"The chances of us meeting our supplier Sunway without Alibaba.com would have been like winning the lottery!"

Phil Weil is the co-founder and Vice President of Global Product Resources (GPR), a Californian company selling decorative fans under the DecoBreeze® brand. In 2005, Phil had an idea for a new line of fans in the US that combined style with functionality. A colleague suggested using Alibaba.com to locate a suitable manufacturer. Just a few clicks and a few minutes of search later, Phil was in contact with his future business partner, Sunway Electric Manufacturing Ltd (Sunway), based in China's southern Guangdong province.

"With over 5,000 fan manufacturers in China, the chances of us meeting Sunway without Alibaba.com would have been like winning the lottery," said Phil. "During our first visit to Sunway's factory, they quickly grasped the concept of the luxury fans we wanted and were able to produce a working prototype in just a few days. Within three months, the first of many shipments of our new DecoBreeze® line arrived in America."

Today, three years and more than 300 containers of DecoBreeze® fans later, Sunway's annual turnover has grown dramatically. Eden Lai, CEO of Sunway, has moved to a larger factory and expects turnover to top US$8.5 million this year.

Eden comments, "Prior to using Alibaba.com, I had to rely on local trade shows and directories to sell my products. Now, as well as an excellent relationship with GPR, I have clients in several countries. Using Alibaba.com is much more effective than exhibiting at the traditional trade shows. The new factory has doubled our capacity and we are planning to expand together with GPR to India, South America and Australia."

From Phil's point of view, the relationship with Sunway has been very rewarding. He says, "The potential for decorative fans is huge in America and other markets. Our customers see DecoBreeze® as part of their home decor, so color schemes and designs are important. Eden's people are innovative and come up with new ideas which are hugely popular and our business continues to grow as a result."