Foreign experts assemble machine tool components on site in the workshop of a successful machine tool factory

At the end of the year inventory, Zhou Sijin, Chairman of Fujian Chenggong Machine Tool Co., Ltd., smiled and said, "Under the epidemic, the company's output value reached over 100 million yuan in 2020, an increase of 20%

Fujian Chenggong Machine Tool Co., Ltd., founded in 1995, is a professional manufacturing enterprise that integrates CNC vertical lathe manufacturing, mechanical processing, and black metal casting. In today's declining vertical lathe industry and the development of the industry in a "red ocean" in China, how can successful machine tools rise against the trend and open up a "blue ocean" for manufacturing development?

Focus on survival in the cracks

Entering the production workshop of Chenggong Machine Tool located in Nan'an City, Quanzhou, Fujian Province, the reporter saw that one machine tool equipment is waiting to be shipped to customers around the world.

Our products are not only sold domestically, but also to industrialized countries such as Israel, Sweden, Japan, and Iran, accumulating a large number of customers, "said Zhou Sijin.

Surprisingly, behind the global hot sales of lathe products, successful machine tools did not hire a salesperson or attend an exhibition in a different location. What's the point of relying on this?

It has been a focus of 26 years of 'survival in the cracks', "said Zhou Sijin. Successful machine tools have persisted to this day, facing not only the strength challenges of competitors such as central and state-owned enterprises, but also the unfair competition of some enterprises that prioritize output over profit. Despite numerous difficulties, Zhou Sijin remained true to his entrepreneurial aspirations. The fundamental to the long-term development of private enterprises is to take the path of specialization, refinement, uniqueness, and innovation. If we do a good job in the vertical lathe as a single product and gain customer recognition, we will be considered successful

Zhou Sijin candidly stated that focusing on the niche field of vertical lathes requires patience, as well as the ability to be calm and emotional. He told reporters about an experience where in 2005, the company spent over 20 million yuan to purchase heavy-duty machine tools. At this moment, someone advised him to invest his funds in the real estate market and recommended a certain property in the central urban area of Xiamen, with a selling price of about 5000 yuan/square meter. Zhou Sijin remained unmoved. Nowadays, the selling price of the property is over 60000 yuan per square meter, which has increased nearly 12 times, and over two billion yuan has been missed.

In fact, with Zhou Sijin's resources and abilities, he could easily enter the real estate market. But he didn't do that. He said, "A strong equipment makes a strong country. Enterprises cannot make money their only goal, but should take on the mission and responsibility they should have for their employees, society, and the country." With this kind of sentiment, Zhou Sijin has been sticking to the vertical lathe industry for decades, missing many opportunities to make quick and easy money, but he is very satisfied. "Buying a vertical lathe to find success" is the greatest affirmation for me.

Endless innovation

Not long ago, the second batch of Fujian's industrial and information technology key new product promotion catalog for 2020 was announced, and the VTL200A CNC vertical lathe of the successful machine tool was included.

This is another crystallization of successful machine tool innovation achievements. It is reported that in today's declining vertical lathe industry in China, Chenggong Machine Tool has relied on its strong talent resource advantages to accelerate research and development innovation, and has launched various advanced vertical lathe series products, which are widely used in wind power, military, aerospace and other fields, setting a benchmark for industry development.

There is one thing that is most talked about in the industry: Sweden has a developed industry, with aviation, nuclear, automotive manufacturing, advanced military industries, as well as globally leading telecommunications and pharmaceutical research capabilities. We are a world leader in software development, microelectronics, remote communication, and photonics. It is also the country with the most multinational corporations in the world. But who would have thought that this country would frequently extend an olive branch to Chenggong Machine Tool, ordering CNC vertical lathes to serve the domestic equipment manufacturing industry.

This is thanks to the company's strong R&D team, "said Zhou Sijin. Enterprise development relies on innovation, and innovation relies on talent. Successful machine tools focus on attracting people, but more on retaining them. The company has strengthened its stable research team by providing housing subsidies, offering salaries 10% -20% higher than peers, coordinating solutions to children's education issues, and providing unconditional assistance to solve personal and family difficulties. The turnover rate of high-end employees has been controlled within 3%. Among the 11 senior executives in the early stages of entrepreneurship, in addition to retirement, there are currently 3 on duty.

This year, the Fujian Provincial Government regards "enhancing independent innovation capabilities" as an important lever for achieving high-quality economic and social development. Zhou Sijin stated that as a member of traditional advantageous industries, successful machine tools not only strengthen the transformation and application of innovative achievements, but also promote the innovative development of key core technologies and major weak equipment; On the other hand, we are fully committed to promoting the digital transformation of the real economy, reducing the number of employees from over 300 to over 100, improving efficiency and quality, laying the foundation for integration into the new development pattern.

Leading the way in upgrading and upgrading

Mechanical equipment is one of the pillar industries in Nan'an. There are nearly 700 mechanical equipment enterprises in the city, including 207 large-scale industrial enterprises, with an output value of over 60 billion yuan in 2020. As the president of Nan'an Equipment Manufacturing Industry Association, Zhou Sijin's busiest task at present is to lead the industry to upgrade and constantly open up new "blue oceans" for development.

Under the epidemic, I have a deeper sense of the importance of mechanical equipment to the country and society, "said Zhou Sijin. On February 8, 2020, Lin Rongzhong, the secretary of the Nan'an Municipal Party Committee, approached him and requested that the association develop and produce protective mask production equipment within 15 days. I thought it was impossible at the time, but the secretary's statement 'How can we ensure the safety of over 300000 teachers and students in the city without a stable supply channel for masks?' deeply touched me. Subsequently, the municipal party committee and government helped to contact and provide drawings. With the assistance of various parties, the association integrated all resources and designated the executive vice president unit of the association, Delin Intelligent R&D and production. Finally, the task was successfully completed within 13 days.

This experience has shown Zhou Sijin the potential of the machinery and equipment industry in Nan'an. At present, Fujian is accelerating the construction of a strong province in advanced manufacturing and quality, and developing six leading industries including advanced equipment manufacturing. Nan'an has also listed the mechanical equipment industry as a key billion dollar industry for development, aiming for high-end, green, and intelligent directions. With a high starting point, it plans to build the Quanzhou (Nan'an) high-end equipment intelligent garden, continue to transform and upgrade, and promote the mechanical equipment industry to move towards precision casting, high-end intelligence, and integrated machinery.

Zhou Sijin introduced that the Quanzhou (Nan'an) High end Equipment Intelligent Garden Project is led by the association, covering an area of over 2000 acres with a total investment of 3.5 billion yuan. Currently, 102 enterprises are interested in settling in. A single branch standing out alone is not spring. A hundred flowers bloom in spring, filling the garden. "Zhou Sijin said that while doing a good job in his own enterprise, he will continue to lead member enterprises to benchmark and learn, refine and specialize, innovate and improve, and actively integrate into the" dual circulation "strategy.