Teaming up: Advantage Air’s Walter Kimble and senior engineer (centre) with Hong Kong-based business partners.

Air-conditioning company Advantage Air has come a long way since it started as a wholesale business with a team of three more than 15 years ago. Based in Perth, it now has offices in Australia’s major cities, as well as South Africa. “Instead of selling only components, we now sell the whole air conditioning system,” said company Director Walter Kimble.

When the company decided to make its own units, it looked to China, the manufacturing hub of the world. Sourcing suppliers began with endless Internet searches and several overseas trips to meet with potential partners. “We churned through them,” said Mr Kimble. “It took us an awful lot of time to find anybody who was willing to do what we wanted and could meet our specifications and standards.”

Mr Kimble admits he never really considered Hong Kong as a source of potential suppliers at that time. “We thought Hong Kong was more of a commercial banking centre.”

This all changed when he attended a Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) seminar in Perth, where he was introduced to HKTDC Business Matching. His initial concern was how much the service would cost. “But when they came back and said it was US$100, we thought ‘wow, we’ve got nothing to lose.’”

Within a few weeks, Mr Kimble received a list of three companies matching his requirements. He then went to Hong Kong to visit the companies and their factories to see what they could do. Advantage Air eventually linked up with two of the three matched companies for different aspects of its manufacturing process. Mr Kimble said he’s gotten his money back for the HKTDC Business Matching service many times over.

HKTDC Business Matching helps local and overseas companies look for potential partners for business development. For more information, email businessmatching@hktdc.org. You can also call (852) 1830 668, or the Hong Kong Trade Development Council office near you. For more information, click here.

Rewritten from Dynamic Business, Australia, September 2007