Rutronik Poised for Expansion in Greater China and Asia

Article By : Matthew Burgess

As we settle into the beginning of the Lunar New Year, electronics distributor Rutronik has already made their intention for 2019 clear, expansion, expansion and expansion.

Electronics distributor Rutronik Electronics is a well-established European player, ranked 3rd in the European distribution market and 11th globally, but in recent months their expansion in Asia has taken centre stage. Rutronik hopes to capitalise on an electronics industry booming on an international scale, with Automotive, the IoT and Consumer continuing to be the standout sectors.

The overall strategic plan includes a first local warehouse in China and establishing their first warehouse ASEAN warehouse in Singapore. Rutronik will hope that the new warehouse in Singapore will help alleviate the additional duties they have incurred due to the U.S. – China trade war. As competitors struggle in Asia due to the chaos created by the ongoing trade war, Rutronik is hoping its planned warehouse will dramatically extend Rutronik’s logistics capability and give it greater flexibility.

“New warehouses, new offices, new hires, new investment” commented Michael Heinrich, General Manager Asia at Rutronik.

In 2018, the distributor recruited new talent as part of its expansion in Asia, and this process is projected to continue into 2020, with recruitment in the region going forward at an annual rate of 20-50%. In total, Rutronik's headcount in Asia increased by 50% in 2018.

Despite being a relative new player in the Asian market, pre-existing partnerships with the likes of Taiwan-based component manufacturer Yageo, have enabled Rutronik to get off to a quick start. Michael reported that the Asian market already accounts for “8-9% of Rutronik’s global turnover” and considering that “China is currently our 4th largest market” you can understand why Rutronik is confident.

(Source:Rutronik)

From a global perspective, Rutronik’s main target markets are currently the automotive and industrial sectors. In the automotive industry, the most important growth market is the electrisation of powertrain systems, namely hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles. In addition to automobiles, electric bicycles and power-assisted bicycles are of great interest. Industrialisation goes hand in hand with the advancement of digitalisation, especially complete internetworking via big data management.

"This is an exciting time," added Percy Lau, Marketing Director Asia, Rutronik. "We are working together with our partners and customers in China and Asia to build the future of the region.”