Hanwha Techwin has been a Korean standard and flagship for many years, however in terms of electronic security and especially in video surveillance they do not have much time in the market, what is clear is that they have known how to weigh their trajectory and preserve the tradition and quality that Samsung already dragged, a brand that they acquired a couple of years ago.
By Santiago Jaramillo Hincapié
Precisely in this logical process of purchase and positioning, the Hanwha Techwin brand reported that the Samsung Techwin and Wisenet Samsung brands, which were used during the last years to refer to Hanwha Techwin's technological solutions, will disappear from the market from 2018, officially launching its Wisenet brand for all its video surveillance products.
This measure constitutes the last stage in the change of corporate identity that began in December 2014 when Samsung announced that its security division had been acquired by the Korean conglomerate Hanwha; which became official in June 2015, when Hanwha took full control over Samsung Techwin and renamed it Hanwha Techwin. In the Americas, the most relevant change took place in March 2016, when Samsung Techwin America announced its name change to Hanwha Techwin America, which became effective as of April 2016.
The rebranding has been palpable not only in the name but also in the visual evolution that the brand has had, going from the classic samsung blue to the orange and gray tones that are representative of Hanwha.
Precisely to talk about the current situation of this multinational and its particular vision of the Latin American region, we visited Fernando Tomasiello, Vice President for Latin America of Hanwha Techwin, in his Miami office.
It is worth noting that Fernando has extensive experience as an international sales and operations executive in the video surveillance industry. In fact, he has already worked for almost ten years at Samsung Electronics in the position as vice president of operations and international sales for Latin America, making the brand one of the leaders in the region.
Fernando emphasizes that the verticals that the company he represents works the strongest in the region are those of cities, airports and ports, the verticals of retail, hospitals and hotels also work very well, although he ponders that it can always be improved.
"The video market is basically software and hardware. Within software we are increasingly seeing more powers in terms of analytics and in contrast to hardware, they are already involving analytics within the cameras, "says Tomasiello, who also adds that "I would say that the mixture between software, hardware and an open platform are a perfect combination for an end customer to decide to adopt a technology. We at Hanwha Techwin are doing it; however, the regional and global market has changed a lot and we must be very attentive to these changes to be ahead and always adapt," he ponders.
Market
Similarly and referring to the evolution of the market, the Vice President for Latin America of Hanwha Techwin maintains that "the market has changed, I have been serving Latin America for almost 20 years and since 1998, 1999 or 2000 it has had a tremendous evolution, there is clearly an adaptation to the low-end, middle-end and high-end markets. We as a company always focus on middle-end and high-end, but it should be noted that the changes have been nuanced to a greater extent and have made us suffer a greater adaptation process with the arrival of the offer of Asian companies with a very aggressive price, which has made all companies of our level accept the change, we are obliged to modernize and give a better solution to the end customer to deliver added value to all of them".
It also highlights that today the big question at the level of manufacturers is that few companies will survive the change of the market, "only the strongest and best will be those that prevail and retain their share," says Tomasiello.
Precisely with regard to Hanwha Techwin, Fernando Tomasiello emphasizes that "a company is basically made of people, I believe that the success that our company has had, especially in the process of transition and change from Samsung to Hanwha Techwin and the consolidation in the region is due to the excellent professionals who work alongside me. The successes of each country and each area in the region are merits of each of them. I am simply here to support them and be a support vehicle. I think I am not wrong to say that one of the great successes of today in our company are the people who accompany us. We have been fortunate to surround ourselves with excellent professionals and more than that, excellent people," says our guest.
Projects
Turning to the issue of projects and plans in the region, another aspect highlighted by Tomasiello has been of great success in its management is the STEP program (Smart Techwin Eco Partner Program), an affiliation initiative aimed at integrators and distributors who carry out business in Colombia, Brazil and Mexico (By mid-2018 it will be in the program in the rest of the countries of the region), whose purpose is to give its members the opportunity to expand their quota through a protection and loyalty program.
"Those who join this initiative will have the possibility of accessing multiple benefits in the development of their projects: price protection, brand loyalty, free online training, among other advantages," emphasizes the company's representative for the region.
On the other hand and perhaps one of the most important aspects that recognize from the Hanwha Techwin company are advancing in technological investment has to do with the construction of a new manufacturing plant in Vietnam, a project that began in 2017 with the aim of starting operations by the second half of 2018. By 2019, the plant, with an area of close to 60,000 square meters, is expected to produce around two million products per year such as IP cameras, analog, semiconductor video storage devices and electronic processors. The plant's entry into operation is also expected to generate between 1,500 and 2,000 new jobs.
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