Böhmer and Melchers: A Journey of Trust and Shared Success in Asia
The partnership between Böhmer and Melchers began in the late 1990s, when the two companies first met at an industry exhibition in Beijing. What started as an initial exchange of ideas soon developed into a strategic collaboration, strengthened by a follow-up visit to Böhmer’s headquarters in Sprockhövel, Germany.
Recognizing the vast potential of the Asian market, representatives from both companies invested significant time in understanding each other’s strengths, values, and long-term ambitions. Together, they developed a strategy to introduce Böhmer’s premium ball valves to customers across Asia.
At the time, Böhmer had already established a strong reputation in Germany and parts of Europe for its high-quality valve solutions. In Asia, however, the brand was largely unknown. Melchers, while possessing extensive market knowledge and a well-established regional network, had limited experience with industrial valve products and only a little customer base within the oil and gas sector.
This mutual recognition of strengths and gaps became the foundation of a genuine partnership. Melchers began by strengthening the sales team in China, bringing in experienced professionals who had successfully sold similar products to potential Böhmer clients. With this setup Melchers generated first enquiries in China. At the same time, both companies collaborated closely to refresh and redesign Böhmer’s marketing materials — including new brochures, leaflets, and presentations. These tools were thoughtfully designed to introduce Böhmer’s German-engineered quality to customers who had never heard the brand name before. Through this process, Melchers’ product management team gained a deep understanding of Böhmer’s key advantages, technical strengths, and wide range of applications. This knowledge enabled them to provide clearer, more effective guidance to sales teams across Melchers’ branches, ensuring a consistent and professional market approach.
The cooperation started in China and soon expanded to almost all Asian markets where Melchers maintained its own branch network. During the early years, numerous joint customer visits were conducted by Böhmer’s sales management and Melchers’ product specialists. These visits strengthened customer relationships and created valuable opportunities for hands-on training and knowledge transfer. Through this close collaboration, both teams continuously improved their market understanding and technical expertise.
One of the first strategic priorities was targeting gas supply companies in Hong Kong and Singapore, where market conditions were considered more receptive to new suppliers and technologies. The strategy proved successful, resulting in the first orders from both markets and laying a solid foundation for future growth.
As business grew and travel became more intensive, both companies explored new ways to strengthen their regional presence. This led to the appointment of a dedicated Böhmer delegate based in Bangkok. Operating within the Melchers organization and reporting directly to Böhmer, the delegate served as a technical expert for customers across Southeast Asia.
This innovative arrangement not only significantly reduced travel requirements but also enabling more frequent customer interactions and technical consultations. Working closely with local Melchers sales teams, the delegate provided specialized support, while the regional teams managed customer relationships and commercial follow-up activities. The model proved highly effective and became an important pillar of Böhmer’s growth strategy in Asia.
Another major milestone in the partnership was reached with the establishment of Böhmer Valve (Kunshan) Ltd. The joint venture was created to develop a more competitive product offering tailored to the requirements of Asian customers as well as maintaining Böhmer’s renowned quality standards. The venture combined the strengths of both partners. Böhmer contributed the technical expertise, supplier qualification, international and Chinese certifications (API, ISO, etc.), production setup, workflow implementation, and staff training. Melchers, meanwhile, managed all local operational functions, including human resources, finance, customs, logistics, and regulatory compliance. This complementary division of responsibilities allowed the new company to operate efficiently and leveraging the unique capabilities of both organizations.
Today, we are proud to say that Böhmer products have become well recognized and trusted among oil & gas customers throughout the Asian market. Even as local competition grows increasingly fierce, Melchers and Böhmer continue to win business together — built on superior product quality, technical excellence, and the strong foundation of trust developed over more than two decades.
This is more than a business partnership. It is a warm, enduring collaboration built on mutual respect, shared goals, and a genuine commitment to growing together.
