ScandAsia South East Asia - April 2017

APR 2017

Malaysia Indonesia Philippines Vietnam Cambodia Laos

Jan Mandrup, IBM:

Transforming businesses across Asia

International Schools theme BUSINESS

Bima, microinsurance company

PEOPLE

H.E. Ambassador Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt

COMMUNITY

Nordcham Cambodia inaugurated

EDUCATION

How to pick your international school

Past Events

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Malaysia Indonesia Philippines Vietnam ia Cambod Laos

M:ia p, IB ross As anbudsinru esses ac JaannsfoM e rming s them hool ional Sc Internat PEOPLE

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ESS ce BUSIN uran oins

Bima, micr company

assador H.E. Ambn-Dannfelt Dag Juhli

UNITY COMMm Cambodia Nordchated inaugura

ION EDUCAT pick your

How to nal school internatio

Your FREE ScandAsia Magazine ScandAsia is the only magazine that covers all the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish residents in South East Asia.

We also publish a ScandAsia magazine in China, Thailand, and Singapore.

Please sign up for your own FREE copy: www.scandasia.com Publisher : 211 Soi Prasert Manukitch 29 Prasert Manukitch Road Chorakae Bua, Lad Prao Bangkok 10230, Thailand Tel. +66 2 943 7166-8, Fax: +66 2 943 7169 E-mail: news@scandasia.com Editor-in-Chief : Gregers A.W. Møller gregers@scandmedia.com Managing Editor: Joakim Persson Joakim@scandmedia.com Advertising : Finn Balslev finn@scandmedia.com Graphic Designer : Peerapol Meesuwan Peerapol@scandmedia.com Distribution : Wanvisa Rattanaburi wanvisa@scandmedia.com Printing : Inthanon Interprint Co., Ltd.

Daily news and features here: www.scandasia.com

NordCham Philippines AGM appoints new board NordCham Philippines held its Annual General Membership meeting (AGM) on January 31, 2017 at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati.

The AGM elected the members of the 2017 NordCham Board of Directors: Martin Ejeklint, Nicky Gemperle, Bo Lundqvist, Erik Moller Nielsen, and Petteri Mäkitalo.

Also, Mr. Peter Wallace, the Chairman of the Wallace Business Forum, gave an economic & political briefing for 2017 in the Philippines.

Our mission is: “To make the World a Better Place to Sit” We achieve this by providing our customers with comfortable, ergonomic seating solutions that result in healthier, more productive workers.

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April 2017

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Swedish Embassy, Volvo Trucks Malaysia visit students New Lego store in Malaysia opens Danish exhibition and book launched

Mr. Ambassador Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt Dream of life travelling lead him to the foreign ministry

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International Schools theme

ScandAsia Business

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7 Jotun

Growth in Southeast Asia contributes to best result ever

14 Nordcham Cambodia

New Nordic Chamber of Commerce held inaugural meeting in Phnom Penh

BIMA

Swedish microinsurance brings security to uninsured Cambodians

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22 Inter Airport South East Asia

Saab, Vestergaard Company targets Asian air traffic expansion

Mr. Jan Mandrup

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4 ScandAsia.South East Asia • April 2017

Swe embassy, Volvo Trucks Malaysia visit students

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n 20 January, the Embassy of Sweden and Volvo Trucks visited Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) for an interactive session with about 120 students.

The students were introduced to Swedish society and culture, with special emphasis on innovation and education, before they had the oppor tunity to interact with two Malaysian alumni from Swedish universities sharing their experiences of studying in Sweden.

Lastly Volvo Trucks showcased an educational and interactive safety campaign – Know Your Blind Spots, fur ther contributing to Sweden’s long history of road safety through innovative solutions.

The Embassy of Sweden, Kuala Lumpur, hopes that the event will create many new opportunities for further strengthening the future collaboration between Sweden and Malaysia.

Details on the Know Your Blind Spots campaig,

Community

is that drivers Volvo Trucks has interacted with over the years have always commented how cars and bikes cut in front of them on the roads, not knowing that the truck drivers are unable to see them due to Blind Spots. There are many discussions amongst the drivers on this topic online.

When an accident happens, trucks drivers are always blamed. Volvo Trucks has decided to champion this cause.

Volvo Trucks aims to: Influence attitudes e.g. by informing about rules, safe driving knowledge and explaining consequences of risky behaviors Get truck drivers to notice other road users on the road by thinking more about the person walking, cycling and riding the motorcycle or driving the car Get other road users like motorcyclists, pedestrians or cyclists to take steps to manage and reduce their own personal risk.To understand the BLIND SPOTS on a truck.

Source: Embassy of Sweden, Kuala Lumpur; Volvo Trucks Malaysia

April 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 5

Community

Danish exhibition and book launched in Malaysia

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n 7 March the Embassy of Denmark, Kuala Lumpur celebrated the launch of the Danish exhibition at Serdang Galeri, UPM and the book “Cerita laman kehidupan dari” or “Stories from the garden of life in Copenhagen” written by Dr. Shureen Faris.

The exhibition “Copenhagen: Create a Better Life for People” has three parts. The first part, Copenhagen Solutions, presents examples of how universities and cleantech companies are working together with Copenhagen municipality to develop ever new energy efficient and CO2 neutral solutions.The second part, Contemporary Danish Architecture, celebrates the strong Danish architectural identity and shows contemporary architecture by Danish architects that combine aesthetics and functionality. The third part of the exhibition, Architecture with People, highlights the importance of the physical environment and how it reflects and affects society.

The book by Dr. Shureen Faris is the first book about Denmark written in Malay. It provides a wonderful insight into the design and architecture of green public spaces in Copenhagen and also celebrates the Danes’ favorite way of getting around: the environmentally friendly bicycle!

The exhibition “Copenhagen: Create a better life” could be seen in Galeri Serdang at Universiti Putra Malaysia from 7 until 31 March.

Source: Embassy of Denmark, Kuala Lumpur

New Lego store in Malaysia

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he Embassy of Denmark in Kuala Lumpur congratulated the Danish toy company LEGO that on 8 March 2017 opened yet another store in Malaysia!

The new LEGO flagship store is their seventh store in Malaysia and is located at the Pavilion Elite shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur.

20 children from the Lighthouse Children Welfare Home Kuala Lumpur attended the opening and assembled LEGO bricks together with the Danish ambassador to Malaysia, Nicolai Ruge.

Source: Embassy of Denmark in Kuala Lumpur

6 ScandAsia.South East Asia • April 2017

Business

Healthier workplaces with new HÅG task chair

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Jotun’s growth in Southeast Asia contributes to result

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otun (Norway), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of paints and powder coatings delivered its second best result ever in 2016, seeing strong results in challenging markets such as Southeast Asia. Led by solid growth in the Decorative Paints and Powder Coatings segments, the company had operating revenue of NOK 15.8 billion and an operating profit of NOK 1.8 billion.

According to Morten Fon, Jotun President and CEO, Jotun’s rapid growth in the Decorative Paints segment has been the result of customerfocused innovation and successful marketing of premium interior and exterior paints. “Driven primarily by Jotun’s rapid development in the Middle East and South East Asia, Jotun’s growth in this segment has been outstanding,” he says. “And after some years of modest gains, the Group is encouraged by robust growth within the Powder Coatings segment in 2016.”

While Jotun’s overall results were positive, Fon acknowledges that the company’s 2016 results were impacted by lower demand in the shipping and offshore markets, which led to reduced sales in the Marine and Protective Coatings segments.

However, he believed the offshore market is set for a modest recovery some time in 2017.

Jotun also invested heavily in Southeast Asia for future growth. Capital spending increased compared to last year, with Jotun investing NOK 1,133 million in 2016 (2015: NOK 922 million), representing seven per cent of sales. The largest investments are related to factories and facilities in Oman, Norway, Philippines, Myanmar and Malaysia. “For more than a decade, Jotun has enjoyed a period of uninterrupted growth. These and other investments will help the company improve our growth rate in 2017, and beyond.”

Jotun has 63 companies and 37 production facilities on all continents. Jotun’s products are available in more than 90 countries. The Group is organized into four different segments and seven geographical regions, and is headquartered in Sandefjord.

oFi Mesh is the name of the HÅG (the pioneer of dynamic ergonomics) chair that is now being introduced to the AsiaPacific region by Scandinavian Business Seating.

This Nordic producer of innovative chairs now comes up with a ‘task chair’ that is just as beautiful as it is user-friendly. Known for their long-lasting high quality chairs, the SoFi Mesh is the latest addition to the HÅG SoFi Collection.

SoFi Mesh is a ‘mesh-back’ model that fuses ultimate function with a harmonious design.

Its embracing curves and hidden mechanisms provide a direct counterpoint to today’s need for high-performing task chairs to take on the appearance of complex tools.

The challenge lies in having created a beautiful object based on what is in fact described as highly advance machine.

Sondre Frost Urstadt of Frost Produkt, who collaborated with HÅG on the design says,“We wanted to make a truly user-friendly and uncomplicated chair that inspires new ways of working and collaborating – a chair that suits most people and fits in anywhere.”

HÅG’s ergonomic philosophy is based on an understanding of the human body and its need to be in motion – a necessity we often forget. The made-in-Scandinavia brand’s unique seating mechanism keeps the person sitting on the chair actively balanced which happens subconsciously.

In a HÅG chair, the seat tilts when you lean both forward and backward. By stimulating ankle movement, this in turn activates the circulation mechanisms of the lower legs and enhances circulation throughout the entire body.

The outcome is greater energy and therefore improved efficiency at work.

Ultimately, the ability to move the body freely throughout the day without needing to invest mental energy to do so creates a healthier way of working. HÅG sees this as an important element in today’s rapidly evolving workplaces, where people’s needs are constantly changing.

SoFi Mesh offers a clean curved back with distinct form, with a generous and friendly silhouette – one that will provide a sense of protection to those who feel exposed in open office landscapes.

“We also developed a set of embracing armrests that provide better support and more flexibility than traditional armrests, supporting the way people actually work on a daily basis.

And the best thing is, you can just slide them back and out of the way when you don’t need them,” explains says Aleksander Borgenhov of their second collaborator, Norwegian studio Powerdesign.

SoFi Mesh is offered with a wide range of customisation options, including colour and fabric.

April 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 7

Business “I was quite positively taken by my experience here 30 years ago – I also visited other countries in the region, but Malaysia made a very strong impression on me,” Dag JuhlinDannfelt explains.

Travelling through diplomacy

Returning from his travels, it was time for the young Swede to decide what he wanted to spend his life doing. He was certain that his work had to involve a lot of travelling, and here, he basically saw two options; either becoming a journalist or a diplomat.

“I thought; what profession would allow me to keep exploring and travelling, and so, I decided to give it a shot to get into the diplomatic service,” Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt explains.

So, four years later, after finishing law school, he started working in the Foreign Ministry of Sweden. And yet again, he found himself in this well-known desire to travel.

“I was lucky enough to get accepted in the diplomatic service, and my main priority was to work in foreign countries, and work with issues that were interesting for me,” he says, explaining that, since he had taken a quite positive from his previous experience in Malaysia, the country never really seemed to leave his wish list of countries to work and live in.

“When I joined the ministry of foreign affairs, one of the countries that I had in mind, where I wanted to work, was Malaysia,” he says.

This recurring feeling of wanting to explore the world caused him to apply for a job at the Embassy of Sweden in Iran. He thanks his former managers and ambassadors in different countries for allowing him to grow as a diplomat.

“I have been very lucky – I have worked under the leadership of many great ambassadors who have given me a lot of good advice, and eventually, I was nominated to become an ambassador myself,” he says, “It’s inevitable, whatever career you have, if you do a good job, eventually you will get promoted.”

From here, he went from embassy to embassy, from country to country; from Iran to Israel and then Pakistan where he held diplomatic positions, and then to Saudi Arabia as Ambassador, and in September 2016 to Malaysia.

“After nearly 27 years in the service, I finally got the chance to come here as the ambassador of my country – which is, on a personal level of continuation, a 30-year delay since my first visit in 1996,” he smiles.

So, now, this lifelong journey has led him back to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia where he is now Sweden’s new public face in the country.

A Swede abroad: Ambassador Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt

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By Maria Jønsson n his couch in one of all the tall buildings in the middle of Kuala Lumpur, Dag JuhlinDannfelt laidback, playing with his pack of Swedish snuff. He has been in the Malaysian capital before, and now, 30 years later, he finds himself as the Ambassador of Sweden in the Southeast Asian country.

His entire life, he has dreamt of seeing the world. When he was a young boy, it was as a sailor, and in his young teens, he read about the great wide world from his childhood home in Örnsköldsvik in Northern Sweden. Were you to ask his former classmates, they would probably say that they saw it coming; life as a Swede abroad had always been in the cards.

Urge to travel

As Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt’s childhood faded behind him, his dreams of travelling only intensified. And 8 ScandAsia.South East Asia • April 2017

he did, in fact, pursue one of his childhood dreams by serving in the Swedish Navy, but as fate had it, it did not last forever.

“I did serve in the Swedish Navy, but since I had bad eyesight at the time, I couldn’t build a navy career,” he says.

Throughout his entire life, the urge to travel was there, and he was quite a traveller when he was young. His parents had always encouraged him and his siblings to take advantage of life, and to try their luck. So, since he was 15, he spent a lot of his time travelling; hiking in the mountains of Sweden, inter-railing through Europe, and travelling for six months in South America.

After two years of law school back in Sweden, his fingers started to tingle, and once again, it was time to explore the world – this time it was East Asia’s turn where he visited Malaysia for the first time.

Starting over

Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt finds it intellectually invigorating having to start anew every three to five years. Being thrown out of his comfort zone and having to begin from scratch every once in a while, he explains, is very stimulating for him.

“When I started feeling comfortable in Saudi Arabia, when I started to feel at home there, I

Business

but I enjoyed it. My first trip to the supermarket was tremendous. Learning how you get by, how you communicate, and how people receive you.

You find that most people are kind, and even though you can’t communicate in the same language, still, you manage.”

Bureaucratic factory work

knew that it was time to start over,” he says.

He finds it motivating to be on the school bench again, almost as a baby learning to take its first steps, he explains. The new Ambassador likes to learn. For him, it is invigorating to be in a situation where even the simplest of things,

such as to go shopping, becomes something of an event - he explains that he knows how to shop in Sweden, and how to drive in Sweden, but all these things are different coming to a new country.

“I had to learn how to drive in Saudi Arabia,

A good working day for the new ambassador is a day filled with meetings with representatives of his new residential country.

“Every meeting is one small knot in a wide net of trying to tie closer relations together,” he says. But, he explains, it is a never-ending job.

Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt believes that one should not overestimate what one ambassador can do – for him, in the best of worlds, there should not be much difference from one ambassador to another.

“If I manage to do a good job, I should have a cer tain amount of ongoing activities, that, by the time I leave, my successor will be able to continue – the same way that I took over where my predecessor left off,” he says, “and of course, with a very competent deputy head of mission to guide me in my first baby steps in a new country.”

He explains that it is the nature of an ambassador’s job to serve a certain time, and after five years, they have to move on. For him, it is nothing dramatic.

“It is factory work. Bureaucratic factory work, you can say.”

Their Majesties of Sweden invited on State Visit to Indonesia Text and photos: Joakim Persson

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he Swedish Royal Court has announced that Their Majesties The King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia will pay a State Visit to Indonesia on 22–24 May 2017 at the invitation of President Joko Widodo. The Swedish Government will be represented.

The State Visit is an opportunity to strengthen the political, economic and cultural relations between Sweden and Indonesia in the long term.

Trade, sustainability, research and innovation are the main themes of the visit.

With 260 million inhabitants, Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country and its third largest democracy. It is a high-priority export market with great potential, and a Swedish business delegation will accompany the State Visit.

“I and the team in Jakar ta are of course thrilled that we will have the King and Queen visiting. This has been in the making for a while, so it’s not a surprise for us. It will be an excellent opportunity to put Sweden on the map here and to open up the eyes of Swedes for Indonesia,” Sweden’s Ambassador to Jakarta, Johanna Brismar Skoog tells ScandAsia.

“This is par t of the regular exchange at

high level between governments but the first time for a state visit between our countries,” the Ambassador replies concerning the reason behind the invitation.

As for themes/focus areas the ambassador says: “Sweden is relatively unknown in Indonesia and Indonesia in Sweden too. We want to change this. There is also an untapped potential for increasing trade in both directions, and throughout the visit creativity, innovation and sustainability will be in the focus.”

“There is space for stronger ties in trade, business, culture, tourism and international collaboration, just to name a few. We have many shared interests and challenges, and have a lot to win by exchanging experiences, more people-topeople contacts and stronger business relations,” thinks Johanna Brismar Skoog.

Further information about the programme and participants will be published closer to the time of the visit.

“I cannot disclose anything yet, but the King and Queen would also like to visit something outside Jakarta too.”

April 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 9

Business

Swedish BIMA brings security to uninsured Cambodians

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By Nadja Dam Jensen

any people just don’t even know what insurance is.

So the ver y concept of insurance, it is something we have to explain a lot,” says Sebastian Morck, General Manager at BIMA in Cambodia.

BIMA is a Swedish microinsurance company who started their project of bringing insurance to some of the poorest people in the world with a pilot project in Ghana in 2010. The project went well and with lots of interest and funding, it quickly expanded to reaching 16 countries across the world. Customers of BIMA typically live on less than $10, which means they often are not able to afford a normal insurance. They are also often living with high risks for illness and have job that can easily cause serious injuries, leaving people extremely vulnerable to falling into complete poverty.

10 ScandAsia.South East Asia • April 2017

When BIMA came to Cambodia in 2014, there were not many opportunities to take out an insurance for the many people in Cambodia who lives on the edge of poverty. So having to explain the entire concept of having an insurance became a natural part of BIMA’s work. And it still is today.

“Once you explain it you meet a lot of trust issues, because people are living near the poverty line. They are used to the concept of; I give a dollar, I get some. And that’s not how insurance work. You buy insurance but hope you’ll never use it,” says Morck.

Meeting garment workers and tuk tuk drivers

In Cambodia the company has a team of around 250 employees, where only two of them are expats, Morck and country manager Tapas Kuila.

They work with two sales teams, one is a call

central where they call people up and ask them about insurance. The other sales agents are out in the field, visiting garment factories, talking to tuk tuk drivers and more. Morck explains that he thinks that local employees are important to not be too far removed, and that he, as the general manager, also prefers going to the field as often as possible. Just before meeting with ScandAsia in the afternoon, he had been out visiting a garment factory.

“I try to go to the field as often as I can and really see how things work. Otherwise I am just sitting here at my desk and come up with great ideas that just do not work in the real world. So it’s important to go and see what happening,” he says.

Insurance through prepaid SIM

Taking out an insurance often takes tons of paperwork, declarations and sometimes even

health check. But not when registering for an insurance with BIMA. Lots of people living near the poverty line do not have a bank account, however, most of them have phones, this is something that BIMA saw as an opportunity. A 2015 research study from The Asia Foundation shows that over 94 percent of the Cambodian population own at least one mobile phone, and 39.5 percent own a smartphone. By working together with Smart, a leading mobile phone operator in Cambodia, BIMA makes it easy for almost everyone to get access to an insurance policy. If a person has a SIM from Smart they will just have to dial a short number and answer five easy questions and then they are able to get insured. No paperwork, no health check, and the money will simply just be paid through a deduction of their already purchased pre-paid air time credit for their phones.

In a country like Cambodia, there was only an insurance penetration on around 3 percent, so a lot of people could easy go completely bankrupt if an accident were to suddenly happen.

It has severe consequences for these people, and can follow the next generations in a bad circle.

The mobile technology has made it easier for BIMA to reach the full, mass-market potential of microinsurance.

Using Facebook to claim compensation

Keeping it simple is not just about the lack of paperwork when signing up for an insurance.

When an accident happens, customers of BIMA

are able to claim their compensation simply by contacting BIMA through Facebook.

“We are trying to make the claims very easy, so we handle almost everything on Facebook,” says Sebastian Morck.

It can often be difficult to get your insurance sum paid out after an accident and can take a long time for the individual or their relatives to collect all the necessary proof and then for the insurance company to process it and validate it. For people living near poverty the financial impact of losing a family member or getting injured can be felt almost immediately, so BIMA guarantees to pay valid claims within 72 hours of filing.

Sebastian explains that BIMA just want the absolute minimum, whatever that can prove that a customer has been injured, in the hospital or someone has passed away. And sending a photo through Facebook is their usual go-to.

“Also many people live ver y rural and cannot go back and forth two or three times to get the sum paid out. This just makes sense.

Almost ever yone knows someone who has Facebook,” he says.

around $1000 it will cover three annual wages or more for the average family in Cambodia.

“Living near poverty it is a huge problem.

These are people who just manage to scrape enough money together to buy a tuk tuk or get a job at the garment factory. They are hoping to send the kids to school, working really hard, but the slightest change of event sends them back down. Down into pover ty and absolute bankruptcy. If we can for $1 a month take at least part of that risk away, I think it’s amazing,” says Morck.

A big part of the insurance sum often goes to covering funeral expenses. It is impor tant to pay a respectful goodbye and funerals in Cambodia often becomes very expensive and can bring people into debt for years, bringing along many consequences. The rest of the sum is often put aside to fund education for their kids.

“If the kids don’t get their education, then the next generation also suffers. With the pay out they can have a better future.”

Covers expensive funerals and funds education

By spending just $1.6 of their pre-paid credit, with BIMA Cambodians are able to get health insurance that covers up to $10 a night or a life insurance that offers up to $3000. Compared to insurance in western countries, it might not sound like a lot. But with a GPA per capita just

April 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 11

Business

Jan Mandrup, IBM: Transforming businesses across Asia

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Text and photos: Joakim Persson he Dane Jan Mandrup works as Senior Digital Program Manager with IBM Asia, where he is also involved in developing IBM’s Agile Project management competencies and cer tifying the company’s senior business project managers.

In today’s very dynamic, digital world that is transforming every sector, this combination creates curiosity about: what IBM offers these days (something else than the expensive hardware back in the early days) and what ‘agile business’ practices actually are.

Jan Mandrup is locally employed with IBM in Thailand and it is easy to see that one of life’s coincidences is what brought him to Asia.Though, he had indeed aimed for an international career by also studying at the International Business School in Copenhagen.

12 ScandAsia.South East Asia • April 2017

His Asian adventure started back when we was working at Maersk Data in Copenhagen and IBM acquired this IT division back in 2004, including its overseas subsidiaries. Jan was then sent to Japan to transform the operation and integrated the office there into IBM. “After aligning all the ser vices, I stayed another year and did a couple of projects for Maersk in Korea and Japan. I was 3,5 years there and on my way back to cold Denmark I looked around in the region as I really had got to like Asia. An opportunity in Thailand came up; a two year contract for a large business transformation project for a shipping company where they needed a project manager who knew shipping.

It was a done deal.”

“I got to like Thailand and extended, and the two years have became over eight,” says Jan who also works on projects in the region,

overseeing multiyear projects with large millions of U.S. dollar budgets. Recently he was one of the IBM experts flown in to Vietnam for a twoyear project.

“I have worked for multiple large companies transforming their business processes and systems; both where manual processes are made digital and where existing digital processes and systems are to be optimized or redesigned to be more efficient.”

Usually his overall role is to ensure that major change initiatives are planned and executed smoothly and meet the strategic goals.

But where Jan laid foundation for his project management career was studying Electronics combined with an internship at a Danish hospital, where he worked as a medico technician and became an expert in structure troubleshooting and isolating problems.

“Repairing complex electronic equipment is all about systematic and logic fault-finding.

This analytical mind-set is actually very useful in the field of project management because you cannot know all the skills of your team. But you need to be able to ask the right questions to drive them in the right direction. Through this you can easily get to the fact that they might not be able to see, because they are the experts sitting in the middle of the problem,” explains Jan. He also points to that there, despite language barriers, definitively is a role for Westerners like him here in Asia thanks to being a westerner in the people-driven hands-on work: “Successful projects is all about building the right team and project team culture so that people are actually not afraid to come and tell me when they have a problem. Normally that works and they actually appreciate that but they would likely not get that from an Asian project manager.”

The Dane thinks the most difficult thing here in Asia is that people are afraid of failure and consequently also of change. And mistakes do happen and must be allowed and, crucially, must be shared by all so they can find a way to fix it together. Nothing can lie unaddressed, sometimes for years, and pop up at the end. Jan’s way to get around it is to build a team culture of openness and it also helps to find someone in the team that is his trusted informant concerning all informal things going on in local language.

80 per cent of the time as a Program manager he spends dealing with people; including the team but also to manage various stakeholders and to remove road blocks for the specialists doing the technology side of things.

“And often you find yourself between the customer who just know what he wants to do, and the techies who are incapable of explaining something that the executive can understand so we need to bridge that gap.”

Clients are normally the large, international corporations that buy into IBM’s brand and the breadth of their skills. Rapidly expanding companies that are outgrowing technologies and require a complete system overhaul, or companies looking to digitise their manual processes to become more effective, is the typical scenario.

“For example, a company that has had growth or expanded or acquired and is now looking at streamlining the way they are doing business. The need is for modernizing and digitizing of their business processes to become more effective or get a competitive advantage, or they simply want to do it more consistently.”

Tr aditionally this would be done by implementing a ERP (Enterprise Resource Management) solution that can be customized to fit the specific business needs. The challenge in an ERP project is to get agreement and acceptance from all business stakeholders on one set of business processes and that is going to be the way to do things. This can be a BIG challenge especially in large organisation with multiple strong senior opinion makers.

“The area of large complex multiyear ERP projects is however getting more and more rare and instead many companies are adopting a

more agile approach, implementing shorter agile projects that is solving specific problems instead, providing an end to end integrated process.”

Within IBM there is also a transformation going on from a traditional project approach to a agile culture. This is done through a network of agile ‘Agile Champions’ or Agile Project managers.

“To grow your career in IBM ever yone is expected to give back and help build and promote skills besides their day-to-day job as a manager or consultant etc., Such as promoting agile project management skills,” he explains.

“Today most projects are sold as agile projects which require me as the project or program manager to have the agile skillset but also be able to coach the team in becoming agile.”

“My experience is that only ver y few companies today are really agile. Most companies are still trying to get out from the traditional way of doing projects. Changing people’s mind is not easy. We are star ting to see more and more people adopting an agile mind-set and actually seeing and embracing the agile way. But it is a tough transformation.”

“Many people believe: ‘Now I’m doing agile, so I can change anything at any time!’ That is absolutely not the truth. Agile is a powerful and different way of delivering a project by breaking it down in smaller more manageable pieces, lego’s so to speak which can be delivered in a short period of time and which can be verified or even used immediately. This reduces the risk of spending multiple years on a project, which at the end does not provide the expected benefits, do not work or even becomes obsolete before it has ever been completed.”

“One common perception is that in agile projects you do not need documentation or planning. That could not be more wrong. You do need a plan and you do need documentation but you need to find a balance so you keep the focus on the outcome and the product and embraces change.”

Jan describes it primarily as a different mindset, and points out that it does not work for everything.

“To be successful in Agile you need to unlearn the traditional waterfall project approach where you have gone through a ver y rigid process of documenting your needs, with rigid large requirement documents which you will not see if works until the end of the project.”

The traditional project method entails the risk of an extremely costly failure if you spend two years doing a project that at the end does not provide the expected outcome.

“You need to get away from that thinking and ask: ‘What is it I want to do? What is my end state, and how do I get there?’ I don’t get there by taking one big step that takes me two years. I get there by smaller steps, which I can validate or even start using along the way. So, at least, after two years everything will not fail because I have had things that worked and were completed along the way.”

“The difficulty with this is that sometimes you cannot do it, because there are cer tain things that you cannot break down into pieces.

If you go with the mentioned end-to-end ERP solution it is very hard to go live with only a

Successful projects is all about building the right team and project team culture so that people are actually not afraid to come and tell me when they have a problem.

Normally that works and they actually appreciate that but they would likely not get that from an Asian project manager.

piece of the end of the chain – you need to have a workable end-to-end process; this is why ERP solutions have a reputation to be very complicated, costly and have high degree of risk.”

“Because of the risk in ERP systems, many companies are now looking at different ways of doing digital transformation where they do many smaller projects and connect the projects together instead of a large end-to-end ERP project.”

Digital transformation is unavoidable when por traying the ser vices of today’s IBM. “Our mission is to become the digital innovation partner and everything we do is linked to digital; it is either transforming something existing into a better way or to build something that doesn’t exist today, or to innovate and replace manual tasks using intelligent technology.”

“It is interesting to see how digital transformation in Europe is very much driven by cost-effectiveness as in the western countries labour is extremely expensive, while here in Asia I find that the motivator is not so much cost efficiencies as labour is much cheaper. Instead digitalisation is more driven by pressure from competitors doing it and companies are afraid of losing out. So it’s more profit-driven.”

Of course, in industries under pressure from external factors, for example the shipping industr y with failing freight rates, constantly need to find savings, so they must transform to survive.”

April 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 13

Business

NordCham Cambodia launched - for better business and viking parties

From left: The three founders of NordCham, Kjeld Olsen, Teemu Jantunen and Morten Kvammen, Swedish Ambassador Maria Sargen, Danish Ambassador Uffe Wolffhechel and Chairman of EuroCham, Arnaud Darc.

14 ScandAsia.South East Asia • April 2017

O

By Nadja Dam Jensen n Wednesday 1 March 2017 a new chapter began in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A new Nordic Chamber of Commerce had their very first meeting where they presented their ideas and vision for a chamber in Cambodia.

“To be the platform for engaging with Nordic businesses and activities in Cambodia,” was revealed as their mission statement as Kjeld Olsen, Morten Kvammen and Teemu Jantunen, the three men behind NordCham, held a presentation at the opening.

The opening was held in the stylish space of Black Bambu, where Nordic inspired tapas was served among the 45 people who had showed up to show their interest and have a good time with fellow Scandinavians. It was also announced that NordCham in Cambodia will be working closely together with EuroCham, who has a big influence on Cambodian business life. Arnaud Darc, French entrepreneur and chairman of EuroCham, spoke after the NordCham founders’ presentation and congratulated the initiative.

“We are stronger together. Stronger together

as the Nordic Chamber, but with EuroCham we are even stronger and more valuable for European companies in Cambodia,” said Arnaud Darc.

Both the Danish and Swedish Ambassador held speeches and were very fond of the initiative.

Uffe Wolffhechel, Ambassador of Denmark to Thailand and Cambodia, was impressed by the strong turnout and praised NordCham as a great initiative that will hopefully create better conditions for Danish and Nordic business in Cambodia.

“I am happy that I got to be here today because if this initiative succeeds, which we all hope it will, then this will be a historical night,” said Wolffhechel.

Maria Sargren, the Swedish Ambassador to Cambodia, was only two weeks into her job as ambassador when Kjeld Olsen contacted her about starting NordCham.

“I think it’s impressive to see what has happened in just a few months and I am very happy to have been able to follow this process.

It’s in my interest and the interest of the embassy to continue supporting the Nordic Chamber of Commerce,” said Sargren.

Kjeld Olsen, a Danish entrepreneur who has been in Cambodia for 4 years, is the man who took the very first initiative to star t the new Chamber. He started by contacting the different Nordic ambassadors in the area, who were all very supportive of the idea and even set Olsen up with the two other founders, Morten Kvammen from Norway and Teemu Jantunen from Finland.

“I am a business man, and if we can create a network like NordCham then there are great oppor tunities that it will create business for everyone,” said Olsen about starting the Chamber.

Olsen hopes that there will soon be a representative from each country for NordCham and encouraged the Swedes present to contact him if they were interested in joining him, Kvammen and Jantunen. It seemed to pay off as they are now talking to a possible Swedish representative, whose name Olsen has not yet revealed.

The Nordic Chamber of Commerce will soon be organising breakfast events with CEO’s, evening networking events, company visits and evening forums to engage in business relations.

However, they also hope to be able to host several social events such as crayfish par ties, Lucia parades, Christmas lunch and even a party inspired by the Nordic Vikings.

“We have to come up with something that all the Nordic countries have in common, but is still different from what EuroCham is doing,” Olsen said about his plans for events.

Malaysian trade minister meets Swedish companies

O

n 12 Januar y 2017 Malaysia’s Minister of International Trade and Industr y, met with 17 Swedish companies active in Malaysia for discussions on various topics. Y.B. Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamad was accompanied by Datuk J. Jayasiri, Secretary General of MITI, Dato’ Azman Mahmud, CEO of MIDA, Dato’ Dzulkifli Mahmud, CEO of MATRADE, and Dato’ Zainal Amanshah, CEO of InvestKL. The Swedish side was headed by Ambassador Juhlin-Dannfelt and included representatives of the Swedish Trade and Invest Council, Alfa Laval, Asian Tigers Transport Movers, Beckers Industrial Coating, Bromma, Cale, Camfil, Collectius, Ericsson, Höganäs Bjuf, IKEA, SAAB, Sandvik, SCA, Scania, SKF, Volvo Cars and Volvo Trucks & Bus. The discussion was fruitful and engaged, and the participation of Y.B. Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamad much appreciated. Meetings of this kind will contribute to the further strengthening of already good and active relations between Sweden and Malaysia, writes the Embassy of Sweden, Kuala Lumpur.

April 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 15

International Schools

7 Steps to choosing the Deciding something as important as your child’s new school might be the toughest part about moving to another country.

C

By Gregers Moller hoosing a new school when moving has become increasingly difficult for parents.There are more and more schools established all the time, and each institution has its own unique philosophy and attributes.

Comparing what they offer with the needs of your child is no simple task.

Most parents probably start out by asking other parents of their own nationality which school they have chosen and why. Then you find out they have chosen different schools and for different reasons and you are back to square one. There is probably no way around making your own inquiry into each available option.

Local vs International

First choice is if you are looking for a local school or an international school? In most countries in Asia, a local school is an option although cer tainly a more challenging option for your child. If you child is mixed Scandinavian - Asian this may, however, not be so frightening a prospect. And mostly it will have an economic silver lining as local private schools are less costly compared to international schools.

However, physical punishment has not been abolished in many Asian school systems, so take this into consideration. Talk to the school how 16 ScandAsia.South East Asia • April 2017

If it’s possible, talk to some of the existing students. Are they happy there? Do they look motivated to learn?

How will the school help your child get started?

Do they assign so-called “buddies” (another student from the same country) for new students?

right school they administer physical punishment and ask if they can make an exception for your child if you are not comfortable with this.

If you go for the International school, consider that international students grow up and evolve in a cultural environment that is vastly different to that of your own. Known as Third Culture Kids (TCKs), they often develop a very different attitude to many issues compared to their former friends back home. If you are uncomfor table with this prospect you may prefer to look into the option of choosing a local school or a boarding school back home.

Once this is said, most expat families decide to go for the international school, at least through primary school up to grade 9, where other options may come into play. At this point, not only boarding schools in Scandinavia but also boarding school in Asia may be considered.

A few suggestions

So now you have the table filled with brochures of different schools and wonder what to look for. Here are a few suggestions to help you make up your mind: First: How far away is the school from your home?

Before spending time looking through school

courses, you need to make sure the school is not too far away. Bear in mind that in most big cities, it is the traveling time between your home and the school that matters. How long will it take for your child to get to school and home afterwards?

How will your child be going there?

Especially in cities like Bangkok, you will be challenged by some of the heaviest rush hour traffic in the world.

Second:What reputation does the school have?

Talk to people as much as possible. This is where your first intuition comes handy. Don’t listen to opinions expressed by people who have no children at the school themselves - parents are quick to seek confirmation of their own choice by adopting opinions about the competing schools.

The age of the school is no sure indication either. Nothing guarantees that the reputation of a hundred year old school is better than a one year old school.

Third: How are the courses at the school?

The school’s courses and programs will most likely be listed in the school’s information packages. They will talk about British Curriculum and American Curriculum and - what most Scandinavians these day go for - the IB curriculum.

This is important as you will most likely have to relocate again in a few years.

Find out if the native language and culture of your child is taught as optional learning. It is important for your child to keep his or her ties to your cultural background. It is also important for you.

Ask questions about the tests and exams which are offered and used as evaluation method. If your child is already a secondar y school student, ask how well the graduating students do in getting accepted into major universities both in your current country, back home and elsewhere overseas.

Fourth: What other activities can the school offer your child?

Besides the fundamental course works, what kind of ar ts, spor ts, community service does the school offer? Are there proper facilities to support those activities?

It seems that schools almost competes with each other when it comes to spor ts, thus many schools will have gymnasiums and spor t complexes, which are either new or remodeled. But maybe your child is more into other activities - computer programming, performing ar ts?

Most schools offer after-school/weekend April 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 17

International Schools

students can get help about studying, working, individual needs and so on.

Seventh: How is the relationship between the school and the parents?

You will obviously not be able to monitor your child in school. The teacher will have to be your eyes and ears. You must be notified of your child’s functionality regardless of grade, and regardless of whether it includes bad behavior or progress your child has made. Make sure that you can get informed as often as possible.

You may join a parents’ volunteer program if available. Some schools may offer activities for the whole family as well.

Watch your child!

programs as well as field trips and community services. You should be able to freely pick the activities that best suit your child.

Fifth: Does the school have qualified personnel?

This is not as obvious as you may think. The school is most likely private and qualifications for employment are not as strict as for schools back home. What educational degree do they hold? How long have they been teaching at the school? What kind of teaching methods do they prefer? Are they involved in planning and evaluating the curriculum? Will they be giving

special attention to each child’s problems or personal needs?

Sixth: What do the current students think of the school?

If it’s possible, talk to some of the existing students. Are they happy there? Do they look motivated to learn? How will the school help your child get started? Do they assign so-called “buddies” (another student from the same country) for new students? Most schools have established student organizations to provide service to students at a personal level. Here,

International School of Bergen ENGELSKSPRÅKLIG PRIVATSKOLE FOR BARN OG UNGDOM MELLOM 3 OG 16 ÅR • • • • • •

Få elever i hver klasse Trygt læringsmiljø med god individuell oppfølging God kontakt med foreldre Internasjonalt godkjente og utfordrende læreplaner Utmerkede resultater i internasjonale og norske nasjonalprøver Sentral beliggenhet med bybanestopp rett utenfor døren For mer informasjon: www.isob.no eller post@isob.no

18 ScandAsia.South East Asia • April 2017

I

Never mind how diligent you do your homework - and maybe the above list is a bit excessive - you will never be able to foresee if your child will thrive at the school.

It is therefore important that you make a habit of spending more time than you used to be back home talking to your child about how school was today. What they did in class, and what they did outside. Let her or him tell about their new friends. Listen.

All may initially sound fine and uncomplicated, but that may just be a honeymoon period. This is the most important step of them all. If your child develops in any way you find disturbing or even develops signs of discomfort with going to school, you should think twice before you tell your child that “this is life - it is not always pleasant!”.

A change of school at the right time might be the single most impor tant decision to make to put the future of your child on the right track!

nternational School of Bergen (ISB) is situated on the west coast of Norway and offers an English language learning environment to students between the ages of 3 and 16.

Our mission is to provide an internationally accredited education ser ving the business and Bergen communities.

The educational programme of ISB has been developed to help

prepare its students for a successful future. The school is accredited by the Council of International Schools and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges in addition to being authorized by the International Baccalaureate Organization to offer their Primary Years and Middle Years programmes.

Our students and staff

All teacher s hold univer sity degrees and appropriate teaching qualifications. Classes are small.With students and staff representing more than thir ty different nationalities, we pride ourselves in having a welcoming and including community.

ISB was founded in 1975, giving us 40 years of experience as an educational institution.

International School of Bergen Vilhelm Bjerknesvei 15, 5081 Bergen, Norway Phone: +4755306330 Website: www.isob.no E-mail: post@isob.no

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme: What is Theory of Knowledge?

If you are familiar with the IB Diploma programme, you will have heard the phrase “Theory of Knowledge”. What exactly is it?

T

heor y of Knowledge, or ToK, is one of the core elements of the IB Diploma and it is a class all IB Diploma students follow. Here they explore the questions “What is knowledge?”, “How do we know?” and “What does this mean in different cultures or contexts?”.

There’s really nothing mysterious about ToK. ToK is about how we make knowledge, it underpins all other subjects in the DP, and there’s ToK everywhere: • A painting by Rothko sells for US$40m at Christie’s in New York, whilst a student in a KIS art class produces a very similar piece.

• A DP student chooses a particular university over another because it ‘feels right’ to them.

In each case a way of knowing about the world is being used to produce specific knowledge. In most DP subjects students learn knowledge that has already been produced, in ToK students learn how that knowledge is produced. A few examples:

• In Maths students learn to calculate statistics and probability, In ToK they learn why we often misinterpret probability.

• In Environmental Systems and Societies students lear n the advantages and disadvantages of mitigating climate change. In ToK they learn why climate change scientists may disagree on those advantages and disadvantages.

If we under stand how knowledge is constructed then we can better understand how and why knowledge changes. This understanding is essential for positive progress in personal, social and academic spheres.

The elections in the USA and Brexit are heated debates that represent differences in beliefs and values, illustrating the differences in what we all (think that we) know about our world. ToK can shine light on how people decide which way to vote, or how to raise their children or whether to care for those in need. It helps us

understand personal biases, and enables us to resolve personal and social conflicts.

Daniel Trump, Diploma Programme Coordinator and Theory of Knowledge Teacher KIS International School, Bangkok

April 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 19

A Child-Centred Setting for Early Years Education

“W

hat we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child,” wrote British author George Bernard Shaw. For our children, learning should be filled with many moments of discovery and joy. A child’s first years in school should lay the foundations that make them lifelong learners, forever curious and open to the ideas around them. Imagination is a powerful tool for future life and learning, and it is vital that we provide students with ample opportunities to develop their imaginations whilst learning with others.

Through its 60 year histor y of British international education in Thailand, Bangkok Patana School has always sought to continuously improve their students’ learning experience at all stages of development. In August 2017, a newly renovated environment for the youngest students will provide even more opportunities for outdoor learning, creative role play and physical development. Some of the highlights of the new spaces are listed below.

Outdoor Learning and Physicality:

Children need an outdoor environment that can provide them with space, both upwards and outwards, and places to explore, experiment, 20 ScandAsia.South East Asia • April 2017

discover, be active and healthy and to develop their physical capabilities. The outdoor environment at Bangkok Patana School offers plenty of space and is par ticularly beneficial to those children who learn best through active movement. Ver y young children learn predominately through their sensory and physical experiences, which support brain development and the creation of neural networks. They revel in freedom of movement that is inventive, adventurous and stimulating, while developing their fine and gross motor skills. Outdoor play suppor ts children’s problem-solving skills and nurtures their creativity, as well as providing rich opportunities for their developing imagination, inventiveness and resourcefulness

Connection with Nature:

In the busy, bustling, vibrant and hot city, life can sometimes become very indoor focussed.

Bangkok Patana values the importance of learning without walls and we recognise that young children love the freedom of being outdoors.

Our new early years environment will give children the freedom to connect with nature: mud kitchens, sandpits, water play, climbing frames and bike tracks. Playing and learning outside also helps children to understand and respect nature, the environment and the interdependence of humans, animals, plants, and lifecycles.

A Sensory Experience:

Young children benefit incredibly from a multisensory approach to learning - appealing to all of the senses: taste, smell, touch, sight, hearing and movement. A multi-sensory approach to learning encourages talk as students respond to what they see, hear, smell, touch and taste making learning more memorable, enjoyable and effective. Through textured displays, walkways and different surfaces, children learn and make sense of the world in many different ways – not restricted to only books, paper and pencils and technology.

Quiet Reflection Spaces:

Incorporated into the new learning environment are spaces that offer time out from busy play to sit and wonder. Just like adults, children appreciate quiet, calm time to think and be mindful. Mindfulness practices are beneficial for children for the same reasons they help adults, contributing to reduced stress, improved sleep quality and heightened focus when necessary.

Outdoor and indoor amphitheatres for role-play and expressive arts:

For children, role play is essentially learning through play. Role play is an active, social activity and children use it to reflect on and develop their knowledge of a topic. Through our role play areas, children are able to act out and make sense of real-life situations whilst developing social, language and communication skills. By taking on the role of different story characters, our children are given opportunities to empathise and develop an understanding of different perspectives.

Overall, the new early years learning spaces at Bangkok Patana reflect a very child-centred, natural aesthetic. Students are not over-stimulated through the overuse of colour and clutter. A focus on the natural environment and soothing colours enable children to more easily see the links between each area of learning. Achieving a balance in colour enables children to relax and truly feel at home.

Business

Our guiding statements and values lead us to continuously improve our students’ learning experience at all stages of development.

From August 2017 our new early years learning spaces will further enhance the experience of our youngest students through: More time to inquire through play-based, experiential learning with an extended school day More opportunities for outdoor learning, creative role play and physical development in our inspiring new facilities More early years experts inspiring each child’s learning Scan the QR code or visit www.patana.ac.th/childcentred to find out more about giving your child a strong foundation for the future through our key values and new child-inspired facilities.

Celebrating 60 Years of British International Education

www.patana.ac.th admissions@patana.ac.th Tel: +66 (0) 2785 2200

Bangkok Patana is a not-for-profit, IB World School, accredited by CIS and NEASC

Business

Saab Group, Vestergaard target Asian air traffic expansion

By Joakim Persson

S

aab Group and Vestergaard, where also among the Nordic companies attending the Inter Airport South East Asia trade show, held in Singapore on 15 – 17 February 2017.

Technology and automation are increasingly becoming important also in Asia as airports seek to become more efficient to face larger labour costs, very strong increase in traffic volumes and shortage of manpower. And the rising demand for air travel across the region created the need to continuously develop airports across the whole region.

Inter Airport SEA is an important platform for new ideas and technology to be showcased to the airports, ground service providers as well as the airlines.

The Swedish defence and security company Saab, which serves the market with world-leading products, services and solutions within military defence and civil security, attended for this very reason: “For us it is important to market Saab’s brand and our products for the airport industry in the Asia Pacific market. We already provide many of our products to many of the major airports in the region but also need to become well known for more airport and organizations in the region.

This show is a good platform to do that,” Fredrik Lindblom, Sales Director Saab Asia Pacific, told ScandAsia.

Prior to 2017 Saab was awarded the Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS) for Changi Airport and Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS).

“This is an important milestone for Saab and we are delighted to have been chosen for this prestigious project. We are also delivering the A-CDM solution to Hong Kong International Airport that will go live in Q3 of this year.”

“For Saab Air Traffic Management the Asia Pacific Region is one of the most important due to its rapid growth in traffic creating the need for more capacity and more airports. Our products will help Air Navigation Service Providers, Airport Operators and Airlines to run safe and efficient operations, which is key for any sustainable growth within this industry,” Fredrik Lindblom continued.

Saab Air Traffic Management exper tise spans sur veillance sensors, ATC automation, 22 ScandAsia.South East Asia • April 2017

collaborative decision-making, and digital towers.

Saab’s solutions are trusted by air navigation service providers, airports and airlines across six continents and in more than 100 locations across 45 countries.

At Inter Airpor ts Saab mainly focused on showcasing their Airport Collaborative Decision Making product suite as well as their Digital Tower suite.

“The first enables all stakeholders to share operational information with each other so that they have the same understanding of what is going on with all flights at any time, hence enabling collaboration to minimize disturbances in the system and making sure operations run on time.

Our Digital Tower solutions enable Air Traffic Control from a remote location as well as costefficient solutions for contingency operations at larger airport.”

Also for Vestergaard Company, a provider of hi-tech airport equipment, it is very important to participate in exhibitions such as the inter airport South East Asia, Thomas Toft Roepstorff, Country Manager Thailand told ScandAsia.

“The inter airpor t is an exhibition for Ground Suppor t Equipment. The exhibition takes place every other year and currently have three locations: Beijing, Singapore and Munich.

Vestergaard Company normally participates in all of these, in bigger or smaller scale. The biggest inter airport is the one is Munich, Germany, where we always show the newest features and updates on all of our products.“ “Exhibitions present a chance to meet both old and new customers and contacts as well as colleagues and other influencers in the everchanging market. Meeting our customers face to face at exhibitions gives us the possibility to stay updated on customers’ needs and desires when it comes to our products; thus giving us the chance to keep up our innovative approach to product development. Exhibitions also give us the opportunity to present and demonstrate the advantages of new products and developments and get real time feedback from our visitors – as with the new summer range ZVTS and ZWS (portable water service unit), which we presented at the inter airport South East Asia.”

The ZVTS is a vacuum toilet service unit that offers the same features and benefits as the company’s VTS unit. Developed for warm weather operations, the unit is receiving overwhelming acceptance in the Asian market.

The unit offers the same high quality and reliability as the VTS line, and the same unique continuous vacuum technology, without the added cost of winterization protection and optional features.

“The exhibitions in Asia has gained more importance for us the last couple of years as we have introduced “summer” toilet and water units, taking the well know Vestergaard benefits and quality into a non insulated “winterized” unit like our ZVTS and ZWS,” continued Thomas Toft Roepstorff.

“Often we also participate in Airport Show Dubai as well as in various conferences and smaller exhibitions all over the world – also in the Asia region.”

Hower, trade shows does not mean everything for their relations with clients: “As important as trade shows are it is important to point out that they must of course never completely replace personal meeting with customers where we can see their operations and experience their needs first hand as well as invite customers to visit us at our own locations.”

Given the huge expansion of airports in Asia for decades to come, Vestergaard sees the future growth potential for their products in the region as massive.

“The countries in the region are all having the biggest increase in personal income in the world, which means: more people can afford to fly, increased cargo, potential for more airports being created and expansion plans for airports all over the world. Vestergaard Company has inquiries from and units operating all over the world and many of the handlers and airlines are tr ying to streamline their operations as more cargo and flights are coming in ever y day. Streamlining operations makes it necessary to have more efficient and reliable equipment, faster turnaround time, easy operating and less maintenance/downtime etc. For this Vestergaard Company’s product line is the perfect match.”

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17/03/16 April 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia12.12 23