Page 18 - Fuels & Lubes International Q2 2013

chose an unlikely candidate to place at the
helm of his additives empire as company
president: G.S. Ravi. A good organic chemist,
Ravi was owner and managing director of a
small specialty chemical formulator known as
Chemizol Additives Private Ltd. in Bangalore,
India. Chemizol was primarily engaged in
sulfurized compounds for metalworking, gear
oil compounds, sulfonate detergents, as well as
organic friction reducing compounds. It has
since merged with Tianhe.
It is an unusual marriage between a
Chinese company and an Indian company. Ravi
claims that there is no cultural gap between
him and his Chinese partners. The soft-spoken
and well-read president of Tianhe Chemicals
says “There’s not been a day when I’ve had any
cultural issues with my colleagues in China.
Not a day. Because we seem to be all driven by a
common goal, rather than being driven by our
individual cultures.”
In an exclusive interview with F&L Asia’s
Editor-in-chief, Vicky Villena-Denton, during
F+L Week in Bangkok, Ravi said that Tianhe
sought to address some gaps between what
other companies offer and what the customers
currently need. Tianhe offers “not just packages,
but opportunities that they would never have
had otherwise,” he said. It is this idea that gives
some insight into what
has made Tianhe
grow so rapidly.
Central
to Tianhe’s
philosophy
is the idea
that a
company
must
listen to its
customers.
When asked
about what
customers want, Ravi responded, “Customers
want to know more about the technology, and
the more open you are about how to meet their
individual needs, the more receptive they are.”
Ravi made sure to emphasize just how
excited everyone was to be “recognized on the
world stage.” To ensure Tianhe’s success at
the international level, the company has made
sure to hire those who understand the market.
Although Ravi obviously offers great experience
in this arena, and in India in particular, Tianhe
also sought out the experience of T.K. Lim.
Lim spent many years working with Afton
Chemical in Singapore, the company’s regional
headquarters. He is currently vice president for
the Asia Pacific Region of Tianhe Chemicals.
Although Lim has much to offer with
regard to his experience at the international
level, he also made sure to invest a great deal
of effort at the factory level. In a speech at
the 7th Asia-Pacific Base oil, Lubricant &
Grease Conference, Lim affirmed Tianhe’s
commitment to awareness of customer needs.
In his presentation, Lim succinctly outlined
specific areas of focus for the company. one
such area of focus is at the factory level. He
said the company’s chairman has invested a
great deal of time and effort into changing the
operational mindset of factory workers. He
emphasized that what the workers are doing
is important, both to the customers and to the
company. The new outlook included long-term
and broader goals such as training, with an
emphasis on international success. A high
level of importance is also given to safety
and housecleaning. Such an emphasis
has certainly helped Tianhe attain its
laundry list of international certifications,
including ISo 9002, ISo 9000, ISo 9001,
ISo 14001, as well as China’s occupational
health and safety certification GB/
T28001-2001.
The additive portion of Tianhe has
been working diligently to develop a
number of new technologies, though it
has followed the trend of eschewing the
入达6亿美元。
魏奇的兄弟，公司CEO魏暄与摩根斯坦利达成
了交易。他选择了一个出人意料的人选担任这个添加
剂帝国的公司总裁：G.S. Ravi。Ravi是一名出色的有
机化学家，曾是一家位于印度班家罗尔的小型特种化
学品配方商Chemizol Additives Private Ltd.的所有
人和董事总经理。Chemizol主要从事用于金属加工
液、齿轮油、磺酸盐洗涤剂和有机减摩剂的硫化物业
务。后被天合兼并。
这是一家中国企业与印度企业的特殊婚
姻。Ravi说他与中国的合作伙伴之间没有文化鸿沟。
天合化工的这位说话温和、阅读广泛的总裁说“我在
中国没有一天与中国的同事出现过文化上的冲突。一
天也没有。因为我们有着一个共同的目标，而不是不
同的文化。”
在F+L周中，《润滑油与燃料油亚洲》的主编对
他进行了独家采访。在采访中，Ravi说天合着重于填
补一些其他公司产品与客户需求之间的空白。天合提
供的“不仅仅是复合添加剂，而是他们从其他公司那
里得不到的机会。”正是这些想法使天合得以快速增
长。
天合的核心理念是企业必须倾听客户的声音。
当问到客户需求什么时，Ravi说，“客户希望更多地了
解技术，你在如何满足他们的需求方面越开放，他们
就越接受你。”
Ravi强调每个人如果在“世界舞台上得到认可”
将会多么令人激动。为了确保天合在国际上取得成
功，公司必须聘用那些了解市场的人。虽然Ravi在这
个领域有着丰富的经验，特别是在印度，天合也需要
T.K. Lim。Lim先生曾在新加坡的雅富顿化学地区总
部工作。他目前担任天合化工亚太区的副总裁。
虽然Lim先生的国际经验丰富，但也要在工厂里
投入相当的精力。在第七届亚太基础油、润滑油和润
滑酯大会上，Lim强调了天合对客户需求的重视。在
他的报告中，他具体说明了公司的重点领域。其中之
一就是工厂。他说公司董事长在改变工厂操作工的思
维方式上花了很多精力。他强调工人的所作所为对客
户和公司都至关重要。新计划中包括了长期的、更广
泛的目标，如培训，其重点就是保证在国际上取得成
功。安全和环境卫生也得到了高度的重视。这些必将
有助于天合在许多国际认证中取得的成果，包括ISO
9002、ISO 9000、ISO 9001、ISO 14001，以及中国
的职业健康与安全认证GB/T28001-2001。
天合的添加剂业务部门正努力开发新的技术，但
他遵循了对专利体系的回避以避免透露公司计划。产
品的范围很广泛，包括“下一代”抗磨改进剂、热稳
定抗磨剂等。
然而，天合不仅仅开发新产品；他还努力区分这
些不同的产品。例如，公司的HIPER产品线在命名时
避免了常规的“T”字头加两个数字的做法。HIPER
品牌意在传递该产品线是高性能的。C-TECH和P-
TECH产品线也有相似的理念，分别是指其成分和产
品技术。
Ravi解释到天合的理念是为客户的声音所驱
动，他说，一家好公司必须“仔细倾听客户的需求并
做出反应，提供解决方案和复合添加剂。”
Ravi说，天合已经有大量低端的润滑油和添加
剂。公司的复合添加剂主要针对中端市场而设计，并
且公司将提供最高端的服务。Ravi指出天合“并不
以价格去击败其他公司；而是靠服务、技术支持、质
量。”他说，客户是天合的“长期战略合作伙伴。”
公司面临的潜在的最大障碍是取得OEM批准。
Customers want to
knowmore about
the technology, and
themore open you
are about how to
meet their individual
needs, themore
receptive they are.
FUELS & LUBES INTERNATIONAL Quarter Two 2013 18