On the 19th of November, 2015, nine of the CITO representatives visited the Taipei office of the Swedish company Fractal Design. The company designs and manufactures computer chassis and other computer components. The design process of the computer chassis is conducted in Gothenburg, Sweden, but the production sites are mainly located in China.
We met with Johan Borggren, the Vice President of Global Marketing, during our visit, who is one of twenty employees in the Taipei office. Johan told us more about the Fractal Design organization but also taught us a lot about what cultural differences you can expect to encounter when pursuing a career in Asia.
Fractal Design is currently expanding their product range with new product designs. The core design of the computer chassis can be described as “Scandinavian minimalism”, but the company is now adding a new series called “Define S Modding Series”. The new series is developed through several collaborations with famous “modders” in the business and has a more personalized design.
Regarding the cultural differences, Johan mentioned several important aspects to keep in mind while doing business in other countries. One of the advices was to always have an open mind when entering into a new market, but also to have a proactive mindset rather than a reactive mindset.
The visit was very insightful for the CITO representatives and we really appreciated to learn more about Fractal Design but also to gain valuable knowledge for future careers.