Grateful for the difficulty of employee salary cuts, he fought to become the overlord and paid 20 monthly salaries for 3 consecutive years. An exclusive interview with Chen Zhengzhong, chairman of Great Wheel

Chen Zhengzhong founded Greatoo Xingye 33 years ago to design and manufacture warning lights. He started from domestic sales and then entered the European and American export markets. He is especially good at high-power LED warning lights, with an annual revenue of 1 billion yuan.

What kind of mutual trust basis and dedication make the company’s employees willing to cooperate with salary cuts and suppliers to delay collections when the company encounters shareholders’ breach of trust and snatching orders, just to help the principals tide over the difficulties? In 1990, Chen Zhengzhong founded Greatoo Industrial and entered the MRT fence project. Considering that the domestic sales market was too small to support the long-term development of Greatoo, he tried to expand into emerging markets such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East through traders in the second year after the company was established, but failed due to cooperation with Shareholders have different operating philosophies, laying the groundwork for drastic changes in dismantling partnerships.

The warning light must be dazzling to play a warning effect. The design of the heat dissipation module in the lamp is very difficult. The picture shows the inspection test before the car light leaves the factory.

“Ambulances and police cars are in rigid demand. Some European and American countries have to replace them every five years. On the other hand, how many police cars can be added in Taiwan in one year?” Because Chen Zhengzhong insisted on investing in technology research and development, he did not get the support of his partners. In the worst case, the shareholders A factory was set up behind the scenes, and orders from Giant Wheel were transferred away without anyone noticing.

In 2004, Greatoo exclusively developed high-power LED dual-color module warning lights, allowing the lamps to freely switch between red and blue light modules, leading the global trend.

Chen Zhengzhong said frankly: “Too much trust in people is my weakness!” In the face of shareholders’ breach of trust, on the one hand, he was heartbroken to search for evidence, and he was also full of panic about the future. “When people get along with each other for a long time, they will rely on each other. Is it feasible to jump out and do it to the end? Many seniors advocated that I should sue, but the night before the negotiation, I decided not to sue.”

Chen Zhengzhong deduced dozens of times in his mind, “If he wins the lawsuit, but he goes to jail because of it, will I feel more uneasy? We have cooperated for 6 years, and both have made money. Why don’t we choose to get together and break up?” However, at that time Judging from the scale and situation of Julun’s industry, being kind to the “enemy” is undoubtedly cruel to itself.

Nordic countries are always icy and snowy in winter, and the local government will sprinkle salt on the snow to prevent freezing. The snowplow lights of Great Wheel exported to the Nordic market have to pass the anti-salt spray test. (Turn over the giant wheel official website)

Seeing that all the orders had been transferred, Chen Zhengzhong had no choice but to mortgage his house to raise working capital, and had to negotiate with his employees for a salary cut. “At that time, there were about 20 employees. After learning about the situation, none of them left. Even if the other party poached corners, they couldn’t poach them. This gave me courage.” At the beginning of the separation, the customers didn’t know about it, and they sent checks for purchases from shareholders to Great Wheel. , Chen Zhengzhong’s family explained and apologized, instead of attacking the opponent’s humble attitude, they were supported by suppliers and channels.

“I never think that I should attack the other party and gain their sympathy, but rely on my own ideas and ideas to win everyone’s understanding of New Great Wheel.” Holding the belief of kindness, Chen Zhengzhong’s distinctive personality traits also ushered in more for him Opportunity, the cooperative wire factory even suggested that he could expand the product line of hands-free handsets and increase revenue. He and the R&D team spent a year successfully entering the hands-free handset market for cars, which gave a big boost to the revenue. The employee’s original salary will be restored in the next year, and the difference will be made up with the year-end bonus.

In 2004, it exclusively developed high-power LED dual-color module warning lights, which allow the lights to freely switch between red and blue light modules, leading the global trend and entering the US police market. (Turn over the giant wheel official website)

In 2004, developed the world’s first high-power two-color module warning light patent, and obtained a stepping stone for export to Europe and the United States. He knows how to think of the source when drinking water. After the company makes money, Chen Zhengzhong never forgets to give back to his employees. “The owners of small and medium-sized enterprises have the mentality of planning for a rainy day and holding resources in their hands. But from another perspective, if you worry about yourself, how can you convince employees that the company has a vision?” In 2012, he raised his salary by 18% in one go. Performance bonus, even the grassroots staff are also inspired a sense of honor.

In order to improve the strength of employees, he simultaneously introduced standardized manufacturing processes and learning and growth courses, and the annual personnel expenses increased by more than 10 million yuan. However, it was later proved that not only did the EPS not drop, but also made a net profit of 20 million yuan, and the revenue increased by 25%. Greatoo’s R&D strength Established a firm foothold in the international market. Before the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the annual salary of employees exceeded 20 months for three consecutive years.

Warning lights are a closed market, with different safety regulations in different countries and high barriers to entry. Chen Zhengzhong is willing to spend money on research and development. In the figure, the investment in verification equipment alone exceeds 60 million yuan.

Giant Wheel's warning lights have entered American fire trucks, and fire trucks in advanced countries will be replaced every five years, which is a rigid demand. (Turn over the giant wheel official website) — Giant Wheel’s warning lights have entered American fire trucks, and fire trucks in advanced countries will be replaced every five years, which is a rigid demand. (Turn over the giant wheel official website)

Chen Zhengzhong firmly believes that altruism in advance will benefit oneself in the end. “Warning lights are very professional. Manufacturers must be professional, and traders must be professional. After all, every country, every city, and every vehicle has different safety regulations and applications. Don’t say that the designer can’t figure it out, sometimes even the trader can’t figure it out.” In order to thank the trader who was in the middle for being willing to let the company directly face the customer and accurately grasp the needs, Chen Zhengzhong has made every transaction with the customer over the years. For the order, a copy will be sent to the trader. Even if the intermediary service is no longer needed, the commission remains unchanged and continues to this day.

Adhering to the belief of co-creating brilliance and sharing glory, Chen Zhengzhong led Greatoo to grow step by step, and became the leader in the export of warning lights with an annual revenue of 1 billion yuan. The research and development technology has also made the global leader in the warning light industry learn from it. Focusing on the improvement of the industry, Chen Zhengzhong spent 1.8 billion yuan in 2019, and invested all the profits of more than 30 years to improve the company’s software and hardware.

The production line introduces Hon Hai's latest robot equipment to handle finished products, which can reduce occupational injuries caused by long-term heavy lifting of employees. — The production line introduces Hon Hai’s latest robot equipment to handle finished products, which can reduce occupational injuries caused by long-term heavy lifting of employees.

In the production room of Greatoo Tucheng Headquarters, Hon Hai’s newly developed autonomous mobile robot is busy in the production line, transporting the products equipped with warning lights to the packaging area. Chen Zhengzhong explained: “Some of the warning lights of foreign police cars are as long as 2 kilometers. The workpiece weighs 20 or 30 kilograms, and I don’t want employees to suffer occupational injuries due to long-term handling.” Materials as small as a screw are controlled by a computer. With just one button, the automatic storage will start material preparation, which not only doubles the production capacity, but also man-made. The defective rate is also low to close to zero.

Combining channel resources and his own expertise to form the best competitiveness, Chen Zhengzhong at this stage wants to set up a stage for successors, and build Greatoo into a competitive and happy enterprise, which not only illuminates the safety of on-duty personnel and passers-by, but also illuminates the industry Prospects and the future of employees.