Tralin Pak

"The history behind Greatview clearly shows the risks associated with knowledge transfer in a country like China. The founders of the company were Jeff Bi and Hong Gang. Both had been employees and managers at Tetra Pak’s various companies in China. In 2003, they purchased the company Tralin Pak. The business idea was to exploit the expiry of Tetra Pak’s patents for aseptic packaging and sell a low-cost alternative that completely copied Tetra Pak’s technology. Already in 2004, Jeff Bi and Hong Gang accused Tetra Pak of abusing its dominant position. Inspired by the EU’s verdict, where Tetra Pak was convicted for having “locked in” its customers to only buy their paper material, Tralin Pak pushed the issue that dairies should be free to choose their paper supplier. Initially, Tralin offered prices 25 to 30 percent lower, which later changed to five to ten percent lower than Tetra Pak. Tetra Pak has pursued cost efficiencies and could likely meet the price competition. However, the group was handicapped by the 2016 verdict, which complicated Tetra Pak’s ability to meet price competition in China. Today, the Chinese Greatview is also present in the European market."

"This issue can be highlighted with the help of a legal case in China. In 2016, Tetra Pak was fined 890 million kronor for exploiting its dominant position. The new competition legislation was introduced in 2007 in China and Tetra Pak was one of the first companies to be convicted under the new law. The complainant was a Chinese competitor, Tralin Pak, which later changed its name to Greatview Aseptic Packaging."