AISIN Group Establishes Aftermarket Company In Panama

Aisin World Corp. of America (AWA), an affiliate of Aisin Seiki, has set up a joint venture (JV) named Aisin Sales Latin America S.A. (ASLA) with Leon Import, a major wholesale distributor of spare parts for Japanese and Korean cars. The new company, formed on at the end of last month, will be focused on customer care in the Central and South American and Caribbean markets.

Last year, Aisin Group started its Aftermarket Virtual Company initiative to enlarge its market presence. In 3 years, the company is determined to sell twice as many aftermarket products as about $742 million US in the last business year. Aisin representatives claim that the company will put in great efforts to increase its sales rate by developing and reinforcing its aftermarket infrastructure worldwide. The founded company is a significant part of this promising initiative. Earlier this year, Aisin concluded an important agreement in Thailand, and founded the sales company in China.

Thanks to the JV deal, both parties involved will be able to join forces in their sales business to provide a basis for more efficient interactions with existing customers and expansion of the business on new markets. Moreover, a favorable geographical location allows the new facility to meet local demands in spare parts. It is expected that ALSA will also open a new distribution center and a number of “Aisin Shops” in countries where additional opportunities exist. In this way the company wants to reduce the delivery time and to enhance the quality of services.

Scott Turpin, the chief executive of AWA, was appointed as a head of ASLA. Mr. Turpin confessed that Aisin had started planning the JV project a year before. He also said that a warehouse in Panama is Aisin’s key asset for improvement of products delivery from the US and expansion of client base. AWA and Leon Import have been close business partners for more than twenty-five years, and the abovementioned JV deal is a new stage in a productive partnership. ASLA is the latest addition in the Aisin’s aftermarket development strategy. Last year, AWA opened a new warehouse near Nashville, Tennessee, which offers services to Midwest and East Coast customers.