Huawei's decade-long commitment in Europe

DUSSELDORF, Germany -- "In the first few years after entering Europe, we encountered huge obstacles in market development," recalled Xu Yuan, managing director of Huawei Germany, sitting in his office in Dusseldorf that overlooks the Rhine river.

Ten years after opening its first office in Britain, Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology solutions provider, now has 37 branches, 6 research and development centers and about 6,700 employees in Europe.

Particularly in Germany, with its advantage in providing innovative and customized products and services, the Chinese company works closely with local telecommunication operators and has achieved remarkable success, benefiting both the firm and the German society.

Recipe for success

"I worked in some other Asian companies, but I believe Huawei has the greatest potential," Huawei's local employee Lars Weisswange told Xinhua. "In Europe, we need to keep close ties with Asia, so I am very excited to work in this transnational enterprise."

More than 1,000 out of Huawei Germany's 1,500 staff are native employees. As Germany endeavors to fend off impacts of the eurozone debt crisis, Huawei helps the country boost local employment with the awareness that localization can earn it wider recognition.

"To establish a company overseas is like building a skyscraper. A solid foundation is the most important thing," Xu said, "Local employees are our foundation."

In addition to localization, Huawei's cohesive enterprise culture also motivates its local employees.

"Although Huawei is a big company, it keeps a start-up spirit, which makes me feel excited and positive," Weisswange said.

An eight-member group, which is the highest management team of Huawei Germany, is responsible for the firm's all big decisions, but only three of them are Chinese, Xu told Xinhua.

"Putting customers first" is another ingredient of Huawei's success in Germany. Both Huawei German branch and European headquarters in Dusseldorf are located just a stone's throw away from the building of Vodafone, one of Huawei's big clients.

Proximity to clients is one of the reasons for choosing Dusseldorf as the company's site, Xu said.

"We always put our clients first," he said. "What products and services do they need? How long is the delivery time? Questions like these are the priorities in developing new products."

Committed to providing innovative and customized products, Huawei now serves more than 40 of the world's top 50 operators, along with over 1 billion users worldwide.

"With Huawei, we have found a perfect partner, who will satisfy the high quality and security requirements we place on our mobile communications network", said Andrea Folgueiras with Spain's Telefonica Germany.

Growing pains

Ten years ago, the founding of Huawei's representative office in Britain marked the firm's first step into the European market. Now the company boasts branches in more than 20 European countries and its research and development, production, sales, services and training network covers the European continent.

However, it has been a long march for Huawei to root itself in Europe and become a strong partner for the local industry.