Leader of Automotive Inspection Tool Industry - An Interview with Zheng Min

As a top student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Tongji University in the early 1990s, Zheng Min worked as an engineer at a shipyard and also spent several years in the real estate industry. Today, as the “first person to eat crabs” in the domestic automobile inspection industry, he took the lead in designing and developing China’s first full vehicle master model. On June 7, 2011, his company, "Kunshan Ruoyu Automobile Inspection Tool," delivered a "side-by-segment block-type internal and external integrated car master model" to SAIC, breaking the foreign automobile inspection companies to domestic car owners. The monopolization of the model industry has made Ruoyuojian become the first inspection tool company that independently completes the vehicle master model. The reporter learned that the AQSIQ is currently sponsoring the introduction of national standards for the inspection industry, and Ruoyu will also become one of the developers.

The "361th line" can also be a champion.

"What is the inspection tool? Without this industry, there is no way to register." Talking about the hardships of going into the gage manufacturing industry, Zheng Min recalled that when he registered in Shanghai, he ate "closed doors," and finally the industrial and commercial department could not find it. Related to the industry attribution category, Zheng Min had to register Ruoya as a precision machinery company.

Despite the difficulties, Zheng Min, who is naturally unwilling to admit defeat, still insists on going. As the saying goes, “Three hundred and sixty-six lines are worth the championship”. Zheng Min entered the “361 line” inspection industry and became the champion of this line. He said that there are hundreds of sets of inspection tools that are frequently used or even tens of millions of yuan. Because of the difficulty of production and the high precision required, the profits are very large. They were once monopolized by foreign inspection companies. As early as 2004, he took aim at the vehicle inspection tool.

So what exactly is a gage? Zheng Min tells the story of a famous domestic private car manufacturer who did not use inspection tools before. On one occasion, an accessory company supplying plastic parts tampered with a small part of the design without authorization. As a result, it did not match when the vehicle was assembled at the end, causing the entire assembly line to stop work and causing heavy losses. "The gage is a "referee," providing third-party certification for parts companies and automotive OEMs."

If Dong Li, the general manager of Census, gave a more vivid example: If a car door is installed and there is no gage, if it does not match or the mounting hole is not correct, the master teacher will enlarge the mounting hole by experience and knock. After the inspection device has been installed, the vehicle door is placed on a professional inspection device to detect and correct the place that does not meet the standard, and the same requirements as the designer can be achieved. "The inspection device is to provide a standard."

Rooted in Zhang Pu to train professionals

After four years of development, if the company has established a foothold in Shanghai, it will expand outwards. In December 2006, Zheng Min finally selected Kunpu Zhangpu and established a research and development center and a manufacturing base for inspection tools. All this has benefited from Zhang Pu's good investment environment. Changchun Xueming, the new industrial department of Zhangpu Town Industrial Center, said that if Ruo Yu and Zhang Pu are an interactive relationship between fish and water, what we need to do is to solve the difficulties of registration, land, etc., so that companies like Ruoyu can Pu rapidly developed and expanded.

"From negotiation to business license, we have shared a total of 23 days. This work efficiency is rare throughout the country. With efficient and sincere service and rapid economic development, I gave up Nanjing and North Jiangsu. China’s investment promotion policies are readily available to Zhang Pu.” Zheng said sensibly. “And in such a short period of time, Zhang Pu can finally register with the brand of Ruoyou Industrial Co., Ltd., which we have always insisted on. And then there is the precision machinery company, which also created China's first enterprise named after the inspection tool, breaking the monopoly position of foreign inspection companies."

However, precisely because it is at the forefront of the development of the automobile inspection equipment industry in the country, if such an industry "first mover" is facing the bottleneck of talent shortage.

“If Yu Yugang arrived in Zhangpu in 2009, the house price here is still around 3,000 yuan, and the down payment for a house is less than 100,000 yuan. In order to retain talents, we provide 50,000 yuan for each employee and 5 years of interest-free home purchase. The first payment.” Zheng Min said that the core value of the inspection tool lies in R&D and design, talent, R&D, and the team. It is an indispensable “good luck three treasures” for business development.

Referring to the talented person, Cheng said with sensitivity that at present, major institutions of higher learning in China do not have the design to design this profession. Therefore, when recruiting in the talent market, much time and effort are spent on explaining the concept of inspection tools. Enroll some graduates of molds and machinery, and then go to the company for professional training.

Nowadays, they go directly to college to enroll juniors and graduates in related majors such as autos, machinery, and molds. If Yu, these newcomers, invited professional engineers of car inspection equipment from Europe and the United States to train these young designers to enrich their R&D capabilities. Zheng Min told reporters that it takes at least two years to train a R&D person and each person must invest 100,000 yuan each year. Although this is not a small investment, but only in this way can quickly promote the company has its own R & D team. At present, if the inspection tool has more than 80 R & D team, and will build and declare the state-level auto inspection equipment laboratory.

Domestic and foreign investment right

Walking in the production workshop of Ruo Jujian, I saw a car that was “fully armed” and put on a variety of gauges that resembled a ruler. “This “door” is a simulated part made of all-imported aluminum. A set of inspection tools is sent to the car engine factory. Manufacturers can take these simulation parts off and put on the real automobile parts to check whether the parts are qualified. "Zheng Min said. Starting from the rear-view mirror, it has been expanded to the lights, front hood, bumper, door, etc. Currently, if the inspection tool has already pointed out the development target to the vehicle inspection tool that foreign companies occupy the absolute right to speak.

If Yuchai rely on independent research and development and technological innovation, on the basis of having a number of national-level technology patents, with more cost-effective products, from the hands of many foreign veteran companies "grab" under the General, Shenlong, SAIC and other pairs of quality We demanded orders from very large customers and started cooperation with Volkswagen, Ford, FAW Bridge, JAC, Chery, Geely and other domestic and international automotive brands. On October 19th, 2011, if the UOB had received orders for more than RMB 30 million in seizures from the PSA Peugeot Citroen undersea line project and the Shenlong main model project within a day.

Today, under the leadership of Ruo Yu, an industry pioneer, auto-inspectors have become a new industry in the domestic automotive industry. According to reports, the body part of a car is usually composed of more than 3,000 pieces of sheet metal structural parts and more than 500 pieces of interior and exterior trim parts. In addition to the high automation and complex shapes of car body welding equipment, the accuracy of parts is required to be quite high. General gauges cannot accurately measure their size, so inspections of auto parts typically use special gauges and fixtures. The gages and fixtures are indispensable tools and fixtures for auto parts, assembly parts, main models and welding lines. Therefore, auto gages will become the emerging high-end industry in the auto parts industry. For car OEMs, every minute of stoppage means the loss of real money. "To quickly develop the auto industry and reduce the cost of auto manufacturing, the main engine plant will surely learn from its experience, introduce inspection tools, and improve the standardization and automation of production." Zheng Min said that at present, Ruoyu has obtained 4 patents for the development of vehicle inspection tools. This year, it is estimated that it will bring in over RMB 100 million in sales after it is introduced to the market.