This is the first in a series of articles profiling the people and the businesses at Samsung C&T’s branch offices around the world. This installment in the series focuses on Samsung C&T’s office in Milano, Italy.
Doing business overseas poses several cultural, linguistic and business related challenges for any company looking to expand outside their home borders. To overcome these challenges, Samsung C&T has long pursued a localization strategy at branch offices around the world.
What’s it like to work in a localized office of a global company? Well, Samsung C&T’s branch office in Italy is one of the few C&T offices who know this first-hand – from top to bottom, every employee is a native Italian. And the secret to their success starts with the people who believe in strong teamwork, flexibility and take pride in what they do.
Samsung C&T’s Italian office has enjoyed a long history in the country and was originally founded in Milano in 1977. Known locally as the ‘Milano Branch’, the office is located in the Porta Nuova district of Milano, a rich historic area in the heart of the city that is also home to a number of modern buildings and businesses.
The Milano Branch embraces the dual-nature of the Trading & Investment Group’s (T&I) businesses – currently, the branch manages investments in renewable energy projects and is also active in the trading of steel (stainless steel, galvanized steel coils, pickled and oiled steel, hot rolled steel, flat products, plates) and chemicals (polymers, fertilizers).
The Milano Branch goes beyond T&I’s core businesses to provide value-added services such as managing consignment stock and Vendor Managed Inventory and is also actively engaged in the project organizing & management business in the Mediterranean area in the healthcare, energy and infrastructure sectors.
The team members in Milano come from a diverse range of educational backgrounds in several specializations and all members hail from different parts of Italy. Thus, the office embraces the complete Italian culture, and as one of the few fully localized branch offices at Samsung C&T, Milano serves as a model for other offices around the world. And because they are a flexible team, the office has worked very closely together to solve complex business issues, which has only strengthened the bond among team members.
The Milano Branch has long been engaged in the solar power sector, leading one of C&T’s first-ever investments in solar projects. As a testament to this leadership, Samsung C&T was awarded a majority of the available solar power projects on military bases across Italy. The team is also considering healthcare and energy storage system projects, in addition to expanding the VMI business model on the trading side.
Going forward, C&T in Italy expects to build upon its growth margins from its steel and chemical business, as well as its value-added services to seize project development opportunities throughout the Mediterranean.
