and has obtained 763 patents, including 114 invention patents, breaking international monopolies many times. It has more than 300 sensor products in 17 major series, including catalytic combustion, semiconductor, electrochemistry, infrared optoelectronics, PID, MEMS, laser, flexibility, and ultrasonic. Provide complete IoT solutions for urban management, industrial safety, environmental protection, home safety and health, as well as smart cars, smart home appliances, medical health, human-computer interaction and other fields. The products cover nearly 100 countries and regions around the world, serving customers The number exceeds 30,000.
Figure 1: Ren Hongjun, Chairman of Hanwei Technology Group
The products currently sold in overseas markets mainly include: 1) industrial gas and toxic gas sensors; 2) gas sensors, carbon monoxide sensors, air purification sensor products, and smart home application sensor products in the civil field; 3) gas, CO, air purification, refrigerant detection sensors; 4) AQS air sensing modules in the automotive field, new energy thermal runaway, hydrogen energy hydrogen detection sensors; 5) consumer alcohol detectors and household combustible gas alarms, etc.
Figure 2: Laser methane household gas alarm and fixed gas alarm detector developed by Hanwei Technology Group
Under the current situation of excessive involution caused by declining demand in the Chinese market, more and more local Chinese brand semiconductor suppliers are focusing on overseas markets. Moreover, the current favorable international environment at the right time and place also provides the following five opportunities for Chinese brand products to enter overseas markets. growth opportunities.
First, after years of accumulation, China is now able to compete with its international counterparts in many application fields. At the same time, as a country with the most complete industrial chain, Chinese devices have a large number of application scenario opportunities in the country, making Chinese semiconductor sensors a global leader. It has the most comprehensive application scenarios and has the potential and ability to lead global applications.
Second, technological innovation and R&D capabilities: China’s local brand semiconductor product suppliers have made significant progress in technological innovation and R&D capabilities, and are already on par with international levels in certain segments. And it has launched competitive products and solutions in multiple fields, such as gas alarms, household appliances, Internet of Things, etc. This kind of technological innovation, R&D capabilities and economies of scale provide opportunities for China's local brand semiconductor product suppliers to gain competitive advantages in overseas markets.
Figure 3: Overall view of Hanwei Technology Group
Third, the global trade situation: deglobalization and Sino-US disputes have a certain impact on the overseas expansion of domestic semiconductors. Although the United States has a certain influence, since the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war, Russia has been unable to purchase European and American brand products, and its supply to China China has a fully open attitude towards business. At present, China’s exports to Russia and Central Asia are growing rapidly. At the same time, with the help of the national One Belt and One Road policy and the warning effect of restrictive policies in European and American countries on Asian and African countries, Chinese products are exported to Central Asia, the Middle East, Emerging countries such as Africa and ASEAN have ushered in rapid development opportunities, and Chinese local brands have the opportunity to replace well-known brands such as Honeywell, Figaro, and Nicera in the above regions.
Fourth, government support and tilt: Domestically, the Chinese government has always supported the development of the local semiconductor industry. Hanwei Technology Group is located in the Sensor Industrial Park of Zhengzhou High-tech Industrial Development Zone, Henan Province. It is the only large-scale, high-end semiconductor industry in the province. Sensor industrial park with characteristics such as industrialization. The government takes the lead in building an Internet platform for the sensor industry, providing Hanwei, which is in the "sensing ecosystem", with a good growth environment, talent support, industrial supporting facilities and financial services.
Figure 4: Hanwei Technology Group Headquarters Park
The government supports enterprises to go out of China and bring Chinese quality to the world stage. It provides certain subsidy support for overseas exhibitions, technical exchanges and other business activities to empower enterprises; overseas, with the adjustment of internal policies in other countries (such as safety in various fields The rigid demand for testing) may bring new demand growth points. For example, a serious school bus accident caused by drunk driving occurred in Japan. For this reason, the local government issued corresponding regulations, which promoted the rigid demand of the alcohol testing market and released a certain amount of money. market demand. In the future, new demands and new growth points for safety testing in overseas markets may appear. Hanwei will not only stabilize the existing market, but also continue to improve the competitiveness of its products and services, seize opportunities, continuously launch products that meet new needs, and open up new markets.
Fifth, Chinese enterprises persist in developing. For example, after many years of global promotion by Hanwei Technology Group, Hanwei/Weisheng Sensors has become a well-known brand in the field of gas detection, whether in Europe, America or third world countries, and has a good foundation for developing new application scenarios and promoting new products. Brand foundation.
Of course, for China's local brand semiconductor product suppliers, they also face many challenges when entering these overseas markets. Ren Hongjun, chairman of Hanwei Technology Group, pointed out, "The first is the current international environment. Sino-US decoupling and trade deglobalization have a certain impact on the sales of Chinese products in North America. Secondly, there is technological competition and innovation pressure: competition in overseas markets is fierce. Due to geographical restrictions and operating cost considerations, Chinese local brands basically rely on online sales and have weak localization service capabilities. Moreover, many well-known international brands have already occupied a leading position. Chinese local brand semiconductor product suppliers can only strengthen their technical level with competitors. Maintain competitiveness in terms of innovation capabilities and continuously launch differentiated and high value-added products.”
He went on to say that in addition, there are also challenges in the following three aspects: First, market access and regulatory requirements: Different countries and regions have different market access and regulatory requirements for semiconductor products. Suppliers of Chinese local brand semiconductor products need to understand and comply with the regulations and standards of the target market, including product certification, environmental protection, industry standards, etc., to ensure product compliance and smooth market entry, such as European EN, IEC wait.
Second, delivery and logistics: The logistics in overseas markets are complex and diverse, which will bring challenges including logistics costs, delivery time, tariffs, etc. Suppliers of Chinese local brand semiconductor products need to manage supply chain and logistics through multiple channels to ensure that products can be delivered on time. For example, when FEDEX and DHL are currently unavailable in Russia, companies must open multiple logistics channels such as air transportation, truck transportation, and railways to flexibly meet customer needs.
Third, cultural and language differences: Overseas markets involve different cultural backgrounds and language environments, which may become barriers to communication and understanding, especially in countries with small languages. Korean, French, Spanish, and Russian speaking groups are also very large, such as Marketing and branding in these areas is difficult without language experts. Suppliers of Chinese local brand semiconductor products need to adapt to and understand the cultural and language characteristics of the target market in order to communicate and cooperate effectively.
In order to cope with these challenges, Hanwei Technology Group has formulated six major strategic initiatives. Mr. Ren said that we first increased investment in technological innovation and research and development, and continuously improved the technical level and innovation capabilities of our products. The sensor industry chain is integrated horizontally and vertically, maintaining an R&D investment level of 7% of annual revenue, strengthening the talent advantages of Shanghai and Shenzhen R&D centers, and jointly leveraging their respective advantages.
Secondly, we have established a sound product quality management system and passed ISO9001, ISO14001, ISO45001, and IAFT16949 certifications. For our main products, we actively apply for internationally recognized quality certifications, such as UL in the United States, CE in the European Union, etc., to prove that the products meet international standards and market requirements.
Secondly, we have strengthened the research on overseas market access: in-depth understanding of the market access and regulatory requirements of the target market, such as IEC60335 in the refrigeration industry, WELL building series standard certification, LEED and RESET focusing on the comfort and health of building occupants. Construction certification, by working with local partners or professional consulting agencies, obtains accurate market information and guidance to ensure that products can enter the market smoothly.
At the same time, we have also strengthened brand building and promotion in overseas markets. We have established a professional overseas marketing department, with SEO, SEM, and brand promotion each performing their own duties, and strengthening Internet, social media marketing, and localized promotion of small languages. By participating in activities such as international exhibitions, industry forums, and technical seminars, we demonstrate product advantages, establish connections with customers, and increase brand exposure.
In addition, we focus on strengthening localization strategy and team building: deploying dealer networks in target markets, using dealer sales teams to understand local culture and market characteristics, and providing better customer support and communication. Recruit and train talents with cross-cultural background and language skills to enhance understanding and adaptability to the target market.
Finally, we actively expand our business in emerging world factory countries, such as ASEAN, Mexico, and Turkey, and use third-party complete machine product opportunities to enter the European and American markets.
Hanwei Technology's gas sensor products mainly have the following three major selling points. "First of all, Hanwei is one of the few suppliers that has core sensor components and finished product manufacturing. It has its own technology and long-term technology accumulation, and its product quality is stable and reliable." Mr. Ren pointed out, "Secondly, the product categories are complete, providing one-stop We provide flexible packaging solutions to meet different customer needs. Finally, we support flexible production and can quickly meet customer customized needs.”
In terms of technical support and after-sales service, Hanwei Technology has established an iron triangle team (sales + technology + product manager) to jointly serve customers. We have a dedicated technical support and after-sales service team.
Hanwei Technology Group's overseas market brand marketing strategy adopts the following four main methods to advance simultaneously.
1) Engine promotion: Establish a multilingual website (English, Korean, Russian), continuously optimize SEM with the help of international search engines Google and Yandex, promote products and brands globally, and increase the visibility and influence of the company in the industry and various application fields .
2) Cross-border e-commerce: Lay out the cross-border e-commerce market, operate stores on Alibaba International Station, AliExpress, Independent Station, and OZON platforms, and use the platform to attract traffic for brand promotion and sales increase, and have achieved good results.
3) Social media platforms: Compared with domestic communication, which usually focuses on news platforms, the important positions of overseas communication are mostly social media platforms. Platforms such as Facebook and Youtube are more likely to attract customer interaction. We combined overseas communication trends with promotion on Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn and overseas forums, and regularly released brand promotion materials.
4) Dealer network: Use the network channels of dealers and overseas agents to build your brand.
Mr. Ren also shared Hanwei Technology’s overseas marketing experience. He said that generally a layered communication strategy should be considered to maximize overseas market influence. For example, for an exhibition, the communication strategy should be determined at least three months in advance, and the organizer's media platform should be used to obtain pre-show reports or interviews by spoiling product highlights in advance. Make full use of exhibition forums to create more opportunities for contact with customers and media. Conduct post-show reviews to extend the long-tail effect of marketing.
Mr. Ren specifically pointed out: "If it is social media marketing, since there are big differences between foreign and domestic cultures, it is recommended that everyone do a good job in training and public opinion management to avoid reputation risks caused by cultural differences. Domestic marketing mainly focuses on new products. New technologies and new application levels. In addition to these, foreign marketing also focuses on shaping the image of industry leaders. When marketing, we must tell more attractive corporate stories and pay attention to the sustainable development of corporate culture and business models.”
In addition, conduct in-depth research on local market demand and consumer behavior, and formulate targeted marketing strategies based on different markets. Strengthening cooperation with local partners or distribution platforms and obtaining more channels and resources through cooperation is also a good way to increase brand awareness and market share.
In the end, all marketing methods are designed to reach users and promote cooperation. Whether customers can ultimately repurchase and whether they can achieve long-term and stable cooperation depends on the product. Over the years, Hanwei Technology has been committed to continuously improving the performance, cost-effectiveness, services and other comprehensive advantages of its products to lay a solid foundation for overseas marketing.
Mr. Ren also shared some effective marketing strategies. For example, 1) Provide English or minority language customers with detailed product specifications and performance information, including communication, power consumption, size, interfaces, etc., and can download it on the website to help buyers understand whether the product meets their needs and expectations. . 2) Provide reference customers and successful cases: Provide customer references and success cases in related industries, especially leading customers in the same industry, to demonstrate the advantages and results of the product in practical applications and increase customers' trust in the product. 3) Provide product reviews and comparisons, including comparisons with competitor products, to help customers better understand the advantages and differences of your products.
The vision of Hanwei Technology Group is: to become a leader in IoT solutions with sensors as the core
The important development milestones of Hanwei Technology Group are as follows:
--On September 11, 1998, Henan Hanwei Electronics Co., Ltd. (the predecessor of Hanwei Technology Group) was established in Zhengzhou. In the same year, Hanwei developed its first sensor, the MQ metal oxide semiconductor gas sensor, which was mainly used to detect household combustible gas leaks. This was Hanwei's first step on the sensor road.
--In 2003, Hanwei developed the first gas detection instrument, the independent combustible gas detector, which marked Hanwei's official entry into the gas detection instrument industry.
--In 2005, the first phase of Hanwei Industrial Park covering an area of 13,000 m2 was completed and put into use.
--In October 2009, Hanwei was officially listed on the GEM of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, becoming the first batch of GEM-listed companies in the country and the first in Henan Province.
--In 2010, the Hanwei Internet of Things Technology Industrial Park started construction, starting the process of comprehensively entering the Internet of Things industry. So far, three major industrial sectors have been formed with sensors as the core, intelligent instrumentation as the pillar, and system solutions and the Internet of Things as the guide.
--From 2013 to 2015, Hanwei focused on both industrial development and capital operation. Through independent research and development and mergers and acquisitions, it successively acquired a number of data collection, software, GIS and other IoT technology-related companies, building its own IoT technology ecosystem and integrating Sensing sensors, smart terminals, communication technology, geographical information, cloud computing, big data and other technologies are closely integrated to establish a complete IoT industry chain, successfully creating an industry-leading IoT industry ecosystem with sensors as the core, and further opening up the development space.
--In 2015, Hanwei established the Internet of Things ecosystem with sensors as the core, and comprehensively explored the four major areas of production safety, people's livelihood and health, smart cities, and environmental protection.
--In 2017, Hanwei Electronics officially changed its name to "Hanwei Technology Group Co., Ltd.", starting the road to group development.
--In 2018, the Xiangyun IoT platform was released, sharing years of accumulated industry experience and IoT technology with many companies in the industry, driving the development of the entire industry.
--In November 2020, the second headquarters (Shanghai headquarters) of Hanwei Technology Group was officially opened, focusing on advanced sensors such as MEMS and optoelectronic technology, digital economic cloud platforms and applications, and increasing research and development innovation, marketing, and investment cultivation platforms construction.
--In July 2021, Hanwei's "Urban Lifeline Perception and Operation Platform" was released, which will help comprehensively improve the government's comprehensive management capabilities and build a safe and stable urban underground "lifeline".
--In 2022, Suzhou Nengstar, a subsidiary of Hanwei, received strategic investment from Xiaomi's fund. Its advanced flexible sensors will be combined with Xiaomi's smart IoT terminal products for large-scale application in smart wearables, smart homes and other fields.
