Sewing machine manufacturing is a typical traditional industry. For a long time, my country's sewing machine industry has developed slowly, and its products have always been in the mid- to low-end range. The world's sewing machine manufacturing industry is upgrading very quickly, especially in recent years, various types of ultra-high-speed, multi-functional, mechatronic sewing machines have emerged one after another.
Qiu Jibao’s “leap” was faced with severe market conditions at the beginning of his business. The domestic market for mid- to low-end products is almost monopolized by a few established state-owned enterprises, while the market for mid- to high-end products is entirely occupied by overseas manufacturers.
The cruel reality made Qiu Jibao realize that in order to achieve sustained and healthy development of the enterprise, it is necessary to create first-class products and expand first-class markets. At the same time, Qiu Jibao also realized that there is no unprofitable industry, only unprofitable enterprises. In order to rekindle the dazzling light of the "sunset" traditional industries, we need concept innovation, management innovation, and technological innovation. For this reason, Qiu Jibao spent a lot of money. During the "Seventh Five-Year Plan" period, "Feiyue" invested more than 1 million yuan in technical transformation funds each year; during the "Eighth Five-Year Plan" period, it invested more than 10 million yuan each year. During this period, "Feiyue" has basically completed the capital and technology necessary for future development. accumulation. In order to hit new highs, during the "Ninth Five-Year Plan" period, "Leap" completed the most thorough and complete transformation in its entrepreneurial history with a huge investment of more than 200 million yuan, using high-tech means to forge its bloodline.
First achieve large-scale production and economies of scale. In order to achieve this goal, Qiu Jibao expanded the original factory area to 450,000 square meters, including 250,000 square meters of international standard factory buildings. After completing the expansion of the factory area, the enterprise resources were optimized and allocated, and the enterprise was organized into six production areas, research institutes, import and export companies, precision manufacturing branches, joint-stock companies, Feiyue Shanghai Sewing Machine Manufacturing Co., Ltd. to adapt to the market production rhythm. Co., Ltd., and established a holding Sanhe Sewing Machine Co., Ltd. in Hangzhou.
Secondly, modernize equipment. The equipment of a factory is one of the factors that determine the success or failure of the factory. Qiu Jibao clearly realized this. He comprehensively introduced the most advanced fully automatic machining center equipment from the United States, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, raising Feiyue Group's processing equipment to the world's advanced ranks, laying a solid foundation for the victory of "Feiyue" .
Third, strengthen collaboration in production and scientific research to achieve integration of scientific research and production. Qiu Jibao did not ignore the interactive relationship between scientific research and production. At home, he has carried out technical cooperation with scientific research institutes in Shanghai, Zhejiang, Beijing and other places. At the same time, he has also actively expanded overseas and cooperated with sewing machine research institutions in Japan, Germany and Italy.
He established his own information technology development center in Beijing, and also established Japan's "Leap" technology development center and the world's advanced "Leap" R&D center.
Fourth, use talent reserves to build up the potential for enterprise development. Qiu Jibao not only has complete infrastructure, but also reserves talents. He has formulated active talent policies and generous talent remuneration, and sincerely recruits talents from all over the world. At present, through recruitment and domestic and foreign training, 10% of Feiyue Group employees are high-level and intermediate intellectuals, and 30% are college graduates. There are more than 200 foreign professionals working at Feiyue Group headquarters and "Feiyue" overseas companies.
No pain, no gain. Through large-scale technological transformation in the past few years, "Leap" has unprecedentedly improved its ability to transform scientific and technological achievements into productivity. 10 to 25 new products are born every year, and it has realized the transformation of products from low- to medium-end to high-end, from simply producing industrial machines. Shift to both industrial and household machines. After technological transformation, "Feiyue" has produced more than 140 varieties of ultra-high-speed overlock sewing machines, interlock sewing machines, fully automatic high-speed lockstitch sewing machines and mechatronics household sewing machines. Not only that, "Feiyue" has used high technology and new materials to revolutionize traditional domestic sewing machines.
In the past two years, many products developed by "Leiyue" have been rated as national-level new products, filling the gaps in the country and reaching the domestically leading and world-advanced level.
The ultra-high-speed overlock sewing machine is included in the National Torch Plan, and the multi-functional household sewing machine is listed as the national "Two High and One Excellent" projects and the 2000 national key technological transformation approved by the State Council - the fourth batch of national debt special fund projects. Currently, 60% of Feiyue Group's products are sold overseas, of which 50% enter developed countries such as Europe, the United States, and Japan. The "Feiyue" trademark was recognized as a "China's Well-known Trademark", and the multifunctional household sewing machine was designated as a diplomatic gift by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. When Feiyue was founded in 1986, it could be said that there was no capital, no technology, and no market. In order to win opportunities for survival and development, Qiu Jibao set his sights on the international market. In 1989, he carried a sewing machine he made on his back to the Canton Fair, China's most authoritative foreign trade window. However, he failed to cross the threshold and was ruthlessly rejected. The reason is very simple, just because he is unknown and only runs small factories in villages and towns. Qiu Jibao did not give up. In order to have direct contact with foreign businessmen, he decided to climb over the wall. But as a result, he was detained by the security personnel of the Canton Fair, and not only paid a fine of 50 yuan, but also made to stand for half an hour. This unfair treatment did not discourage him. On the contrary, it made him truly understand that in order to be "fair", it is important to have "strength".
In order to export his products abroad, Qiu Jibao rushed to the Luohu Port in Shenzhen and spent 500 yuan to ask an old Hong Kong lady to buy a Hong Kong yellow pages phone book on her behalf. Through the phone book, He started "diplomacy" through correspondence with international distributors in Hong Kong and learned that Feiyue's products might have a market in some underdeveloped countries in Central and South America. So, he put on his sewing machine, took a translator borrowed from the Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, and embarked on a sales trip to Latin America and other countries. Hard work pays off, and once you go there, a path will be opened. By 1989, Leap's sales in the region reached a record $20,000. Qiu Jibao won the first battle.
In 1994, "Feiyue" had just started to gain momentum in Latin America. When the economic crisis hit Mexico, the sales of "Feiyue" in Latin America were immediately cast into a shadow. But Qiu Jibao was not stumped, because he was well prepared for the market changes, and he tried his best to write about the international markets in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Despite all difficulties at the beginning, he worked tirelessly and quickly gained a good reputation for "Leap" products in these areas. All good things come with many hardships, and the "leap" is one difficulty after another during the leap. At the end of 1996, the unpredictable financial crisis in Southeast Asia was unprecedentedly severe, and the Southeast Asian market network that "Leap" had just woven suffered another heavy blow.
Qiu Jibao did not panic. Faced with the severe reality, he calmly analyzed the situation. He realized that although the crisis had impacted the market at that time, the crisis had brought about the depreciation of the currencies of countries in this region, and our country The RMB is very strong, and the country implements encouraging policies for the import of high-tech and equipment regardless of ownership. This is a rare opportunity to introduce high-tech and implement large-scale technological transformation. After thinking about it and realizing it, he started working immediately. On the one hand, Qiu Jibao acquired a small factory in Japan and hired sewing machine experts and scientific research talents from Germany, Italy, Japan and other countries to develop high-tech products; on the other hand, he borrowed money and spent huge sums of money to develop technology. Reform and introduction of hundreds of sets of world-advanced processing equipment from the United States, South Korea and Taiwan. These two measures suddenly brought "Leap" into a new stage of development. Because we seized the opportunity and introduced high-tech equipment, we not only realized equipment automation two years ahead of schedule, but also saved more than 70 million yuan in investment compared with the original budget.
During the Asian financial crisis, "leap" won the time difference, enterprise equipment realized automation, enterprise production realized scale, enterprise products realized serialization, and enterprise marketing realized internationalization. On the basis of obtaining ISO9002 quality system certification, "Feiyue" has also obtained many international certifications such as CE, GS, UL and TUV for its products, gaining a pass to enter the European and American markets. In 1999, "Leap" mechatronic household sewing machines were successfully exported to Japan in large quantities and entered Japanese households, thus completely rewriting the long-term one-way import of sewing machines from Japan. Once you send it, you can't take it back. "Leap" has since made great strides to accelerate the pace of becoming the world's top enterprise.
With the help of 17 branches established in 16 countries and regions including the United States, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, and the United Arab Emirates, Qiu Jibao has introduced "Leap" products into more than 100 countries and regions. Today, Feiyue Group's comprehensive indicators such as export earnings and foreign exchange earnings have firmly ranked first in the country, and it has been called the most dynamic sewing machine manufacturer by the World Sewing Machine Organization. "Leap" has achieved rapid development and its performance is even more amazing. According to calculations, during the "Ninth Five-Year Plan" period, the assets of "Feiyue" more than tripled from the original; in 2000, the group company achieved a sales output value of 1.513 billion yuan, export earnings of 63.7 million US dollars, and profits and taxes of 155 million yuan (including taxes paid to the state 47.24 million yuan). "Leap" is flying, but its leader is still Qiu Jibao. Today, 15 years after starting his business, he still lives in the attic of the factory warehouse. His reasoning: It's only 3 minutes from home to the office, which is conducive to work. Qiu Jibao's home and office only have simple daily necessities. Except for a huge globe, a TV with a satellite receiver and the "suits and leather shoes" he wears to work, there are almost no "luxuries". If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, you would never believe that this was the CEO of a company with hundreds of millions of assets.
Qiu Jibao is very busy, 365 days a year. In addition to business trips, his schedule is arranged from 7 am to 10 pm. He said: The business world is like sailing against the current. If you don't advance, you will retreat; if your career ideals are to become reality, you must work day and night.
Qiu Jibao grew up in poverty and experienced humiliation. Therefore, he understands the needs of employees and is more concerned about their lives and ideological and cultural construction. In order to enrich employees' spare time cultural life, Qiu Jibao supported the party, workers, leagues and women to set up activity rooms, sports and cultural centers, and learning and training centers. He also allocated special funds to solve the problem of insufficient funds for employees in need such as weddings and funerals. At present, the company also implements social insurance for all employees.
“The kindness of a drop of water is repaid by a spring of spring.” Qiu Jibao, a man with the virtues of the Chinese nation flowing in his blood, never forgets his roots when he gets rich. He always warned himself: Communist Party members must always keep the interests of the party, the country and the people at heart. According to statistics, since the establishment of the company, Feiyue has paid nearly 250 million yuan in national taxes and fees, absorbed nearly 1,500 rural surplus laborers, and has returned more than 30 million yuan in social welfare funds.
Qiu Jibao, who has come through adversity, has always understood his responsibilities: to serve the people, he must make a "leap" well; to dedicate himself to the country, he will definitely let the world see a "leap" that takes off. ".
Qiu Jibao uses his personality charm to create the eternal entrepreneurial spirit of "Leap" people!
August 18th: Proud Qiu Jibao: He claims to be ugly, but now he has become the object of many people's photo taking. As soon as he went abroad, others called him Mr. Fei Yue, and his reputation as "Fei Yue" was evident from this.
Strict Qiu Jibao: When speaking at meetings and being interviewed by TV stations, he pays great attention to his image and must wear a dark suit and tie.
A few days ago, when the reporter came to the headquarters of Feiyue Group in Jiaojiang, Taizhou, there were hundreds of self-designed and produced sewing machines in the display center and a modern factory with first-class equipment. People were once again surprised by this. A report card handed over by a grassroots private entrepreneur. Twenty years ago, Qiu Jibao, who dropped out of high school, followed local folks to the Northeast to mend shoes. I traveled to three provinces in Northeast China in three years and made a lot of money. When I returned home, I already had 100,000 yuan in savings. Therefore, Qiu Jibao began to tinker with the production of sewing machines. It started with a few people at home to help. Later, the business continued to expand, with more than 300 employees.
“When there are more people, problems arise, because we face competition with large manufacturers, and our products, technology, and resources are inferior to them.” Qiu Jibao said. The domestic space for survival and development was very small, so he began to consider whether his products could be exported. At that time, the Canton Fair was an important way for Chinese products to go global.
In 1988, Qiu Jibao went to Guangzhou and found the Canton Fair. The entrance to the Canton Fair was crowded with people, but at that time, it was very difficult for a township private enterprise to enter the Canton Fair.
In front of the gate, when Qiu Jibao told the two tall doormen at the door that he wanted to enter the exhibition, he was not only rejected, but also ridiculed: "The sewing machine produced by the small factory in the township still wants to be used in the house!" In desperation, Qiu Jibao picked up the sewing machine. Leave the gate and walk aimlessly along the venue wall. Suddenly, he found a place with fewer people coming and going, so he made a surprising move - climbed over the wall and entered, but was immediately grabbed by two security guards: "A fine of 50 yuan and a penalty of standing for half an hour. Let’s see if you still dare to climb!”
In that half hour, Qiu Jibao thought a lot, and he secretly vowed: “One day, I will have the most beautiful booth here.” Then, he began to think about whether there was a new way to sell sewing machines abroad. At that time, Hong Kong was also a bridgehead for enterprises to engage in export trade. Qiu Jibao, who failed to take the Canton Fair route, went to Shenzhen. He stood at the customs for two days and saw an old lady who passed through the customs two days in a row. Qiu Jibao became familiar with her and gave her 500 yuan and asked her to buy a book with Hong Kong phone numbers. "This concerns 300 people," he said. Net worth. "The next day the old lady brought a phone number book. I felt that it was more important than my wife and children, so I wrote down the phone numbers of the Hong Kong sewing machine factories one by one.
Because there were no international calls in Taizhou at the time, Qiu Jibao went to Wenzhou and Ningbo to make international calls. The call got through, but the other party couldn't speak Mandarin. Having an idea, Qiu Jibao said, "I'm sending you a photo. Can you export my sewing machine?" But the reply he received later was: "Your sewing machine is too old. Maybe someone in Africa wants it."
Another road is broken. In 1989, Qiu Jibao began to expand the market in South America, and his first stop was Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, and Chile. That trip to South America became an unforgettable memory for Qiu Jibao throughout his life. Qiu Jibao said, "After arriving in South America, I discovered the shortcomings and product gaps of my products." But on the other hand, he also discovered that the market space there is still huge and the demand is also strong. During the trip to South America in 1989, Feiyue sold more than 20,000 US dollars. After five years of hard work, it established trade relations with more than 20 countries in South America, and the company grew from 20 million yuan to 200 million yuan.
But just at the beginning, the leap encountered difficulties, and Latin American currencies depreciated. The Latin American market, established in five years, accounts for 95% of Feiyue's exports and half of the factory's production. What to do? Crisis inspires leaps in search of new directions.
In 1995 and 1996, Qiu Jibao spent two years traveling in Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. After examining the different demands for sewing machines in different regions, through continuous efforts, the export trade volume grew to more than 20 million US dollars in 1996, and trade relations were established with more than 50 developing countries. At the end of 1996, Qiu Jibao still has fresh memories: orders dropped sharply, payment was difficult to collect, and old customers avoided seeing him... The financial crisis caused the Southeast Asian market he had worked so hard to manage to face the dilemma of "collapse."
“At that time, I wondered why I, Qiu Jibao, was so unlucky. Later, I thought carefully that it was not me who was unlucky, but a problem with the product structure. The only way to avoid this crisis was to sell the product to Europe and the United States. ”
The Southeast Asian financial crisis awakened Qiu Jibao and made him understand that his previous products only relied on price advantages. Therefore, during the Southeast Asian crisis, Qiu Jibao seized the opportunity and completed three transformations. The first was to target Europe and the United States; the second was to take advantage of the Southeast Asian crisis to introduce technology and equipment and optimize the industrial structure; the third was to shift the market structure from developing countries to developed countries. transition.
In 1997, Qiu Jibao spent more than 1 million yuan to hire three experts. He also took advantage of the Southeast Asian crisis to acquire a small Japanese factory to specialize in studying the needs of Japan and the United States. After adjustments, export volume increased by leaps and bounds.
"Perhaps the previous Feiyue products were the crudest and worst, but as long as you make things better, the impact will increase and you will become the best." Qiu Jibao said that he is now slowly adjusting the industry. Structure, he set his sights on the household sewing machine market.