"For Honeywell, the Chinese market has always meant high growth." Zhang Yufeng, president of Honeywell China, said in an exclusive interview with the surging reporter (www.thepaper.cn) during the second China International Import Expo that a large part of Honeywell's rapid development in recent years comes from the contribution of the Chinese market.
Zhang Yufeng mentioned that in 2003, Honeywell's Asia Pacific headquarters settled in Shanghai, and the company's business volume in China increased by 6 times in the following 15 years. Since 2013, China has become Honeywell's largest market outside of the United States.
Honeywell is a diversified high-tech and manufacturing company with high-tech solutions spanning aerospace, building and industrial control technology, performance materials, and the Internet of Things, ranking 290th on the 2019 Fortune Global 500 list with revenues of $41.8 billion. At present, Honeywell's four major business groups have settled in China, Shanghai is Honeywell's Asia Pacific headquarters, and has more than 50 wholly-owned companies and joint ventures in more than 30 cities in China.
Honeywell Expo booth
At this year's Expo, Honeywell brought interconnection, safety and energy efficiency technology to the intelligent and high-end equipment exhibition area, from the interconnected aircraft, smart building, intelligent manufacturing, interconnected supply chain, security solutions and energy efficiency six major sections, showcasing more than 30 innovative technologies, many of which are the first time to launch in the Chinese market this year, such as a new generation of satellite communication systems, comprehensive warehousing solutions, smart tank farms and two-phase environmental protection battery thermal management solutions.
"Last year, in the second week after the End of the Expo, we decided to participate in the second CIIE." Zhang Yufeng said honeywell has more time to prepare this year, tripled the booth area, and brought more and more comprehensive innovative technologies and products. He revealed that Honeywell signed more than 30 contracts during the Expo, covering all business levels.
According to him, at the first Expo, Honeywell signed more than 10 agreements with Chinese enterprises, and has achieved remarkable results in projects, such as Sinochem International's Sheng'ao Chemical Tongling Factory, through the deployment of Honeywell's intelligent production management and execution system, to achieve efficient production operation management and intelligent production, material entry and exit operation automation, quality inspection efficiency increased by 30%, and labor costs for statistics fell by more than 60%.
Speaking of the highlights of this exhibition, Zhang Yufeng said that one of the themes that runs through the exhibits in various sections this year is "interconnection". Honeywell has always been considered a traditional industrial company, but in recent years the company is transforming into a software-based industrial company, that is, "on the basis of traditional industry, through the software algorithm means and the latest technology to enhance the value of the entire product, but also to improve the value to the customer." ”
Honeywell's next-generation satellite communications system
For example, Zhang Yufeng said that honeywell brought a satellite communication system that helps the wifi on the aircraft, which is expected to be put into use on Chinese aircraft in the future. "In the aviation field, we want to bring users the best interconnection experience, the air interconnection is our new generation of satellite communication system, next year when everyone gets on the plane may be able to use, the network speed is as fast as on the ground."
In his view, the demand of the Chinese market has also undergone tremendous changes in more than a decade. "In the past, people may have wanted products with more cost advantages, but now they all emphasize quality and need to be easy to use. Especially in the field of connectivity, China is definitely not developing at a slower pace than anywhere else in the world, and the acceptance of the concept of connectivity may be faster than in most parts of the world. ”
Based on this, Honeywell is also making efforts in the field of interconnection. Zhang Yufeng said that in the past, Honeywell China team has been doing a lot to solve the needs of Chinese customers, and we now need to better meet customer needs in the field of interconnection. The company's solutions in China will also be applied to business in other countries. Honeywell, who previously emphasized that "the East serves the East," now wants to make "the East serve the world."
He mentioned that the demand for face recognition in Chinese offices is now very common and demanding, and honeywell China team has spent nearly six months to make a set of face recognition products, which are in the market leader in terms of accuracy and recognition speed. This solution is currently applied to Honeywell's Asia-Pacific headquarters building in Shanghai and is also being promoted to foreign markets.
Speaking of Honeywell's future development in China, Zhang Yufeng said that Honeywell will continue to adhere to the concept of "the East serves the East, the East serves the world", and while improving its own capabilities, it will also run the enterprise as a Chinese-style competitor. "We want to bring more accurate and better services to customers through the power of technology, and at the same time make products more cost-effective." He said.