Company tops in keeping its cool Fujitsu General (Aust.) Pty Limited

"Australia's Favourite Air" is an apt company slogan for the country's number-one supplier of air-conditioning products. Becoming the market leader in little more than three decades also says much about the company itself. jstyle profiles Fujitsu General (Aust.) Pty Limited where talk of quality, innovation and community commitment is not just blowing hot air.

The company's Australian origins date back to the early 1970s, when it sold colour televisions to a nation still new to the concept. It continued trading as General Colour Pty Ltd until 1980, when the company became a full subsidiary of the General Corporation in Japan. The change saw the company and its Australian operations expand from televisions into other consumer products like refrigerators and importantly, air conditioners.
In 1989, new corporate changes saw the company take on its global name of Fujitsu General Ltd. Over time its research and manufacturing strengths centred on its main product category, air conditioning. This core focus has resulted in Fujitsu General producing a market-leading product of world-class standard.

In Australia, Fujitsu General has office and warehouse facilities in all capital cities servicing a vast national retail and dealer network. In recent years its domestic and commercial product range has boomed, including Fujitsu General's breakthrough launch of its new "Nocria" range air conditioners employing eco-friendly inverter technology.

Fujitsu General has consistently been awarded by the industry reporting body GFK as the top-selling air-conditioning brand in Australia, receiving this award every year since its inception. Last year, Fujitsu General also received the ERA Award as the top air-conditioning supplier. This important award, voted on by all major retail groups in Australia, not only considers sales but other factors such as advertising and marketing, service, product quality and training.

In the Australian community, funds from every Fujitsu air conditioner sold go towards the Sporting Chance Cancer Foundation. Since this sponsorship began, the company has donated $1.6 million to support children and families dealing with cancer.

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Who's the boss? Interview: Etsuro Saito Managing director Fujitsu General (Aust.) Pty Limited Since joining Fujitsu General Ltd in 1976 after graduating from Tokyo's Meiji University, Mr Etsuro Saito has had a long and rewarding career with the company. He has worked in several management positions in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore before being appointed managing director of Fujitsu General (Australia) in 2003. A keen golfer in his spare time, Mr Saito lives in the north Sydney suburb of Chatswood.

Please describe Australia's air-conditioning industry in recent years.

Mr Saito: Over the past five years, industry sales of air conditioners have shown an increase of about 45 per cent. We believe steady future growth of 5-10 per cent annually is possible, in part because of the low saturation rate and the effects of global warming on weather patterns, but primarily because the air conditioner has become a necessary item in many households around the country. Since the Australian government began actively enforcing energy efficiency laws for many products including air conditioners, highly efficient and high-quality products that comply with the legislation such as inverter-type air conditioners are becoming very popular. Although the regulation levels set by the government are not easy to meet, they ultimately provide great energy-saving benefits for consumers. Due to Australia's large land mass (20 times that of Japan) and relatively small population (one-fifth of Japan), time and heavy investment are needed to complete the necessary network and infrastructure for sales, after-sales and logistics.

How does Fujitsu General adapt to the industry in Australia?

Mr Saito: Fujitsu General managed to achieve 55 per cent growth in the last five years, which is significantly higher than the industry average. We are confident we can maintain this trend as Fujitsu General continues to invest in the development of high-quality products suited to the Australian market. Inverter technology is the key to high-efficiency products and currently, inverter models represent about 90 per cent of our total sales. Our aim is to increase that to 100 per cent within the next two years. Our research shows that in recent years Fujitsu is the most well-known air-conditioning brand, hence our company slogan "Australia's Favourite Air".

In 2006, Fujitsu General began supporting The Sporting Chance Cancer Foundation. Tell us about this initiative.

Mr Saito: Fujitsu General invested in Australia in 1974 to form its own distribution organisation and became a pioneer in terms of large-scale distribution of air conditioners. Nowadays, Australia is one of the most important markets for our global activities, with a contribution of more than 10 per cent of total sales turnover overseas, which is within the top three worldwide. As our business has developed in Australia with the strong support and co-operation of the local community, we believe it is only fair that we make a contribution back to society. Since our company spokesman Mark Taylor (former captain of the Australian cricket team) is one of the founders and a current director of The Sporting Chance Cancer Foundation, we decided to become the principal sponsor to support its activities. Funds from every Fujitsu air conditioner sold go towards this charity. It is our aim to make a contribution to society not only by providing high-quality, energy-saving products for Australian households, but also by directly supporting valuable community activities in Australia.

What is the outlook for future business activity in Australia?

Mr Saito: Fujitsu General has recently completed its new air conditioner research and development centre in Japan, designed to strengthen our technology and product development power, particularly for energy-saving and environmentally-conscious products. Furthermore, we also recently announced the construction of a new factory in China. The Fujitsu General Group will undoubtedly continue to invest heavily in its air conditioner business with the aim of developing high-quality products suited to the Australian market. We believe the Australian market will continue to grow steadily but the product mix will vary year to year. The proportion of old-style air conditioners such as simple cooling and heating products will fade out rapidly. Therefore, we will lead the industry in continuing to develop high-end products with greater energy efficiency as well as larger capacity air conditioners for commercial use. In order to provide total satisfaction to our customers and consumers in Australia, we will strengthen our product development, continue to create attractive sales promotions and advertising, as well as restructure our after-sales and logistics activities.