Samsung Q and A

Samsung Electronics and Samsung Techwin join forces - The implications for Samsung’s security operations in Europe

Following an announcement that the assets, human resources and liabilities of the security business for Samsung Electronics Co will transfer to that of Samsung Techwin Co in Korea from 1^st January 2010, we spoke to James Smith, European Marketing Manager at Samsung Techwin Europe Ltd to see what that means for Samsung’s security operations in Europe.

Firstly, as many people know there were two Samsung companies operating in the industry, Samsung Electronics and Samsung Techwin – just why was that?

It’s a question we are asked a lot! Essentially it is because the Samsung Group is made up from around 25 companies and each of those companies can be involved in a number of businesses – as such it’s not that unusual for the same industry to be served by different Samsung Group companies. Samsung Electronics and Samsung Techwin are just two such companies. While Samsung Techwin security products were born from the development of more industrial type imaging products, Samsung Electronics security products were born from the consumer electronics imaging side.

So, what does the transfer of Samsung Electronics security business to Samsung Techwin actually mean?

All Samsung products are researched and developed in Korea and from the 1^st January 2010 the two security teams have come together under the Samsung Techwin operation in Korea. This means that there is now a larger team of people looking after the development of products and the pooling of knowledge and technology that this gives is very good news for both the company and industry as a whole, as it will lead to the introduction of even more competitive products featuring some truly ground-breaking technology. We benefit from the years of experience that both companies have had in the industry and the whole will definitely be greater than the sum of its parts.

Will this mean that product ranges and the two “brands” will be rationalised?

One of the benefits of this is that products developed as a direct result of the teams joining forces will simply be known as “Samsung” products in the future. There will be no need for us to have Samsung Electronics and Samsung Techwin branding as differentiators. This gives us 100% focus on the product and developing the Samsung brand in its own right all the way through the supply chain.

What effect does this have on existing Samsung Electronics and Samsung Techwin product ranges?

It has no effect whatsoever. All existing Samsung Electronics and Samsung Techwin ranges remain in place and there will be no change to any distribution agreements during 2010. This is very important as it means that customers can still get the product they are used to buying through their usual channels and supply will be unaffected.

But what will happen in the future for distribution?

As new products are introduced as “Samsung” products they will be available to both sets of distributors – i.e. those who have historically sold Samsung Electronics and those who have historically sold Samsung Techwin. This introduction will happen in line with the usual lifecycle of products as new products are introduced and old ones phased out. The process should be very slick and our customers will benefit from the best new technology when these products are introduced.

What immediate benefits are there for Samsung customers in Europe because of this?

All products supplied through distribution by Samsung Techwin Europe Ltd benefit from our leading support services including local technical support, a very comprehensive three-year warranty, our industry-leading service and repair service as well as our system design service. This is something that customers of Samsung Techwin have enjoyed for over a year and now it’s open to Samsung Electronics customers too.

We also have offices in Spain, France, Italy, Russia, Czech Republic and Germany to provide local language support.

What products will be introduced throughout 2010?

Far too many to list, which is very exciting for us! Samsung is constantly innovating and improving so the product pipeline is extremely full and spans across all product sets. We are particularly looking forward to making a big impact with a bolstered IP and networking product offering, which will be fully ONVIF compliant and available soon.

We will also be looking at areas outside of the ranges that we currently offer to fulfil our ambitions to be a complete solutions provider, Access Control for instance.