Not your regular commute

Marcus Birmele is no stranger to commuting. For the past 12 of his 25 years with ASSA ABLOY, commuting between continents has been an essential part of his job.

“Since 2000 I have been working in supply management at the Group level as a category manager,” Marcus says. “For seven years I spent part of my time traveling between Australia, Sweden and Asia. For the last three years I’ve been doing that full-time, working with the padlock and door closer product category.” Today, the native Australian makes his home in Hong Kong, where he works as the South China sourcing and purchasing manager for the Yale Global Products Unit (GPU).

He still commutes regularly, but the journey is much shorter. Three times a week, he travels 90 minutes by bus to the sourcing office in Shenzhen, China, where he manages an office and a team of nine people.

“These people are ASSA ABLOY’s feet on the ground,” he says. “Our aim is to help Group companies be more efficient and get quicker results by ensuring that all approved suppliers in low-cost countries meet the necessary product and service requirements, including quality and sustainability.

“Today the focus is on China, but we also aim to identify potential suppliers and develop networks in other countries, such as Vietnam and India.”

Living overseas can be a rewarding experience, Marcus says. “I’ve been traveling so much, and now that I’m living abroad full-time, my wife and I are finally getting a chance to enjoy it,” he says. “We live in the old part of Hong Kong and we really like the hustle and bustle of the city.”

Although Hong Kong is better known for its shopping than its natural landscape, it has an abundance of country parks, and Marcus says he prefers outdoor activities such as hiking and mountain biking.

“We live in a very small apartment, so there is not much shopping we can do because we don’t have room for more things,” he says with a laugh. Although traveling around so much has sometimes been difficult, it has also been valuable, he says. “Over the years, I met many people who have stayed in touch with me no matter where I moved. Longterm business relationships can really stay with you.”