A Local Presence – Taking the Pulse of Customers and Markets

Lilyana Budyanto’s résumé is as international as WACKER’s business. Born in Indonesia, she spent part of her childhood in Hong Kong and mainland China, studied in Singapore, and then did her Master’s in the Netherlands. She has been in strategic marketing at WACKER Singapore since 2016, serving countries as diverse as Cambodia and South Korea.

For WACKER POLYMERS, Southeast Asia is an attractive market with many distinctive local features and high growth rates. Over the past five years, sales here have expanded by more than 11 percent annually on average. In developing countries such as Myanmar or Cambodia, Budyanto mainly performs pioneering work. These countries often do not have much experience with modern construction materials and technologies. First and foremost, it is important to show customers why it is worthwhile switching from thick-bed to thin-bed technology for laying their tiles. Budyanto and her team try to make direct contacts locally. They share information with universities and work together with local authorities and trade associations. “We have to understand their needs before we can develop, serve and grow the market,” she says.

“We speak their language, understand local requirements and know what specific climatic conditions and raw materials are present locally.”

Lilyana Budyanto, marketing manager for construction polymers in Southeast Asia

Unique WACKER Philosophy

Many manufacturers in the region depend heavily on distributors for construction products. WACKER’s philosophy is entirely different, relying on the presence of dedicated local customer teams in each country. “We speak our customer’s language, understand the local requirements, and know the local climatic conditions and what raw materials are available,“ says Budyanto. The region’s service network is getting more closely meshed all the time. In May 2017, the latest technical competence center opened its doors in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. At the same time, technical service teams are underway in this nation of countless islands and 260 million inhabitants with “WACKER on Wheels” or WOW for short. WOW is a mobile test lab and showroom, accommodated in a small truck. Whenever they visit construction sites, WACKER experts and dry-mix mortar manufacturers use WOW to demonstrate the advantages of dry-mix mortar to building contractors and tradespeople.

The way WACKER embraces customer proximity pays off. In Indonesia, WACKER succeeded in developing cost-effective cementitious waterproofing membranes together with a customer, for waterproofing basements, bathrooms and swimming pools. This market segment offers significant growth opportunities, all over the world. “Innovations like these are only possible if we are active locally and understand the entire value chain,” explains Budyanto.