Liu Shuqi of Tongwei Co., Ltd.: Spanning cyclicality

Chinese entrepreneur

2024-05-15 22:58Published on the official account of Beijing "China Entrepreneur" magazine

Text: "Chinese Entrepreneur" reporter Guo Liqi

Edited by Zhang Hao

Header image source: Respondents

In the eyes of colleagues, Liu Shuqi, chairman and CEO of Tongwei Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Tongwei"), is very "sassy". This was originally an exclusive adjective for northern women, but it was placed on a Sichuan person, and you can imagine the characteristics she presented in the company: decisive, direct, and untangled.

"Hurry up, get to the point." Liu Shuqi will always pull the rhythm of the meeting to the fullest, which is a way for her to cope with the pressure of the company. The outside world uses "rocket" to describe her succession: after only two years in the company, at the age of 34, she took over the company with a market value of 100 billion yuan from her father, Liu Hanyuan, chairman of the board of directors of Tongwei Group.

"I feel like I'm a little bit 'big and small', and that's where I have to continue to learn from my father, and he won't let go of any details." In addition to business trips, Liu Shuqi's daily schedule is filled with meetings, and she touches every module of the company in large quantities and frequently. Efficiency is paramount, and she can only force herself to speed up.

This may be a growth path that her father "specially" set for her, although in her opinion, her father never asked her to do anything, "he will only say that there is such a position, are you willing to accept it".

Source: Visual China

When Liu Shuqi first joined Tongwei, she was in charge of the photovoltaic business department, which is a new department. In her description, the department involves supply chain, marketing, sales and cost management. In a way, Liu Shuqi can not only quickly integrate into the company's actual business processes, but also stand on a holistic perspective to examine every link.

Perhaps it is her personality that makes her feel at home in this position. At the debriefing meeting, she said, "We have achieved close linkage between polysilicon, cells, and modules, successfully achieved various sales targets, and exceeded the annual cost reduction task, which has been affirmed and recognized by customers for both products and services." And his father Liu Hanyuan did not hesitate to approve, saying that the photovoltaic business department was involved in many ups and downs in the industry halfway, and it was under great pressure, but it also achieved obvious results.

Until he took over as chairman and CEO of Tongwei Co., Ltd. at the beginning of last year, Liu Shuqi's request to himself was, "Don't think too much, do it, do everything in a down-to-earth manner, and don't be anxious." She told "China Entrepreneur", "The overall situation is quite smooth, there may be some doubts from the outside world, but I will not listen too much, I am willing to feel more everyone's kindness and encouragement to me." ”

Cycle "retrograde"

"Unfortunately", as soon as Liu Shuqi took over the company, he encountered the problem of overcapacity in the industry. But this is also where she is lucky, from the beginning, the essence of the industry is deeply ingrained in her genes: PV has a strong cyclicality, and alternating peaks and troughs are the norm.

Liu Shuqi said that in the past few years, the industry as a whole has been in a benign development trend, especially in 2021 and 2022, with rapid development and good profits, attracting many new players to come in. "The first three quarters of last year were quite smooth, and in the fourth quarter, the problem of overcapacity began to be highlighted, and the uncertainty of the industry also increased significantly."

She said calmly because she was not worried, "My father sees the industry trends better than me in the next 5 to 10 years, and we are well prepared." ”

Liu Hanyuan set up Tongwei's "shelf" very well. In an interview with China Entrepreneur, he mentioned that cost control and profitability have become an important part of the company's corporate culture, and if there is no way to do a good job, it will not be able to become bigger, "We often say internally that only gold, silver and bronze medals in the Olympic movement can be remembered." The same is true for the corresponding industry, and even the second and third in many industries are just sparring partners. Therefore, only by leading can there be real business opportunities, and only by leading can there be a premise and necessity to become bigger. ”

Under the influence of ears and eyes, the extreme sensitivity to costs and profits makes Liu Shuqi, although he is not from a technical background, he will not deviate from the essence of the problem. For example, in terms of expanding production, she will personally grasp the team's research, "It depends on how much cost advantage we have opened up with the second place, if we can reach 10%, or even 20%, we can maintain our absolute advantage."

"In 2021, we had 40,000 employees, and by the end of this year, we expect to exceed 60,000. When the company reaches this scale, it is very important whether the internal management can keep up. Liu Shuqi said, "There is no high profit in the industry, and everyone is rolling, which is to test how well the enterprise has practiced and how well to control the cost." ”

On the core issue of battery technology, the core issue of the photovoltaic industry, Liu Shuqi requires herself to be sharp enough, especially when the technical route of the industry has not yet been decided. "We have been making batteries ourselves for so many years, and we know very well that one iteration of technology can eliminate all your production capacity." Tongwei's approach is to follow up with every technology on the market, whether it is TOPCon, HJT, BC or perovskite/silicon stack (all of which are photovoltaic technology standards).

This year, Tongwei continued to increase its research and development. According to reports, the project will be built into an integrated R&D workshop with the largest area, the highest production capacity and the strongest upgradable capacity, mainly to carry out the research and development of new cell and module technologies and key core technologies, and provide technical support and patent reserves for the industrialization of the next generation of high-efficiency batteries.

In an unstable environment, Liu Shuqi chose to make more reserves for the future.

Go both ways

Liu Shuqi's answers to questions are always simple and direct, without whitewashing or "painting cakes".

"I might disappoint you." When asked about the difficulties she encountered before and after taking over, she said, "My father and I get along very smoothly both at work and in our daily life. She even summed up her previous experience with "no setbacks".

Liu Hanyuan Photo: Deng Pan

In the eyes of the outside world, Liu Hanyuan is the richest man in Sichuan and a leading entrepreneur with industries spanning agriculture and new energy. In Liu Shuqi's eyes, his father is a role model and benchmark, a mentor and friend, and a "leader". "If it's work-related, I start with 'chairman' when I send a message, and if it's a life thing, I call it 'dad', so when I send a message, he knows what it's about just by looking at it. And he did the same to me, and he would call me 'chairman' in the workplace. ”

Before joining the company, Liu Shuqi lived a very self-conscious life, "I made all the choices in my life, and my father always threw out a question for me to make my own choice." Friends always asked Liu Hanyuan how to educate his daughter, "My father will give me better educational resources, and he will be more concerned about establishing correct values for me, but he doesn't have time to care about such fine things, they are all 'free-range'." ”

After entering the company, Liu Hanyuan also gave her a lot of space, "He is very decentralized, and he is willing to believe me." Although I am a newcomer, he will seriously consider every one of my opinions and ideas, and will also give me feedback. I have been exposed to work more and more, and I have become aware of my father's 'value' and will carefully consider every one of his suggestions. ”

She also longs for some "change" within herself. The entrepreneur she admires is Fang Hongbo, chairman of Midea Group, because of the digital transformation he has promoted internally, "In just a few years, several versions have been iterated to open up the internal and various lines of Midea, which is not easy." Mapped to Tongwei, this may also be the answer she wants to find the most - intelligent manufacturing, digitalization, and platformization, how much energy can a traditional manufacturing enterprise generate.

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