It happens regularly that children end up in the same industry as their parents. This is no different in the case of Marcel Lensvelt, founder of Feltest. “My father got an international technical sales job in the paper industry, and thanks to all the stories at home, that’s how I got into it, too.” But just because it’s a known world doesn’t mean you always sail with the wind, Lensvelt knows by now.
Feltest provides measuring equipment for paper manufacturers. That equipment allows paper mills to run more efficiently and deliver higher production. Lensvelt: “The paper industry in itself is a niche industry, if you consider that there are only 3,500 paper mills worldwide. And within that niche market, we found a small part for which we supply instruments. So that’s the niche within the niche.”
Bad timing
By focusing on a specific component, Feltest has been able to build an international network of customers. The Eerbeek-based company is already active in 91 countries. Yet this did not happen without a struggle, says Lensvelt: “In January 2008, I started working with Feltest full-time. Before that, it was a kind of sideline. It was a great idea, but given the financial crisis later that year, it was very bad timing. Our customers were drying up and only Asia had a little life left in the market. So I packed my bags and started promoting at trade shows in China, India, Thailand, Korea…and was able to save my business in the process.”
Cultuurclash in Japan
When the world economy picks up, Feltest is growing fast, but mainly in Western countries. Meanwhile, things are well established there and Lensvelt wants to become successful again in Asia. “In all my wisdom, I then decided to enter the most difficult country in Asia: Japan. Generalizing: a culturally closed country with high quality requirements, but also a large sales market willing to pay for high quality. We also had a partner there who could help us. A Japanese, who had been working for another Dutch company for 30 years. As a result, I assumed that if I may come across as blunt, the man already knows that it is just my Dutch way of communicating.” Everything seems to be in order, but things still go wrong in 2023, Lensvelt says.
“We decided to participate in a trade show in Japan for the first time in a long time and give a presentation there. But since many Japanese are not very comfortable in English, I asked that partner several months in advance if he would give the presentation. No response. After a month, I tried again. Again no answer. Less than 24 hours before the presentation, the highest word came out. He didn’t want to. To save the day, he suggested interpreting for me live on stage.
That night I cut my presentation in half like crazy to account for his translation time. But when I wanted to go over my presentation with him the next morning, there was another catch. He didn’t understand much of what we were doing and thus couldn’t translate the presentation either. But then again, we only had an hour before the presentation was due. On stage, that then went completely wrong. We went down together, but he lost face in front of his network. And if anything is bad in Japan…
Despite the fact that the best man had been working with Dutch for decades, we could not understand each other in the preliminary stage. He did not feel comfortable, did not dare to say that he did not understand and that he did not want or dare to make that presentation. “If he doesn’t like it, he’ll say so,” I thought. Like a Dutchman would. Even though I did know the theory that Asians are more conservative, I hadn’t really had it in my system. Now the misery was there.”
Cultuurcoach via NLinBusiness.com
Lensvelt understood that he could use outside help, and at the Trends in Export trade show he first became acquainted with NLinBusiness.com. “I did realize that something had gone wrong here that was beyond me. I was looking for a kind of culture coach. NLinBusiness.com might have had the answer to that,” Lensvelt describes his feeling. “They made a note of my question there at the fair and fairly quickly introduced me to two agencies that had specific experience in Japan. In the end, our choice fell on a Japanese coach who has lived in the Netherlands for years and understands the Dutchman. And we thus understand the Japanese a little better as well.”
Never too old to learn
He is far from finished with learning, Lensvelt explains, “I started this company 32 years ago, and I gained another important insight this year. You can call that pretty late,” he laughs broadly. “I spent years building up an image that if I offer my product to the user, that’s good enough. Because if he is enthusiastic, then he will tell his boss to buy it. After all, that’s how it goes in the Netherlands. And I never quite realized that this is not the case in a lot of countries.”
Immerse yourself in the other culture
“So my advice to other entrepreneurs taking their first steps abroad is: try to really immerse yourself in a country. Don’t start selling there right away, but first visit trade fairs, build a network and try to talk to people, especially potential customers, to get a better idea of how business is done there. Not just from books, but go there. And especially make a few mistakes while there is no order or quotation at stake yet.”
(The above article is translated and taken from NLinBusiness, you can find the original Dutch article here. We are thankful to NLinBusiness for transferring Feltest to Cultural Insights. With our worldwide network of Intercultural trainers/coaches, we have been able to link Feltest to the right person.)
