Volume 4, Number 3
October 1996
This month, CTD APO Vice President Randy Williams discusses the role of our Asia Pacific Operations within Carrier Transicold, and how Carrier 2000 will impact that sector of our business.
Carrier 2000 means growth, and CTD Asia Pacific Operations (APO) will play a significant role in that. At APO, we've targeted market opportunities to nearly triple APO's sales volume by the year 2000. Targeting growth opportunities is only the first step. The biggest challenges are delivering quality product that meets local market needs, and developing a responsive customer service infrastructure.
It's my conviction that focus on product quality and customer responsiveness is the single most important element in achieving Carrier 2000 goals. In day-to-day life, CTD salespersons make the first sale and maintain the customer relationship. However, it's our product performance and customer responsiveness that turn first-time customers into customers for life. For that to happen, all CTD employees must have a real sense of urgency to serve the customer.
That's why Carrier 2000 is also focused on employee satisfaction. Our people can only have a passion for customer service if they really enjoy and take pride in working for Carrier Transicold. As a tool for listening to employees and for giving them the power to have input on how the business is run, Carrier 2000 concerns both employee and customer satisfaction - and those two factors will drive our financial results.
To win, to grow, and to satisfy our customers' needs, we must invest more in our people and in training. This is particularly important in developing markets such as Asia where we are growing the infrastructure and institutional knowledge that has existed in the West for many years. Carrier 2000 will help us better understand the need to train our employees, distributors and customers. Developing application, operation, and service know-how in Asia is a prerequisite for sustaining long-term growth.
Carrier 2000 must also focus on dramatic cost reduction. To achieve the aggressive Year 2000 profitability target, we need to improve operational efficiency and earn a greater premium for our products while driving down product costs. In Asia, cost competitiveness and pricing is particularly fierce. Carrier 2000 will provide a better global understanding of the challenges we face to grow our sales and profits in a more competitive environment.
It is also my hope that Carrier 2000 creates an understanding of what it means to be global. To me, "global" means efficiently meeting local customers' needs - wherever they may be. Our employees and customers in Asia are a great distance from many of our design and manufacturing centers, yet still need to work cohesively with others in our organization around the world. Fortunately, the CTD Change Team has taken the time to listen to our employees and customers in Asia, to understand their needs, and to experience what it's like to conduct business in this marketplace. Cultures, values, languages, time zones, distance, climate, infantile market conditions, Asian competitors, Asianized products, and rapid growth all add complex dimensions to Asia. By creating better global understanding among all of us, Carrier 2000 will be an essential step for us in fulfilling our growth potential in Asia - and around the world.
What does Carrier 2000 mean for APO and all of CTD? Growth. A global endeavor for a global enterprise. Quality products and customer responsiveness, delivered by employees who care about and enjoy what they do. And it means winning and prospering through greater CTD profitability. It means an upward spiral of prosperity!
Randy Williams
Vice President, CTD APO
Success in Australia
The biggest single order for trailer refrigeration units placed in Australia in the past seven years was just won by Carrier Transicold. CTD Australia and AIT, our distributor, won the order for 90 Ultra XLs from TNT, the country's largest transport group. Two TNT divisions, Carpentaria Transport and Queensland Rail Express, will use the units to haul perishable cargoes over Australia's Eastern Seaboard rail network.
The sale was won in intense competition with Thermo King on price, delivery and specifications. The combination of the unit's specifications, the Athens plant's delivery capabilities, AIT's new Queensland service facility, and outstanding support from CTD's Global Truck & Trailer management team convinced TNT to place all of its order with Carrier Transicold. The customer had originally planned to split the order. Congratulations to everyone involved for a well earned victory!
Sutrak Integration Proceeds
Following closure of the Sutrak purchase in early September, the Transport A/C management team has been hard at work integrating our newest plant (CTD's twelfth worldwide), product line and distribution network into our global operations. The Sutrak acquisition complements CTD's opera-
tions by allowing us to leverage Sutrak's strength in bus and rail air conditioning in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
The European distribution structure is now being reviewed in order to plan for integration with Sutrak, and will soon be finalized. Product manufacturing options are also being reviewed at our new Renningen, Germany, facility, as well as at our Iberfrio (Spain) plant in order to achieve the optimum cost/quality balance in our Transport A/C product line. Transport A/C managers also held customer, distributor and end-user meetings at the IAA [transportation industry] trade show in Hannover, Germany, concerning our plans for Sutrak, and feedback was very positive.
Key Genesis Sale
Momentum is building for CTD's new Genesis&tm; multi-temperature truck/trailer systems, introduced in Europe in January and soon to debut in the U.S. Two major sales occurred in the U.K. An order for 70 Genesis units from ASDA, one of the country's largest national grocery chains, followed an order for 50 Genesis units from Tesco, signaling customer enthusiasm for the Genesis system's unique flexibility. Genesis is a complete product family of multi-temperature systems, allowing box configurations of up to four compartments, with temperature ranges of -20deg.F to +80deg.F that can be managed independently for each compartment. Genesis systems
allow our customers a complete range of choices in configuring truck and trailer compartments to their individual hauling needs.
Carrier 2000 Conference
The CTD Change Team has completed the first stage of its meetings with CTD employees, customers and suppliers, and will review its key findings in an important conference with the CTD Leadership Team and a group of about 40 managers in mid-October. Based on conference discussions and outcomes, the Change Team will have the direction and support it needs to enter the "Design" phase of Carrier 2000, where it will seek employee input on the ways CTD must organize itself to attain its vision and goals for the Year 2000. Watch for a complete conference report in late October.
Share Your ExperiencesShare your experiences with CTD employees worldwide through The Globe. Contact Anthony D'Angelo at Tel. 315/433-4750, FAX 315/432-7683, or via cc:Mail.
