Interview with Ma Yingli, Deputy General Manager of Shaanxi Hande Axle Co., Ltd.

Content tips: Ma imitation column was first worked in China National Heavy Duty Truck, and later went to Futian Company for one and a half years. He participated in Volvo and Mercedes-Benz projects and worked for Volvo for one year. He joined Shaanxi Hande Axle three years ago. In his exclusive interview with Gasgoo.com, Ma imitation talked about his impact on the "crisis" and "avoidance" brought about by the financial crisis. He also focused on expounding his ideas of "internationalization" and was worth discussing with domestic parts and components companies. . The following is the text of the interview.

Ma Ying-Lei: Shaanxi Hande Axle Co., Ltd. was jointly invested by Shaanxi Automobile Group and Weichai Power in March 2003. Weichai Motor Co., Ltd. holds 51% and Shaanxi Auto Group Co., Ltd. holds 49%. Hande owns two factories in Xi'an and Baoji, mainly heavy-duty axles. Each series of bridge assemblies assembles heavy military off-road vehicles and commercial vehicles of major domestic heavy truck companies (FAW, Dongfeng, Shanghai Huizhong, Anhui Hualing, Liuqi, Nanjing Iveco, Shaanxi Zhongqi, Yutong Bus, etc.).

Since the independence from Shaanxi Automobile Group in 2003, the development of Hande Axle has been very fast. From the beginning of the establishment of more than 20,000 roots, it has experienced 50,000, 100,000, and 180,000 large-scale stages of development. By 2008, it will reach 230,000 scales (2.8 billion yuan in sales). If it is not the impact of the financial crisis, we plan to achieve a production and sales scale of 300,000 this year; now we plan to maintain it at the level of 2008. At present, we have planned to have a production capacity of 450,000 (Xi'an, a new plant in 2007, and in 2008 we have increased the production capacity of Hande Axle).

In addition, at the time of independence five years ago, there was no such brand as "Hender." After five years of development, Hande has become an important brand for domestic heavy-duty truck axles, and it also supports many international clients. At present, overseas markets account for 20% of Hande Axle, and Russia is our main market.

At present, Hande axles are mainly concentrated in domestic and foreign OEM markets, but the aftermarket is also one of our planned target markets. In terms of products, we previously focused on heavy trucks and are now gradually extending to China Cards; from the transport trucks to super heavy trucks and construction machinery. From the product point of view has been achieved, from the market expansion also needs to be further expanded in scale.

Before coming to Hande, I worked at Fukuda and participated in the process of starting Futian Auman from scratch and turning Auman into a niche market. This experience is the same as what I've done with Hande now. There is still much room for development in the Chinese market, and the cake will also expand. The key is to see how companies cut bigger cakes through competition.

Impact of Financial Crisis on Axle and Bridge Industry

After the financial crisis, there were no changes in the positions of the top few manufacturers of axles. However, as far as I know, there are also three or four new entrants, mainly focusing on the upward penetration of the main plant. In my opinion, the new entrants mainly focus on the business development space of several key assemblies such as engines and axles. The addition of new entrants will make the competition in the field of axles more intense.

The most important thing to do business is still strategy. I think that the financial crisis is only a point in time that affects the implementation of corporate strategy, either delayed or delayed, or implemented quickly or slowly. Once the company has determined its strategy, it should not hesitate and unswervingly advance its strategy.

For example, the financial crisis may have an impact on current exports, but it may bring new development opportunities for internationalization strategies. Because the financial crisis will have an impact on the competitiveness of multinational companies’ original parts and components companies, they may even endanger their stable supply to OEMs. North America, Europe and other multinational OEMs may consider seeking new supply in low-cost countries. This is the opportunity for our Chinese supplier to meet once in a century.

Chinese suppliers can also make strategic adjustments to the financial crisis, such as from the perspective of product lines, internal product production levels, and product development and management. In addition, there are still opportunities in some emerging markets, such as our momentum in the Iranian market is still very good.

In terms of internationalization, I understand it this way. Of the 2,500 auto parts companies in the country, 85% have export business. Behind this very rapid development, there are many problems worthy of our reflection, because I think that the majority of exports of Chinese auto parts enterprises are currently in a purely trade form of export, lacking overall strategy and long-term thinking. This is an act of exporting for export. If you look at our domestic companies and do international trade, almost all of them are called the import and export trade department or what is the import and export company. Few people think from a strategic point of view, such as the Overseas Business Division.

First of all, it is necessary to fundamentally think at this strategic level and change the behavior of exporting for export. When we started to be an international market, we systematically thought and planned the company's internationalization strategy. We have determined that it will take three to five years to occupy an important position in the international supply chain. We started from the OEM market by starting from the low-end market and gradually transitioning to the mid-to-high-end market. Afterwards, we must gradually realize the combination of technology export + capital export, drive product exports, and achieve the highest level of internationalization.

Hande company took the lead in the automobile industry to try to export products with technology exports. In 2007, we exported technology to AMW, India, in the form of technology transfer. Start with the CBU to help each other build an axle with an annual output of 60,000, and then gradually go to CKD to assemble the Hande Axle. I think that in this way, Hande Company not only obtained a transfer fee, but also effectively put its products into the Indian market.

Technology and Talent Development Path

Our path in technology is mainly the introduction, digestion and absorption. In the 1980s, the Austrian Steyr axle production technology was exclusively imported. In 2004, it cooperated with the German MAN company and introduced the heavy truck bridge manufacturing technology. Based on the introduction of these technologies, we vigorously cultivate our own R&D team, including investment in hardware. At the Xi'an plant, a dedicated R&D experimental base, new product trial production workshop, and new product testing equipment were established. At the same time, Hande also established cooperation with research institutes of relatively well-known institutions in China.

Affected by the financial crisis, international multinational companies have made massive layoffs. Now that everybody knows that GM is in danger of going out of business, various high-end talents have found their way out. This is a good opportunity for Chinese suppliers to implement their talent strategy. In this respect, Hande has already started its operations.