Developing Alliance Capability at Clariant – The Tianjin Alliance in China

Abstract

It was a cloudy afternoon in November 2006, when Pieter Hermens, Head of Region Special Markets at Clariant's Pigments & Additives Division, looked out of the window from his office in Basel. The weather reminded him of the rainy days in Tianjin (China), where everything had started in 1996. Pieter had worked there for many years as the CEO of a joint venture between Clariant and its Chinese partner. He had been involved in evaluating the case for entering the China market, searching for and selecting an appropriate partner, negotiating the deal, starting operations, and, later, transforming the scope and scale of the joint venture. As one of the first production partnerships that Clariant started in China, Tianjin had emerged as the plant with the lowest manufacturing costs that Clariant, so far, had managed under its corporate umbrella. Looking back, Pieter felt content about the current situation, despite all the delays and setbacks that had been encountered. However, new challenges were ahead and Clariant had to find a way to overcome them. How exactly, was the big question that crossed Pieter's mind.