Selected among several Belgian and Luxemburg companies, last October CODIPRO flew over for a week to Japan as part of the YES Program (Young Executive Stay Program IX). Organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Belgium and Luxembourg in Japan (BLCCJ), the Belgium-Japanese & Chamber of Commerce Association (BJA), the objective of this program is to familiarize small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with Japanese business practices in a short period of time and at lower costs. 

To approach this market, renowned for being meticulous and demanding, in the best of conditions, before leaving the 8 participants have benefitted from several intensive training sessions in Belgium, along with the on-site support of assistants sent by the organisers.

"I've worked with Ken Tanaka, a Japanese student who came to spend a few days in our manufacturing sites in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to broaden his knowledge of the characteristics and technical nature of CODIPRO's swivel lifting rings in order to target potential partners more effectively. Then I spoke with him a lot on Skype or via e-mail to prepare the various meetings and define a business approach suitable for this particular market " says Benoît Cop, Export Manager at CODIPRO. 

As soon as we came home, there was already a stock order!

The success of this participation came soon: the first order came just one month after coming back from Japan.  "It must be said that thanks to BLCCJ and BJA, we were already well prepared to tackle this demanding market. Punctuality, great politeness, respect for hierarchy, precision in our presentation... we followed all the recommendations and advice received from the Japanese market experts during the various preparatory sessions in Belgium. The quality of our swivel lifting rings, the technical rigour required at CODIPRO to manufacture them, our wide range of standard rings and the creation of specific swivel lifting rings by the unit in a very short space of time were accordingly arguments that convinced Japanese partners," Benoît proudly says.

Very pleased of this success, CODIPRO's export manager has further plans: there is already a second trip in the pipeline for the beginning of next year to go back and meet the distributors met as part of the program in order to consolidate the relationship and generate new sales.