Martek Marine is strengthening its presence within the all-important Asia
Pacific market by opening a regional office in Singapore.
Martek Marine (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd,
which was incorporated in August this year, will be headed by Simon Whitaker,
regional director, who has many years of experience delivering business growth
in Asia Pacific. He will be supported by regional sales managers, Soon Young
Tan, who will focus on South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and Clayton
Thomas, who will be responsible for markets in North Asia.
Martek is recruiting additional members
of the sales team who will be in position by the end of December, as well as a
technical engineering resource to augment its technical support resources in
the UK. This will provide the platform for the company to offer repair and
calibration services for gas detection and other devices in Singapore.
Mr Whitaker says: “We have decided to set
up a regional presence based in Singapore in order to get closer to our many
customers in this part of the world. Asia is a market rich in potential and
this direct presence will help Martek further increase its share in this
region.”
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Simon Whitaker
Regional Director - Asia Pacific |
Currently around 65% of Martek’s business
is generated by customers based in Asia Pacific, with a growth rate faster than
in Europe and the Americas. Mr Whitaker adds: “The shift in business that
Martek has seen in the past 18 months or so has made it vital to have a direct
presence in the region. By being in the same time zone, and having sales staff
who speak the same language, we will have better connectivity with our
customers.”
Martek Marine (Asia Pacific), based in western Singapore close to the
Jurong port and industrial zone, will be the initial point of contact for
customers across a wide geographic region, stretching from the Indian Sub
Continent to South East Asia and onto
Australia and New Zealand, as well as the key North Asia markets of China, South
Korea and Japan.
While the new company will offer the
complete range of Martek products and services, for both newbuilding and
retrofit projects, initially it will focus on two areas of business: the
Navgard BNWAS system and the new Fastcalgas calibration gas supply service.
Mr Whitaker says: “With impending
regulatory changes we are seeing a major upturn in interest from Asian
shipowners and operators in our BNWAS technology, which we will be able to respond to much quicker from
Singapore. Furthermore, we see great potential for the Fastcalgas service
introduced earlier this year, for which speed of response is of the essence."
The new Martek Marine Asia Pacific team
has already achieved notable success. Recently the company secured two
important orders from a leading Singapore-based shipmanager. As a result Martek
Marine will equip 60 vessels with the Navgard BNWAS system and will also supply
up to 500 bottles of calibration gas for use across the company’s fleet.
“These business wins are just a sign of
things to come,” suggests Mr Whitaker. “By having a presence on the ground in
Asia Pacific we will be much better placed to capitalise on emerging
opportunities and support our clients in the area.”
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