Text/Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter Dong Pengcheng Pan Liang
Photo/Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter Pan Liang
In Dongguan, there is such a company: their "team" is not large, but the annual output value is as high as 50 million yuan; The automated production lines developed by them continue to "enter" the enterprise workshop to help the enterprise to produce intelligently; Even under downward pressure from the market, they were able to achieve a good result of full orders...... Recently, the Yangcheng Evening News reporter interviewed Dongguan Zhiwei Electromechanical Equipment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Zhiwei Electromechanical") head Ji Dingjia and his wife Liu Junhong, as entrepreneurs in the field of mechanical and electrical manufacturing, they are now standing at the tuyere of "machine substitution" to explore new possibilities. "I named my company Zhiwei, which means that I aspire to become 'Huawei' in the automation industry." Gidingjia said.
"The boat is small and good to turn around"
As the saying goes, "the boat is good to turn around", and this sentence is very appropriate to describe Zhiwei Electromechanical. The reporter learned that at present, all the employees of Zhiwei Electromechanical add up to only more than 40 people, but the annual output value is as high as 50 million yuan. In the view of the Giding family, the smaller and more refined the team, the more resilient it is and thus more flexible to respond to changes in market trends.
In 1996, after graduating from university, Ji Dingjia came to Dongguan from his hometown in Shaanxi Province and began to engage in the design and production of tooling and fixtures. Due to the opportunity of work, Ji Dingjia met Liu Junhong, who was still working at the time. According to the current production status of his company, Liu Junhong suggested that Jidingjia should develop in the direction of automation equipment on the basis of doing a good job in tooling and fixtures. "She has a long-term vision and I adore her." Gidingjia said proudly. In 2012, at the suggestion of Liu Junhong, the company convened a "group of people" and began to devote itself to the design and production of automation equipment.
Compared with tooling and fixtures, the design and production of automation equipment has higher technical requirements. To this end, the Giding family often seeks advice from customers and becomes students. Due to the small size of the team, Zhiwei Electromechanical can "turn the ship's head" at any time. "Through in-depth communication and consultation with customers, we have a quick understanding of the automation equipment industry, and are gradually able to accurately assess customer needs and lead the team to design and quote," said Gidingjia. ”
In order to adapt to the wave of intelligent production, now, the "small boat" of Zhiwei Electromechanical has once again "sailed" to a higher dimension of the field - from focusing on single-machine equipment to now developing an intelligent production line composed of multiple stand-alone machines. Taking the assembly of the gearbox (i.e., "gearbox") as an example, in the field of electromechanical equipment, the assembly of the gearbox is a recognized problem in the industry. Plastic gears of different sizes need to be tightly bonded to the iron shaft of the motor, and the slightest deviation in assembly can cause the gears to break.
After repeated research, the production line designed by Zhiwei Electromechanical has overcome this industry problem well. "The gearbox project is our first product in the world, and the whole production line has 32 patents, and customers in the UK, Mexico and Serbia have given us many thumbs up after visiting." Ji Dingjia took the tooth box parts in his hand and introduced it to reporters.
With flexible market strategy and strong R&D strength, Zhiwei Electromechanical has developed a large number of high-quality customers, including the power tool industry represented by TTi, the motor manufacturing industry represented by Shenzhen Johnson Electric, and the household appliance industry represented by Midea Electric. According to Gidingjia, even in the severe context of downward pressure on the economy in the previous two years, they were able to achieve good results of full orders. "We expect the company's sales to grow by more than 30% over the next five years, and as long as there is market demand, the growth rate will be fast." Gidingjia added.
Bosses with marketing backgrounds don't do marketing
Loading, assembling, testing, plating...... All processes are orderly...... In this motor controller (plastic cover) production line, a small motor controller is "born" every 3-4 seconds, and these small motor controllers will soon be assembled in automobiles, sweepers, medical equipment, household appliances, power tools and other products after being assembled with the motor. In the assembly workshop of Zhiwei Electromechanical, the reporter saw that the automated production line designed by the company has entered the commissioning stage. Apart from the central operating system, almost no other manpower is required on this production line.
In the past, the research and development of such a device requires a lot of manpower, but Zhiwei Electromechanical subverted the traditional cognition, the reporter learned that in the Zhiwei Electromechanical team of more than 40 people, there are 15 designers alone, accounting for nearly half of the company's employees, and most of the rest are assembly and debugging personnel, almost none of the market. Doesn't this business need marketing?
"We currently rely mainly on word-of-mouth to reach out to customers." As a "marketer" from a professional class, Ji Dingjia explained to reporters that in the development of enterprises, doing a good job in equipment quality control and after-sales service is the secret. If customers are satisfied with the device, they will naturally show it to their peers, and other peers will contact them after seeing the results, so as to complete the marketing imperceptibly. "We have always designed our production lines to be delivered on time, and we have not received any customer complaints so far." Gidingjia said proudly.
Quality control, a common problem in the field of manufacturing, has been developed by Zhiwei Electromechanical to play a set of its own methodology. In their opinion, if automation equipment wants to produce products with a high qualification rate, it must make efforts from three aspects: procurement, testing and after-sales. "In order to ensure quality, we have adopted the strictest procurement strategy and purchased directly from the factory's general agent or manufacturer." Ji Dingjia took the motor in his hand and introduced it to reporters.
What did the "machine substitution" come from?
Nowadays, Zhiwei Electromechanical is standing at the tuyere of "machine substitution", constantly exploring new possibilities. "Taking the motor controller (plastic cover) automatic line as an example, the customer originally needed 42 people to meet the production requirements, but after the introduction of automation equipment, only 2 to 3 people were needed to meet the production capacity demand, saving 30 people's labor costs." Gidingjia introduced.
It is foreseeable that the production automation spawned by the wave of "machine substitution" will inevitably liberate excess manpower, so where will the liberated labor force go? In Ji Dingjia's view, the introduction of automation equipment will not lead to a large number of unemployment, but will prompt workers to improve their own quality, from front-line operation positions to technical maintenance, equipment maintenance and other high-tech additional positions, and some people through the improvement of their labor skills or retraining into some other jobs.
In addition to the release of labor, "machine substitution" also creates the possibility of "unmanned workshop". "The production line we designed is composed of dozens or even hundreds of single machines, which can be operated in a unified and coordinated manner through the central controller, and finally the state of the unmanned workshop can be realized." Gidingjia added.
During the conversation, Liu Junhong also revealed the secret hidden in the company's name to reporters. "I named my company Zhiwei, which means that I aspire to become the 'Huawei' of the automation industry, because Huawei's high value on after-sales service and commitment to global service is what I respect." Liu Junhong said bluntly: "Huawei's influence on our generation is subtle, inspired by it, we will try to use domestic accessories in our daily production, and we also encourage customers to try domestic brands, so that through market feedback and investment in research and development, a virtuous circle will be formed, and ultimately promote the growth of domestic brands." ”
When it comes to the future development trend of the industry, Jidingjia is full of confidence. He believes that the future of automation equipment will pay more attention to added value after the gradual homogenization of functions, such as the economy of equipment, the convenience of operation, the timeliness of after-sales service, etc., which requires enterprises to have the spirit of perseverance in addition to continuous innovation. "I am full of confidence in this industry, because all walks of life are facing the problem of labor costs, therefore, joining the tide of 'machine substitution' and actively introducing automation equipment is the best way for enterprises to improve efficiency and solve the problem of labor costs." Gidingjia added.
Editor: Wu Jiahong
Source: Golden Sheep Network