Zhang Yufeng, President of Honeywell China: "Even after experiencing the epidemic, it has not changed the confidence of investing in Wuhan"

Interviewers: Yufeng Zhang, B.S. in Ship Power Mechanical Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology, USA. On November 1, 2019, he was appointed President of Honeywell China, with overall responsibility for Honeywell's business in China.

Background of the dialogue: On November 19, Zhang Yufeng was invited to participate in the "Wuhan Forum" of the 20th Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurship Development Fair, introducing honeywell's emerging market headquarters and innovation center in Wuhan to more than 300 representatives at home and abroad and 110,000 online overseas Chinese.

"Hoping to use Wuhan as a 'bridgehead' for promoting innovation and cooperation, Honeywell is willing to be with the people of Wuhan, Hubei Province, love here, and build here!" Yesterday morning, at the "Wuhan Forum" of the 20th Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurship Development Fair, Zhang Yufeng, president of Honeywell China, said affectionately.

Honeywell is a diversified high-tech and manufacturing company and one of the first U.S.-owned companies to enter the Chinese market. In 2019, with an operating income of US$41.8 billion, it ranked 290th on the Fortune Global 500 list that year.

On May 19 this year, the emerging market headquarters and innovation center of the multinational company Honeywell was established in Wuhan, which is also the first Fortune Global 500 company to land in Wuhan in 2020.

In fact, the two sides signed the agreement on January 21, 2020, two days before the "lockdown" of Wuhan. "Even the pandemic has not changed Honeywell's confidence in investing in Wuhan, and we remain confident that our choice is not wrong." After the meeting, Zhang Yufeng said in an interview with a reporter from Chutian Metropolis Daily.

Among the more than 20 cities, we have been shaken

Reporter: Just now you mentioned at the meeting that today is the first anniversary of Honeywell's friendship with Wuhan?

Zhang Yufeng: Yes. At the second CIIE last November, Honeywell began to explore cooperation with Wuhan to further develop business development in the Midwest, and then implemented our common development blueprint step by step. Today is a full year anniversary, so I think this time back to Wuhan is very meaningful.

Reporter: We know that when we first inspected the chinese headquarters of emerging markets and settled in cities, Wuhan was not the only choice.

Zhang Yufeng: At that time, there were more than 50 candidate cities competing with Wuhan, and later we chose Wuhan in the selection and comparison of more than 20 cities. The central area of the nine provinces thoroughfare and the high-speed rail eight vertical and eight horizontal planning allows Wuhan to be based in the central region and radiate the central and western regions, which can be described as a strategic point for the divergence effect of the customer base, the transportation and location advantages are unique, and there is a customer base of the emerging business that Honeywell plans to develop, which has a market radiation effect. In addition, Optics Valley's investment environment, innovation atmosphere and talent reserve are the keys to Wuhan's victory.

Reporter: Since the beginning of this year, the new crown pneumonia epidemic has swept the world, has it shaken Wuhan?

Zhang Yufeng: It is impossible to say that there is no wavering at all. During the worst period of the epidemic, we also faced various voices from the outside world, and everyone was thinking, how long will it take for Wuhan to restore normal production and living order? None of this is known to us. But we at Honeywell China are very insistent and agree that there is nothing wrong with our choice. Especially at the worst of the epidemic, we should support Wuhan and add another force to Wuhan's restart.

On January 19th, our first batch of honeywell masks arrived in Wuhan, and the last batch was sent to the hands of medical staff before the lockdown, and we donated $2 million worth of supplies, including equipment from Leishenshan Hospital. Looking back today, we made the right choice. This is not only a commitment, but also a principle of how we behave.

After the restart, we will come to Wuhan every month, and the new changes have given us the determination to grow together

Reporter: What are you going to share with you when you come to China Chuanghui this time? Having been in contact with Wuhan so many times, what particularly impressed you?

Zhang Yufeng: Mainly to share our experience and practices with everyone, but also to express our gratitude to Hubei and Wuhan.

In the process of establishing our new company, we have received the support and concern of governments at all levels in Hubei. In February, due to the need for prevention and control, the Optics Valley Government Service Center was temporarily closed, but in order to successfully settle down in Honeywell's wholly-owned subsidiary, the staff of the "Commercial Registration Party Member Pocket Bottom Service Studio" of the East Lake High-tech Zone Government Service Bureau has been in online contact with Honeywell agents. From filling in the name to the business scope, everything is in detail, step by step to assist in handling. On the day the government service personnel receive the materials, the business license is approved.

Reporter: This year, China and the world have been tested by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, how do you view the recovery and development of Wuhan?

Zhang Yufeng: While the global epidemic is still serious, China has taken the lead in controlling the epidemic and successfully restarting the economy. Since April, I have been visiting Wuhan once a month, and I can see new changes every time.

The passion and fighting spirit of the leaders of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee and the provincial government and local governments at all levels, the industriousness, tenacity, health and upward mobility of the people of Hubei, the continuous recovery and prosperity of the market, and the spirit of "shop small two" that can be seen everywhere all show that the heroic people of Hubei and Wuhan are united as one, united in will, and reborn from the fire. All these have given us the determination to grow together with Wuhan. At present, Wuhan has passed the most critical time, and all kinds of entrepreneurs will continue to be optimistic about the development of Wuhan in the future, and accelerate the landing in Wuhan like Honeywell.

In the future, with Hubei as the center, we will deeply participate in the domestic and international double cycle

Reporter: After the epidemic, what new technologies or businesses has Honeywell developed?

Zhang Yufeng: In terms of anti-epidemic and epidemic prevention, we have done some business extensions around health hospitals and health schools this year. The environmental airflow control solution of intelligent building is applied to the building management of hospitals, ensuring the safety of medical care and patients through accurate airflow control, and can effectively respond to the needs of negative pressure isolation wards that need to be quickly converted in hospitals during large-scale epidemic outbreaks, which can make wards cut to negative pressure wards in seconds to achieve hospital management of "combining the epidemic situation on weekdays". At present, two schools in Wuhan have installed our fresh air system, and six hospitals are currently in negotiation.

Some ideas can be said to be tailored specifically for the epidemic. For example, at the just-concluded Expo, Honeywell showed a safe flight application scenario that was developed in a few weeks when employees worked from home at the beginning of the epidemic in February. A UV cleaning machine in the cabin can open an "arm" of about 10 meters long in the aisle of the cabin and clean the cabin in 10 minutes. The cleanup time is short and the cost is low, and then it is introduced to the market at the first time, and it has now been upgraded to version 2.0.

Reporter: In the future, what are Honeywell's development plans in Hubei? Zhang Yufeng: In the future, we hope to take Hubei as the center, deeply participate in the domestic and international double cycle, and strengthen local product research and development, engineering design, manufacturing and sales services. With Honeywell's emerging market headquarters and innovation center in Wuhan, we will promote collaborative R&D innovation in China to a new level. In the future, the development of the region will pay more attention to health and sustainability, and need to have the ability to respond to emergencies, Honeywell will also actively develop smart city big data management, so that city managers can fully control the key elements of the city. Phoenix Nirvana Grand Plan Exhibition, I believe that the future of Hubei and Wuhan will be more brilliant.

Chutian Metropolis Daily reporter Liu Dingwei