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Atrax Group is a specialist weighing and dimensioning company that designs, manufactures, integrates and supports industrial weighing, measurement and related control systems for the Airport and Logistics industries. Every day, over three million people in 155 countries use Atrax products and systems. Atrax has offices in Auckland, New Zealand, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and a global network of partners and service agents.
Atrax’s journey with China began more than thirty years ago, in the early 1990s, when the importance of the country to Atrax’s operations and growth plans first became apparent.
China’s development at the time was tremendously exciting and being part of that journey was deemed essential. From the outset, China has presented strong business opportunities for Atrax. The growth potential of the country has always been, and still is, immense.
China offers many suppliers of high-quality, well-priced products. Atrax can source and ship direct or buy and assemble in house. Similarly for manufacturing – there are many players, making good quality, keenly priced product. Strategically, having a presence in China enables Atrax to directly supply the domestic market. In addition, many global companies have their logistics/distribution arms in China – which is a huge opportunity. Culturally, Atrax respects China’s way of life, approach to business and the work ethic.
The early years
For its first foray into China in the early 1990s, Atrax started manufacturing and supplying scales to Western companies already doing business in the country, including New Zealand company Glidepath (now part of Alstef Group) and Inter-Roller (a Singapore-owned company at the time, now known as Pteris Global).
Working with Glidepath, Atrax supplied all the scales for the new Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport (SZX) in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. The airport opened on 12 October 1991 with 42 check-in desks, all equipped with Atrax baggage scales. Atrax has subsequently supplied more scales, as the airport has continued to expand.
In 1993/1994, working with baggage handling system supplier Inter-Roller, Atrax supplied the baggage scales for Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN), and Fuzhou Changle International Airport (FOC) in China’s Fujian Province.
In 1994 Atrax, in partnership with Hong Kong-based Pert Engineering, supplied Kaohsiung International Airport (KHH) in Taiwan with baggage scales for the new international terminal project (the terminal opened officially in 1997).
In the mid-1990s, Atrax supplied 67 baggage scales to Glidepath for Urumqi Diwopu International Airport (URC) in North-western China, for the airport’s new Terminal 2 project (construction of which began in 1994. The terminal opened in 2001). When the airport expanded again to include a third terminal, Atrax again supplied many more scales through other baggage handling system suppliers.
These early projects set the foundation for Atrax to start working on projects in Mainland China, through various partners in the baggage handling system suppliers’ industry.
Winning the Chek Lap Kok International Airport (aka Hong Kong International Airport, HKG) project in the mid-1990s was a major milestone. The new airport was completed and opened on 6 July 1998. Atrax supplied all of the baggage scales for the airport and for the in-town MTR (Mass Transit Rail) check-ins on the Airport Express Railway Link. In addition, Atrax supplied the scales for the Hong Kong International Airport Post Office, FedEx, DHL, and UPS.
Atrax also supplied all the cargo scales for the Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminal (HACTL), across two projects:
CSS (Cargo Sortation System) with German heavy equipment manufacturer, Demag, and
BSS (Bulk Sorting System) with Murata.
Atrax supplied all the cargo scales for a second cargo operation – the Asia Airfreight Terminal (AAT). This project was significant in that it was the first time that Hong Kong had two cargo terminals at the same airport.
Going direct
Atrax’s initial success in China, working with various partners, prompted the decision to establish a presence in Mainland China and start operating there directly. In 2004, Atrax employed an in-country sales agent and started sourcing product directly in China. In 2009, working with New Zealand company HMI Technologies, Atrax set up a manufacturing plant in Jiangmen (in Guangdong Province, southern China), as a wholly owned foreign entity (WOFE). This plant is still operating today.
In time, it became apparent Atrax would benefit significantly from a more direct sales presence in China than simply a sales agent. In 2015 Atrax set up a joint venture sales office in Shanghai.
More recently, another key milestone project for Atrax was supplying all the scales for the new Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX), which opened in 2020. The US$17 billion airport is Beijing’s second international airport (the other is Beijing Capital International Airport). Nicknamed ‘starfish’, its terminal building is more than a million square metres. The high-speed luggage system has 422 check-in counters, all with Atrax baggage scales. In addition to being the sole supplier of baggage scales Atrax won its bid to supply all cargo scales. Atrax applied its new dimensioning technologies to win the cargo dimensioning and weighing projects across all five cargo buildings at the new airport. The success of this project was underpinned by a grant from Callaghan Innovation, which helped enable technology research that resulted in Atrax developing a new dimensioning solution, along with invaluable support from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise on the ground in China.
Other key projects
1999: Changsha Huanghua International Airport (CSX)
1999: Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH)
2001: Xi’an Xianyang International Airport (XIY)
2002: Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN)
2003: Qingdao Liuting International Airport (TAO)
2004: Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU)
2004: Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport (CKG)
2006: Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG)
2011: Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA)
2018: Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport (TAO)
2020: Chengdu Tianfu International Airport (TFU)
Challenges
For any company doing business in a foreign country, there will be challenges to overcome. Cultural misunderstandings arising from differences in how the West and the East ‘do things’ is one such challenge. For Atrax Group owner and founder Kevin Maurice, the solution is simple: Open-mindedness and cultural sensitivity is crucial. ‘‘I always tell my staff, ‘Take your New Zealand hat off when you land at the airport in China and open your mind to a different way of operating – it’s different, not wrong.’ I ask myself, what’s different, why is it different, and how can I work with it?”
Another ‘challenge’ Kevin Maurice has faced as the head of Atrax Group, is that he is more hands-on than his contemporaries in China expect him to be. “I know a lot more about the coalface and the product. I can get in there and walk the talk – I can build, diagnose, and fix. In China, it’s rare for my contemporaries to be at the coalface – it’s more about relationships. I think it’s an oddity to them!”
A solid platform for future growth
Atrax has an established a solid foothold in China with baggage and cargo scales. To date, Atrax has completed over 100 airport terminal projects across China. Today, airports in all except one of China’s Provinces, and all four municipalities (Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Tianjin), are using Atrax scales. Atrax is used in 11 of China’s 12 busiest airports (ref: CAAC Statistics 2021 – Civil Aviation Administration of China). Atrax regularly does business in all four Chinese municipalities, including sourcing much product from Tianjin.
Looking to the future, Atrax’s plans include expanding further into the cargo and logistics markets in Mainland China.
Atrax Group would like to congratulate New Zealand and China on reaching this milestone 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Atrax looks forward to continuing a strong and successful relationship with China and supporting trade relations in future.