360 sentences, 1080 words. Yao Luting, who is about to turn 53, and his trusted team from Kotai Heavy Industry recited the "Disciple Rules" word for word in front of agents invited to participate in the 2017 Business Fair. The "Di Zi Gui" was compiled by Qing Dynasty people based on the teachings of the Analects of Confucius, and it is also an extremely important part of the corporate culture of Kotai Heavy Industry.
At the curtain call, Yao Luting hurriedly explained to the crowd that it was just an impromptu move under his excitement. As the General Manager of Qingdao Kotai Heavy Industry Machinery Co., Ltd., he has every reason to feel excited or full of ambition. In 2015, the total sales of major roller manufacturers in China dropped from the peak of 25581 units to 10388 units; Although the continued downward trend was stopped in 2016, the growth rate was negligible. Kotai Heavy Industry not only ranked second in sales of fully hydraulic road rollers nationwide for two consecutive years, but also ushered in the highest net profit growth since the industry downturn. "In 2016, Kotai Heavy Industry's business grew by 24.2%, far higher than the industry average."
Yao Luting said that this is mainly due to the lower steel prices and efficient management in the first half of the year, as well as the hot sales of large tonnage rollers. In July, the Guizhou Highway Transportation Equipment and Material Trading Center purchased four 33t rollers; At Shigatse Airport in Xizang and Gongbujiangda County in Nyingchi, Kotai Heavy Industry's 33 and 36t rollers successfully passed the test of extreme conditions. In 2016, Kotai Heavy Industry's sales of large tonnage road rollers accounted for over 30% of the industry.
He changed his tone and admitted that 2016 was also the most difficult year for Kotai Heavy Industry. Commercial banks are very pessimistic about the prospects of the construction machinery industry and are increasingly shrinking their loans; One of the first financial leasing companies in China, Huarong Financial Leasing Co., Ltd., announced its full withdrawal from the construction machinery industry, and the financing leasing business that Kotai Heavy Industry relies on to support was also terminated; We have had multiple rounds of lengthy negotiations with the world engineering machinery industry giant who intends to join Kotai Heavy Industry, but there have been no ideal results. The inability of agents to deliver goods has become a bottleneck for our rapid development due to financial constraints. In 2016, it was normal for Kotai Heavy Industry to go bankrupt. At the most difficult time, the agents did not seek alternative branches, and the worst outcome certainly did not occur.
On January 7th, at the 2017 Kotai Heavy Industry Business Conference, Xinjiang Jinlichen Electromechanical Equipment Co., Ltd., Zhengzhou Jiecheng Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., Weifang Pengyu Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., Hangzhou Guojian Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., and Hubei Yichun Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. were selected as excellent agents for 2016.
"If you have the ability, don't be selfish." The agents of Kotai Heavy Industry seem to have been influenced by the "Disciple Rules" and share their successful experiences without reservation. Xie Huali, General Manager of Xinjiang Jinlichen Electromechanical Equipment Co., Ltd., stated that before August 2016, Jinlichen's sales performance had fallen to the bottom of the national agents. In the remaining months, they began to search for customers around the core functions of the product, quickly grasp user information, analyze potential market capacity, provide differentiated solutions, and ultimately reverse their lead. Ge Yajun, General Manager of Zhengzhou Jiecheng Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., said that the cooperation with Kotai Heavy Industry has entered its seventh year, and the marketing team achieved excellent results in 2016, which is closely related to the company's implementation of the "management as a service for employees" concept and the incentive mechanism based on the "two factor theory" proposed by American psychologist Frederick Herzberg.
"Agents are undoubtedly our biggest contributor to the 24.2% growth in 2016, but I still believe that employees are the greatest wealth of Kotai Heavy Industry," said Yao Luting.
Qingdao Qianwan Bonded Port Area is a port area of Qingdao Port, located in Qianwan, Huangdao District, Qingdao City. In December 2014, 100 Kotai Heavy Industry fully hydraulic rollers exported to North Africa departed from here. Yao Luting still vividly remembers that during that period, the company's office building was particularly quiet, with the cutting workshop, structural workshop, painting workshop... all in a bustling scene. Workers work day and night, and management personnel transferred from the workshop to middle and senior levels also return to their former positions to provide support. This order not only sets a new record for the single export of fully hydraulic rollers in the Chinese construction machinery industry, but also serves as the best example of the strength of the Kotai Heavy Industry team. "Thank you to the 352 employees of the company. This team that can fight hard is my proudest achievement," said Yao Luting.
How to govern a place? Confucius answered the negative official Ye Gong in this way: "Those who are close say, those who are far come." Yao Luting, who bound himself with the "Disciple Regulations," also hoped that Kotai Heavy Industry was such a company that was respected by those who are close and admired by those who are far.
In Japan, which was greatly influenced by Confucian culture, there are still many people who adhere to the teachings of Confucius, and the president of the Takeuchi Institute, Akio Takeuchi, is likely one of them. Back then, Akio Takeuchi came to visit and inspect the factory of Kotai Heavy Industry as scheduled. As soon as I entered the structural workshop, I was attracted by the portrait of Confucius on the signboard at the entrance. Before he could speak, Yao Luting said: Kotai Heavy Industry will remember the teachings of Confucius, and the entire workshop will recite the "Disciple Regulations". "Really - can he memorize everything?" Akio Takeuchi may not have heard of "Disciple Regulations", but when he saw the densely packed Chinese characters next to the statue of Confucius, he deliberately paused to express his doubts. "Everything will do!" Yao Luting answered decisively. After speaking, he called for the workshop director to gather all the workers, and the sound of the book rang out in the workshop like every morning in the past. The 1080 word "Di Zi Gui" from the Analects of Confucius may not be understood by President Takeuchi, but he seems to have inexplicable trust in the employees cultivated by such a corporate culture. From then on, Takeuchi Manufacturing began to hand over the frames of excavators exported to the European and American markets to Kotai Heavy Industries for production.
In China, Kotai Heavy Industry has also gained recognition from its peers. On October 17, 2016, at the "2016 Annual Conference of Pavement and Compaction Machinery Industry" held by the Pavement and Compaction Branch of the China Construction Machinery Industry Association, Kotai Heavy Industry was elected as the vice chairman unit..
Since its establishment in August 2003, Kotai Heavy Industry has taken it as its responsibility to replace mechanical rollers with fully hydraulic rollers. After producing independent brands and entering the domestic market, Kotai Heavy Industry's sales in China have increased by over 30% for five consecutive years; In the past two years, the sales of fully hydraulic road rollers have ranked second in the country, and their exports have also remained at the forefront of the industry. At the 2017 business conference, Yao Luting once again mentioned the sentence he said in a 2010 interview with reporters - "Kotai Heavy Industry aims to achieve the industry leading level of fully hydraulic road rollers." His tone was no longer as cautious as before. Regardless of whether there was any confusion in Xizhu's heart when he left work for 19 years, he must have found the answer now.
"Let's work hard, because we're still on our way," Yao Luting wrote on his WeChat signature.
