Aisan enriches the aftermarket windscreen market in Japan
- Customer case
Aisan Safety Glass is a professional auto glass provider based in Japan, claiming the largest share of aftermarket glass for sightseeing buses in the country. Aisan was established in 1968 and serves customers throughout Japan with its team of nearly 50 glass professionals.
Finn Lamex began their cooperation with Aisan Safety Glass in 2014. Ever since, the two companies have worked together to provide their unique glass expertise to the country’s aftermarket windscreen customers.
Breaking into the japanese bus market
Japan remains a niche market for European buses. Increasing their presence in Japan will require meeting the rigorous specifications and regulatory requirements in the country, such as their standard 250 cm width. Despite these challenges, Scania and Van Hool made the jump in 2016 in their collaboration on the Astro Mega – and more could follow.
For its part, Aisan believes there’s more potential demand for European buses in Japan – particularly double-deckers for urban sightseeing, where the company specializes.
“Building a good bus takes a long time, just like in Europe,” states Toshio Samizo, CEO of Aisan. “Japanese bus companies are dissatisfied with the current buses available, so I believe they’d be willing to buy more imported buses.”
“Finn Lamex can be trusted when compared to other companies.”
Reluctance to purchase foreign buses in Japan stems in part from doubts about the availability of post-sales service, but the partnership between Finn Lamex and Aisan is looking to serve this need – and when it comes to windscreens, Finn Lamex offers unmatched windscreen expertise combined with worldwide availability through its strong international network.
Both Aisan and Finn Lamex have key expertise in this area – Finn Lamex, for example, is the supplier for the windscreens on the UK’s famous red double-decker buses. Their ability to provide windscreens that fit like a glove, in any shape that’s physically possible, make them a good fit as a provider for a country with wholly different bus standards.
Finn Lamex offers both heated windscreens and tinted windscreens with a Solar Control PVB coating. Heated windscreens – which keep windscreens fog and frost-free year-round while increasing total energy efficiency – are popular among Aisan’s customers.
But Solar Control, which blocks harmful solar radiation and reduces the sensation of heat on the skin, hasn’t yet gained a foothold in the market. This remains an opportunity in the coming years.
Learn more about solar control:
What is Solar Control – and why should you use it in your windscreens?
Finding the best combination of cost, quality, and service
For Aisan, Finn Lamex’s glass bending technology has been more than satisfactory – and they cited their use of Finn Lamex windscreens as helpful in building trust with their wide customer base.
“I would rate the quality of Finn Lamex’s windscreens as excellent, and their customer service is quite good,” says Samizo.
Finn Lamex’s expertise, powered by its custom production technology, enables it to provide OEM-quality windscreens for Japanese bus customers. Their focus is to provide the best combination of functionality, cost, and service – for partners like Aisan, as well as their end-customers.
“At the end of the day, Finn Lamex offers high-quality custom and OEM windscreens that fit well, can be installed easily, and will keep drivers safe and our customers’ business moving. We’re happy Aisan has stuck with us for so many years,” says Toni Kallio, Export Manager and key contact person at Finn Lamex.
Aisan plans to stay its course, providing high-quality vehicle service to Japan – with aftermarket bus windscreens through Finn Lamex.
“Finn Lamex can be trusted when compared to other companies,” Samizo finishes.
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