Germany, known as the world's most important machine tool manufacturing plant - Waldrich Coburg, suddenly announced its closure!
After receiving the news, the United States quickly moved to buy it.
However, three years on, instead of turning a profit, Wadrich Coburg has become even more defeated.
It wasn't until a Chinese company took over that the bankrupt company regained its life and made it a wild profit of 1.3 billion.
How exactly do Chinese companies do it? Why did the United States admit defeat after only three years of taking over?
The source of this article comes from the official media [Xinhuanet] and others (the link is attached at the end of the article). In order to improve the readability of the article, there may be polishing of the details, please read sensibly, for reference only!
Leader in the industry
Waldrich Coburg Machine Tool Factory can be described as the founding ancestor of the German machine tool manufacturing industry.
In 1885, the company's founder, Hans Waldrich, founded a small machine tool workshop.
Although the scale is small, Waldrich has put all his heart and soul into creating the high-quality products.
With excellent craftsmanship and superior quality, this small and unknown workshop quickly gained a good reputation in the local area.
With the rise of German industry, the Waldrich Coburg machine tool factory also took advantage of the situation and continued to expand its production scale.
During the First World War, the Wadrich Coburg plant reached its heyday thanks to military orders.
The long-established German brand not only dominates the local market, but also sells its products in more than 120 countries and regions around the world, accounting for 65% of the total export volume.
Especially in developed and newly industrialized countries, Waldrich Coburg machine tools are undoubtedly the first choice for brands.
Impressively, the Wadrich Coburg plant had more than 1,500 top engineers and technicians in that year, forming dozens of professional R&D teams.
There are more than 200 invention patents per year, including many of the world's first technologies.
In the decades that followed, Waldrich Coburg continued to expand its production capacity and strength, and its products were sold both at home and abroad.
Especially with superb technology and high quality, it has won the favor of many users in developed countries.
However, the beautiful Wadrich Coburg plant is also bound by the laws of industrial development.
Fall off the altar
In the second half of the 20th century, with the increasingly fierce competition in the market, it began to face challenges from all directions.
However, Waldrich Coburg's management was unaware of the risks of the industry cycle and lost its forward-looking strategic vision.
They expand while ignoring a possible drop in demand; When introducing new technologies, it is difficult to change bad habits and slackness, which makes R&D investment difficult.
Crucially, due to poor decision-making and internal corruption, Waldrich Coburg's debt rose sharply during this period, reaching more than 1.5 billion marks by 1989.
At this juncture, in the early 90s, German industry fell into a general downturn, the demand for the machine tool industry plummeted, and Waldrich Coburg's operation was also in trouble.
U.S. acquisitions are heavily indebted
Due to mismanagement and restlessness, the Wadrich Coburg Watch Factory has accumulated debts of up to 25 million marks.
The debt pressure has put the former industry leader in jeopardy, facing bankruptcy.
The turning point finally came in 1996, when an American investment group decided to buy the Wadrich Coburg Watch Factory in an attempt to get it back on track, taking a fancy to its long history and brand influence.
Sadly, however, the takeover of the American company did not reverse the decline of the Wadrich Coburg plant, but worsened the situation.
The management of the American side did not grasp the traditional advantages and characteristics of Waldrich Coburg, and insisted on restructuring the old German company with a standardized American management model, which led to cultural conflicts and contradictions.
Coupled with the continued downturn in the German economy and the blockage of sales of high-end machine tools, the situation in Waldrich Coburg has not improved.
Just three years later, American companies had to declare bankruptcy as well.
However, just when everyone was not optimistic about this machine tool factory, the mainland suddenly proposed to buy this ruined factory that was on the verge of bankruptcy.
Acquired by Continental
In 2005, as a leading enterprise in China's machine tool manufacturing industry, Beijing No. 1 Machine Tool Factory looked at the world and aimed at this old German machine tool manufacturer that had gone through vicissitudes.
Probably in the middle of the article - the success of Beiyi International
After careful consideration and repeated evaluations, Beijing No. 1 Machine Tool Factory finally spent a huge amount of 120 million euros to acquire the Waldrich Coburg plant.
This acquisition has attracted wide attention from the outside world, and has also aroused some doubts and controversies.
After all, the future of the Wadrich Coburg plant is uncertain, and it is doubtful that the future of the Wadrich Coburg plant will be enough to support the sky-high price of 120 million euros.
However, Beijing No. 1 Machine Tool Factory has its own vision.
In their view, although the Wadrich Coburg plant is in a difficult situation at present, its long history, profound technical accumulation and broad brand influence are undoubtedly a valuable intangible asset.
As long as sufficient financial support and careful reform and adjustment, this old machine tool manufacturer, which has shocked Europe several times, is fully expected to regain its vigor and create brilliance.
Difficult reforms
At the beginning of the acquisition, Beijing No. 1 Machine Tool Factory did not blindly adopt the practice of laying off employees and reducing the burden, but decided to retain the original staff of the Waldrich Coburg plant.
They know that these experienced employees are not only familiar with the technical processes and product lines of Waldrich Coburg, but also the cultural heritage of the century-old company.
At the same time, Beijing No. 1 Machine Tool Factory also injected fresh management ideas and innovative ideas into the Waldrich Coburg Plant.
They sent elite troops from China to form a synergy with the local staff in Wadrich Coburg.
On the one hand, it inherits and carries forward the century-old craft tradition, and on the other hand, it also injects vitality through innovation and reform.
The road to reform was arduous and tortuous, but the management team of Beijing No. 1 Machine Tool Factory was never discouraged.
They have made drastic changes at the management and technical levels, implemented a number of pragmatic measures in product research and development, marketing and other links, continuously optimized the business model, and improved the comprehensive strength of the enterprise.
This well-intentioned effort finally bore fruit in 2009.
After four years of difficult reforms, the Wadrich Coburg plant finally turned a profit, achieving a profit of about 1.3 billion yuan that year.
By 2023, under the wise leadership of Beijing No. 1 Machine Tool Factory, the Wadrich Coburg plant has achieved a staggering 1.25 billion euros in revenue.
The century-old store, which was once on the verge of bankruptcy, has now been revitalized as an outstanding example of Sino-German cooperation and has won the Chinese company unlimited praise on the international stage.
Remarkable achievements
On November 5, 2018, the first China International Import Expo kicked off in Shanghai.
In the center of the intelligent and high-end equipment exhibition area, a large machine tool is particularly eye-catching - this is the star product of the German company Waldrich Coburg, the "Taurus" gantry milling machine.
Weighing nearly 200 tons, the machine alone is 20 meters long, 10 meters wide and 8 meters high, covering an area of 200 square meters, which is comparable to a small hangar.
But don't be fooled by its "big" appearance, this machine has a machining accuracy of up to 4 microns, and is a "great wisdom" product that integrates a variety of cutting-edge technologies such as machinery, electronics, and control.
As the world's first bridge gantry milling machining center, it not only has 3 times the processing efficiency of traditional machine tools,
It also has strong flexible processing capabilities, and can complete the processing of various complex parts in an integrated manner, which is favored in the fields of automobiles and aerospace.
Next to the booth, Liu Zhongbai, chief representative of Waldrich Coburg, was enthusiastically introducing the excellent performance of this product to visitors.
He said that this is the first time that "Taurus" has been exhibited in China, and he hopes that through the international trade event of the Expo, more Chinese companies can understand and purchase this cutting-edge machining center.
This super-large CNC machine tool, which can be called the "king of machine tools", not only has exquisite craftsmanship and excellent performance, but also contains a moving "rebirth legend".
This impressive mechanical behemoth not only demonstrates the outstanding manufacturing technology of the Wadrich Coburg plant in the hands of the new owner.
It also sends a clear signal - under the guidance of the insightful eye of Chinese enterprises and reform and innovation, the old brands of the manufacturing industry that have gone bankrupt several times will also be able to rejuvenate and create new brilliance.
Bibliography:
1. Economic Information Daily: Beijing No. 1 Machine Tool Factory: Exploring the Leapfrog Development of an Old State-owned Enterprise.2009-08-11
http://www.ce.cn/cysc/ztpd/09/ind/creat/200908/11/t20090811_19565958.shtml
2. Xinhuanet: Go to the Expo to see the world's fifth: 5 days later, the world's leading science and technology came to the expo to "grab the C position".2018-10-31
http://www.xinhuanet.com/world/2018-10/31/c_1123660361.htm
3. Xinhuanet: The World Significance of Reform and Opening-up (3): The Road of Human Progress is Long, Wide, and Wide.2018-07-13 (Part 3)
https://www.toutiao.com/article/6577486540400755208/?channel=&source=news