Preface
Who would have thought that Chen Ailian, who is a leading female entrepreneur in China, would be a tractor driver in her early years.
After starting a successful business with her lover, she did not forget the employees who followed her and bought 100 BMWs for the employees in return.
From a tractor driver to a strong business woman worth hundreds of billions, what kind of inspirational story does she have?
The source in this article comes from the official media (Zhejiang Daily), released on September 26, 2018, but in order to improve the readability of the article, the details may be polished, please read sensibly, for reference only!
A girl driving a tractor
Chen Ailian was born in 1958, an era of unending flames, however, she is different, vigorous vitality is surging in her, she is a mischievous child, but also an assertive person.
In 1975, Chen Ailian graduated from high school and could have gone to the supply and marketing cooperatives to find an easy job, but she resolutely chose to return to the countryside and work hard in the production team.
The people in the village thought that this delicate girl would definitely not last long, and would soon go home crying.
To everyone's surprise, Chen Ailian not only worked hard, but also proved herself with practical actions and won the recognition of the villagers.
Just when Chen Ailian was determined to farm in the countryside, fate gave her a new opportunity - a tractor driver.
In order to improve the efficiency of agricultural labor, the state has put a large number of tractors into the rural areas, and Chen Ailian's village is also equipped with one, and the village has opened a tractor driving training course, and Chen Ailian wants to sign up for it.
Unbeknownst to her, her request was rejected - the leader said that it was too difficult to drive a tractor, and only male trainees were recruited.
Chen Ailian was not convinced, she emphasized that labor does not distinguish between men and women, only depends on people's will, and finally at her insistence, the leader gave in and agreed to give her a chance to learn Xi.
When the news came home, Chen Ailian's parents were furious, a daughter learned tractors, how to become a system?
Chen patiently explained to her parents that society was progressing and that women could do many jobs that were previously considered men.
At first, her parents strongly objected, but seeing Chen Ailian's insistence, they could only acquiesce in her choice, and her father even secretly helped her contact her cousin who drove a big truck, and asked her cousin to guide Chen Ailian to learn to drive.
With the help of her cousin, Chen Ailian's driving skills have made great progress.
After the training class began, Chen Ailian amazed the audience, and the next day she dared to sit on the tractor to practice, and everyone sighed to themselves.
The huge tractor roared and shook so violently that most of the students did not dare to go up, only Chen Ailian calmly and skillfully.
One day, everyone watched with trepidation as Chen Ailian drove the tractor to a steep slope...... Will she succeed? The ramp is slippery, and the car can roll over if you are not careful.
Chen Ailian's calm response, skillful operation, and finally drove smoothly over the ramp, the audience cheered, Chen Ailian won the reputation of "heroine among women".
Three months later, the training course ended, and many male trainees were still afraid to get into the car, but Chen Ailian had already driven like a fly.
In the end, Chen Ailian passed the assessment with the first place and became the first female tractor driver in the county!
The textile mill harvests love
In the 80s of the 20th century, with the deepening of China's reform and opening up, the production team where Chen Ailian worked was disbanded, and Chen Ailian had to leave the countryside where she had worked for many years and enter the city to seek new development.
Under the introduction of her mother, Chen Ailian came to work in a textile equipment factory, where the factory director Wu Liangding was a visionary person, and he saw that Chen Ailian was conscientious and responsible, and had strong work ability, and he appreciated her.
The two communicated frequently at work, gradually fell in love, and in 1983, they entered the palace of marriage.
After getting married, Chen Ailian did not choose to go home to teach her husband and children like most women at that time, she was not interested in the family, but wanted to make a difference in her career.
Under Chen Ailian's reform and innovation, this small textile factory has rapidly expanded its scale and its profits have surged.
But the good times did not last long, in the 90s, affected by the national macro policy, the textile industry fell into recession, limited by the general environment, small textile factories are also facing difficult times, orders plummeted, inventory backlog, capital turnover problems.
In the face of the crisis, Wu Liangding was worried, and the employees were also worried, but Chen Ailian remained optimistic and calm, and she realized that if the company wanted to turn the crisis into safety, it must take the initiative and find new opportunities.
Start a business
So, Chen Ailian, led the team to visit and investigate, looking for a way out of the textile factory, and after continuous efforts, she locked a new direction - aluminum alloy processing.
In order to convince her husband, Chen Ailian used data and facts to systematically demonstrate the feasibility of this transformation plan, and in the end, Wu Liangding also agreed to give it a try, after all, there are not many other options, even if you borrow debt, you have to transform in order to survive the enterprise.
It is easy to say, but it is difficult to start this new business, and capital is the main problem, so Chen Ailian resolutely decided to borrow a high amount of money from the bank and use the money to rent factories and purchase machinery and equipment.
In 1994, Wanfeng Aluminum Wheel Company was formally established, and its main products are aluminum alloy rims for motorcycles.
However, Chen Ailian also realizes that the spring of motorcycles is coming to an end, and what is really worth betting on is the future of automobiles.
So she decisively turned around, adjusted her strategy, and took aluminum alloy rims for passenger cars as a new goal, this time, Chen Ailian not only saw the direction, but also seized the time.
In the following years, the number of civilian cars in China continued to rise, and Wanfeng's products were sought after.
But Chen Ailian's vision does not stop at China's domestic market, she believes that the real bright future is the international market.
At that time, few Chinese companies had such foresight, but Chen Ailian did not hesitate to let Wanfeng promote its products directly to the international market.
In order to enter the international rim supply chain, Chen Ailian spared no expense to hire industry experts to develop high-end aluminum alloy rims that are comparable to international standards as quickly as possible.
In just a few years, Wanfeng has successfully obtained orders in many countries in Europe and the United States, and a small and inconspicuous factory is growing into a world-renowned supplier.
Watching Wanfeng gradually prosper, her husband Wu Liangding sincerely thanked his wife for her planning and dedication, and he realized that he needed to give up more decision-making power so that Chen Ailian's talent could be better played.
Chen Ailian, who is also gradually taking control of the company's operations, is ambitious and looks forward to Wanfeng's further expansion.
After entering the 21st century, Chen Ailian has adopted a strategy of vigorous mergers and acquisitions, and in just ten years, Wanfeng Group has acquired more than a dozen related enterprises one after another, and its business scope has been expanding.
By 2006, Wanfeng Group was officially listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and a small rim factory became a large group enterprise.
Business management, give back to the society
She recalls the past, from an inconspicuous rural girl, to working in the fields with an old tractor, and then to leading Wanfeng to achieve multiple leapfrog development, Chen Ailian is full of emotion.
On the day of listing, Chen Ailian could not hide her excitement, she knew that Wanfeng's achievements today depend on the hard work and dedication of a group of old employees over the years, and these ordinary people who work silently are Wanfeng's most valuable wealth.
Chen Ailian's decisive decision - to reward 100 BMW to key employees, everyone is ecstatic for Chen Ailian's generosity.
The employees who got the new car were very excited and said that they would contribute more to Wanfeng in the future, which demonstrated Chen Ailian's attention and gratitude to the employees.
On the day of listing, the eyes of the outside world also focused on Chen Ailian and her Wanfeng, she was awarded the honorary titles of "National 38 Red Flag Bearer" and "Zhejiang Businessman of the Year", but Chen Ailian was not complacent because of her success.
She is clearly aware that the environment and situation are always changing, and if an enterprise wants to prosper, it must keep pace with the times.
In 2014, "machine substitution" became a hot word, and Chen Ailian's keen capture of the signal of industrial change.
So she decisively promoted Wanfeng's transformation to "intelligent manufacturing" and personally drew the idea of "smart factory", which the employees did not understand at first, but Chen Ailian was full of confidence.
As it turned out, her vision was extraordinary, and by 2018, Wanfeng's production automation had been greatly improved, its efficiency had increased exponentially, and it had become a leader in the industry.
When her career was booming, Chen Ailian did not forget to give back to her hometown, and she donated to her hometown Xinchang County many times for education, poverty alleviation and construction, and the people in her hometown were sincerely grateful.
status quo
Today, Chen Ailian is not only a strong woman in the business world, but also a philanthropist, she vigorously supports public welfare and charity, and has set up a foundation to help the extremely poor groups, and donating to education has become a great joy in her life.
Seeing her hometown prosper day by day with her help, Chen Ailian's heart is gratified and proud, she never forgets the place where she was born and raised, and fulfills her promise to return to her hometown with practical actions.
In her view, the most valuable thing about success is not the honor and status, but the optimism of the employees and the increasing prosperity of her hometown, which is the true meaning of her life.