21

hIgh-tech from the PeArL rIver deLtA

ChInA hAS trAnSCended ItS former rePutA-

tIon AS the fACtorY of the WorLd. the

CountrY IS trAnSformIng ItSeLf more And

more Into A hIgh-teChnoLogY Center. thIS

deveLoPment IS due to ComPAnIeS SuCh AS

ZhongxIngxIn, WhICh ProduCe hIgh-teCh

And ImPort hIgh-teCh.

text: Kristin Kupfer, Photos: Andy maluche/onAsia

ShenZhen, South chIna. With his hands clasped together, engineer Chen Zhushan stands in front of the Byspeed 3015 laser cutting system in a production hall belonging to Zhongxingxin tele-communication equipment Ltd. “these fast, pre-cise cuts,” marvels the 25-year-old in a blue work jacket, “still seem almost like magic to me.” Chen and a colleague have been operating the machine for the last two years. they attended a two-week training course to prepare for this. “What I like about the Byspeed is that you have almost unlimit-ed access to the cutting area,” says Chen, “further-more, the control software is very user-friendly, and naturally the performance of the system is really impressive.” Zhong Jinqiang, head of Sheet metal Processing, laughs and pats the young man on the shoulder. “But without employees like you, even the best machines are of no use to us.” machine – made in Switzerland; harmony – made in China.engineer Chen and the Bystronic system – em-ployee and innovative investments – symbolically represent the advances made by the technology company. founded in 1985 as a state-owned semiconductor company, it subsequently benefit-ed from China’s reform and openness policy, which generated an enormous demand for tele-

ZhongxIngxIn ChInA

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communications equipment on the domestic mar-ket. this demand was satisfied, amongst other things, by the first routers and switches, exotic products at that time, which underline the compa-ny’s aspiration that is still valid today; to act in plenty of time and not simply to react. hence it comes as no surprise to learn that in the mid-1990s, Zhongxingxin was the first Chinese tele-communications company to be certified in accor-dance with ISo 9001, and in the year following this – once again as the first local company in the industry – began to sell its products and services on the international markets. In 1997, the telecom-munications business was consolidated under the brand name Zte and was listed first on the stock exchange in Shenzhen and later also in hong Kong. Although it is only known to industry insid-ers in europe and north America, Zte is one of the largest national and international suppliers of tele-communications equipment and network solu-tions today, with a turnover in 2009 of around nine billion uS dollars.Subsequently, Zhongxingxin took on the primary role of a holding company, which successively encompassed further fields of activity. today, Zhong xingxin holding consists of eight business divisions that are almost exclusively active in high-tech industries and manufacture fiber optics, high-density multilayer boards, and environmental monitoring systems, amongst other things, or offer services, including in the field of environmental protection. In addition, Zhongxingxin has the largely independently operating machinery division, which was founded in 1998 and today employs a staff of around 2,600. here, under the trade name Zte Cabinet, the primary focus is on the produc-tion of standardized housings for electronic com-ponents, initially for its own business with telecom-

“ Bystronic convinced us with both the price/performance ratio and the service package.”

Zhong Jinqiang, head of Sheet metal Processing

Zhong Jinqiang, Head of the Sheet Metal Processing department of Zhongxingxin.

New Zhongxingxin building at the location in Dongguan.

munications and network equipment, later also for sale to companies not belonging to the holding. the number of cabinets sold to date lies well in the seven-digit range. the products have already been exported to some 150 countries.

InternatIonal envIronMent, InternatIonal cuStoMer BaSe

the location of Shenzhen, Chinese for “deep irriga-tion canal,” played a decisive role in the develop-ment of the company. once home to rice farmers and fishermen, in 1980 the region was designated as the first Chinese special economic zone. using tax reductions and other market-economy incen-tives, the aim was to attract foreign investment capital. today Shenzhen is a metropolis of nine million residents surrounded by green hills not far from the sea. With an average annual per capita income of 14,000 uS dollars, the city tops the ta-ble in a national comparison. A large number of industrial parks have been established in Shenzhen that have become home to many of the most im-portant Chinese high-tech companies. numerous foreign and domestic It companies have also based their operations in this boomtown on the Pearl river delta. for example, in what has be-come known as the “iPod City” factory, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer foxconn produc-es iPods for Apple, amongst other things. It was a mixture of a love for adventure and a search for development perspectives that brought Zhong Jinqiang to Shenzhen about ten years ago. Although his hometown of guilin has some wonderful karst mountains, it offers virtually no employment possibilities for a mechanical engi-neer. the 33-year-old Zhong Jinqiang joined Zhong xingxin telecommunication equipment Ltd. very early on and has worked his way up to be-

Above: Workers prepare the metal housing for surface treatment. Below: Quality control and filing work on the ever decreasing number of punched parts.

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Top: Byspeed laser cutting system in action. Center: The Xcel 50 pressbrake is the new one in the Zhongxingxin range of machines. Bottom: The precise cutting of the Byspeed can stand up to even the keenest inspection.

iang, “including increased strategic thinking and a stronger orientation towards international custom-ers and markets.”the managers at Zhongxingxin machinery division also demonstrate their international orientation in the production halls. here one can find the latest technologies from the uSA, germany, Japan, finland, taiwan – and from Switzerland, namely from Bystronic. the machine in question is a Byspeed 3015 with 4.4 kilowatts of laser power, which went into service about four years ago as the second laser cutting machine at Zhongxingxin. the first was provided by another manufacturer. how-ever: “Bystronic convinced us with the price/perfor-mance ratio of the Byspeed, as well as with the service package,” recalls Zhong. “Particularly im-portant criteria were the flexibility of the system as well as its dynamics and processing speed.” Speed and flexibility are crucial, not least due to the build-to-order strategy the Zhongxingxin machinery division introduced in 2005, which involves a combination of serial production and customized manufacturing. this means that the products are offered as basic serial models, which the customer can complement with specific details. the custom-er-specific configuration is completed after the or-der has been placed.

technologIcal expanSIon

While the investment in the laser cutting system was pending, business friends also advised the company to select Bystronic. “Word-of-mouth pro-paganda is very important here,” says Zhong, “since in China, personal trust plays a central role in purchasing decisions.” the Byspeed, according to Zhong, has lived up to expectations. further-more, compared with its competitors, Bystronic has the best customer service in China, with nu-merous services being offered and competent ser-vice technicians stationed nationwide. following installation of the Byspeed, a whole range of jobs, which above all related to the mass production of housing parts, were transferred from the punching machines to the laser cutting systems. Particularly for applications that demand flexibility, fast reac-tion times, and a high quality of the cut edges, Zhong and his team put their trust in the Byspeed. for example, door handles and wind-deflector plates are now cut on the laser cutting system and no longer punched.the Byspeed also provides good service when manufacturing prototypes, since it makes no dif-ference to the cutting head of a laser cutting sys-tem what contour it has to cut, regardless of how complex it may be. In contrast to a punching ma-chine, a laser cutting system requires no special tool, so that it can be used flexibly and economi-cally. Zhongxingxin also benefits from this with the latest addition to its product portfolio. Amongst other things, the company develops temperature regulators for the tracks of high-speed trains, since China intends to upgrade hundreds of its railroad

come head of the Sheet metal Processing depart-ment. he is equally respected and liked by his staff. the average age difference between members of the management and the men operating the ma-chines is barely ten years. “over recent years, there have been a number of changes,” says Zhong Jinq-

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Dr. Kristin Kupfer, sinologist and political scientist, has lived in Beijing since May 2007, where she works as a freelance journalist. Amongst other things, she regularly contributes to renowned German- language media such as “Profil” and “Zeit Online.”

“ We must continue to invest in modern equipment, especially as foreign orders are beginning to pick up again.”

Li Zhihong, managing director Zhongxingxin machinery division

lines. thus, for example, the 1,100-kilometer-long northern segment of the high-speed train route from Beijing to hong Kong will be completed in 2012, reducing the travel time between the two cities from 23 to eight hours.for Li Zhihong, managing director of the machinery division, the continual expansion of the product portfolio is one of the two most crucial challenges for the company. the other consists of quality as-surance, in particular in relation to large orders that have to be processed within a short period of time. “We must continue to invest in modern equipment,” says Li Zhihong, “in particular at a time when foreign orders are beginning to pick up again.” this is also the reason why two brand-new Bystronic machines were delivered to the new factory in dongguan just a few days ago: a BySprint 3015 laser cutting system and an xcel 50 pressbrake. the latter originates from Bystronic’s own development and production plant in the Chinese city of tianjin, which the Swiss machine manufacturer has operated since 2002. the plant manufactures machines primarily for the domestic market, but also for export.

Li riliang, Chief engineer at the Zhongxingxin telecommunication equipment Ltd.’s factory built in 2008 in dongguan, is eager to see how the per-formance characteristics of the BySprint compare to the Byspeed installed in Shenzhen. In terms of dynamics, speed, and flexibility, the latter is the flagship amongst the Bystronic Co2 laser cutting systems, which admittedly has its price. the BySprint, on the other hand, is extremely economi-cal and an excellent alternative to the Byspeed when predominantly parts with a material thick-ness of up to six millimeters are to be cut. What he also likes about Bystronic is that the company is based in a neutral country. “of all the machine producers on the market, our first choice is the Bystronic brand,” says Li and smiles.