Diebold is forming a joint venture with a subsidiary of the Inspur Group to develop, manufacture and distribute a variety of self-service banking solutions in China, including ATMs.
NORTH CANTON, Ohio -- Diebold Inc. on Monday welcomed a delegation from Inspur Group Co. Ltd., an $8 billion Chinese cloud-computing and information technology company that wants to bring the latest ATMs and banking innovations to the world's most populous country.
The two companies on Dec. 18, 2015, announced a joint venture between Diebold and a subsidiary of Inspur Group to develop, manufacture and distribute a variety of financial self-service solutions in China, including ATMs.
Inspur Group Chairman and Chief Executive Pishu Peter Sun, who has been talking to Diebold President and Chief Executive Andy W. Mattes for three years, including twice in China, visited Diebold's world headquarters in North Canton for the first time on Monday.
He said that when Inspur set out to find a partner, he was impressed by Diebold's global scope, its strength as "the biggest ATM vendor in the whole world," and its nearly 160-year longevity in the market and long history of innovation. "We're very fortunate to find a partner like Diebold," Sun said.
"We're extremely excited about the joint venture, and we're now putting the finishing touches on the venture this summer," said Diebold President and CEO Andy W. Mattes, beaming.
Sun agreed, saying through a translator that "with your support, the joint venture will develop well in China and other countries."
Inspur, based in Jinan, Shandong, China, will hold a 51-percent majority stake in the company, which will be called Inspur Financial Information Systems Ltd.
"During the first stage, we'll start with the Chinese market. We want to increase the market share of Diebold in China," Peter Sun said.
Because many Chinese people still conduct most of their transactions via cash, not all Chinese consumers know what an ATM does or why they might need one. As China's rural areas develop, "we want to sell ATMs to those areas," Sun said.
Sun noted that while the U.S. has 1,000 ATMs per 1 million people, China has only 600 units per 1 million, within a total population that has 1 billion people more than the U.S.
And while Americans regularly swipe credit cards and write checks, Chinese consumers still prefer carrying around cash, Sun said, pulling a wad of dollars from his pocket to demonstrate.
Inspur, which specializes in IT hardware and software and is a leading self-service kiosk manufacturer for major financial institutions in China, will also acquire a minority share of Diebold's existing China joint venture, focusing on services such as installation, maintenance, professional and managed services related to ATMs, and other automated transaction solutions.
On Monday, Sun and six Inspur associates toured Diebold's showroom of prototypes and nodded at the futuristic technology, such as remotely activated, touch-enabled ATMs, and a computer-generated bank teller inside a Star Trek-like capsule that can be activated via smart phone.
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Inspur Group Chairman and CEO Pishu Peter Sun tries on a LeBron James CAVS jersey, at Diebold in North Canton on Monday, April, 25, 2016. (Lisa DeJong/The Plain Dealer) To commemorate Sun's visit, Mattes told him that "the best player in the world comes from Northeast Ohio," and gave him a gold LeBron James' replica CAVS jersey, which Sun quickly slipped out of his suit jacket to try on. He noted that it bore the same number as the Chicago Bulls' Michael Jordan, whose 12-foot-tall statue he had seen outside the United Center in Chicago the night before, and who still has a huge following in China.
In return, Sun gave Mattes a hand-painted traditional Chinese scroll depicting his hometown in Shandong Province.
Sun also introduced Chengtong Thomas Sun, vice president of the Inspur Group and general manager of Inspur Financial, who will oversee the joint venture. Before joining Inspur 16 years ago, he worked for the Bank of China.
"We've heard nothing but great things about Thomas in the market," Mattes said.