World Cup exposure giving Seenboom new boost

A Chinese security equipment provider has cashed in on the recently concluded FIFA World Cup in Russia by providing its equipment to stadiums.

Jinan Seenboom Information Technology Co is one of the Chinese companies that has been deeply involved in the World Cup this year. The company, based in Shandong province, provided equipment to stadiums in eight Russian cities.

Wang Jin, deputy general manager of Seenboom, said company was the vehicle safety inspection and anti-collision system provider for the World Cup.

"Take the Luzhniki Stadium for instance, we installed over 39 items of equipment at all the gates outside the stadium months before the World Cup opened," Wang said.

The company got in touch with the Russian World Cup Organizing Committee earlier last year, and won the bid against competitors from the United States and the United Kingdom.

In addition to offering reasonable prices, Seenboom owns several patents that allow their vehicle safety inspection and anti-collision system to work in the cold Russian winter.

Established in 1997, the company started to put its products on the market in 2008 during the Beijing Olympic Games. Soon its sales expanded to Sudan, Syria, Nigeria, South Korea and Afghanistan.

"We could have done better in foreign markets," Wang said. He noted that its sales in international markets reached 20 million yuan ($3 million) in 2017, compared to its domestic sales of 100 million yuan.

"We wanted to be part of the security market in Russia," Wang said. "The hosting of the FIFA World Cup by Russia was seen as the best opportunity for Chinese security products to enter the Russian market."

The company is aiming to reach a sales volume of 1 billion yuan this year, including 70 million yuan generated from foreign markets.

Russia has accounted for a large proportion of the rapid increase of the company's foreign business, Wang said.