High-clarity coated glass greenhouse grows Euro-Dutch ecological tomatoes
He is a veteran people's congress representative who has served for more than 30 years, and a veteran entrepreneur who has been in the glass industry for 30 years. There are too many shining points about him.
From the most primitive "small flat-drawn" process, to the "three-machine kiln"; from being the first in the country to introduce the Belgian "Colburn" production process, to independently developing high-clarity glass, and then to spending huge sums to introduce Danish coating technology, along the way, his products have always been at the highest end of the market. His tireless pursuit of product quality is the eternal theme of his business.
Now, in his sixties, he has again become the only one in the country to introduce the world's most advanced Dutch modern agricultural planting technology, achieving a great leap forward in the industry. He is Gao Tingyu, party branch secretary of Sigou Village, Xuliang Town, Bo'ai County, Jiaozuo City, Henan Province, and chairman of Henan Yuhua New Material Co., Ltd. On April 21, 2016, a reporter interviewed him exclusively, exploring face to face his path of "supply-side" reform.
A lifetime of making only the best products
Reporter: We know that in your life, you have had six ventures and completed six leaps forward. How did this legend come about?
Gao Tingyu: Sigou Village used to be famous for making bamboo steamers. However, with 2,600 men, women, young and old in the village guarding more than 500 mu of bamboo groves and more than 600 mu of cultivated land, they could never escape poverty and backwardness.
In 1978, I was demobilized from the army and returned to the village. From then on, I made up my mind to find a path for Sigou Village to escape poverty and become prosperous. In 1980, after traveling a long distance to inspect more than half of China, I submitted a project proposal for a small flat-drawn glass factory to the village's two committees. That winter, construction of the Sigou Village small flat-drawn glass factory began.
Reporter: In 1980, China's reform and opening up had just begun. Starting an enterprise at that time required great foresight and courage. Where did the funds come from?
Gao Tingyu: Yes, at that time everything across China was reviving. The years of turmoil during the Cultural Revolution had caused the economy to stagnate or even regress for a long time. Steel, timber, cement, glass and various other goods were in extreme shortage, so it was a very good time to do business. As a farmer starting a business from nothing, funds were indeed the biggest problem.
In order to raise nearly 2 million yuan in funds, I took out my military demobilization allowance and family savings, borrowed more than 1 million yuan in loans, and bought construction materials for the factory on credit. In short, after countless hardships, the small flat-drawn glass factory was built. In the first year of production, the whole village achieved a per capita income of more than 600 yuan.
Reporter: Goods were so scarce at the time, so there must have been no problem selling the glass, right?
Gao Tingyu: At that time, demand exceeded supply. In 1983, at the national building materials product ordering fair held in Tianjin, we received more than 5 million yuan in advance payments all at once. That one ordering fair booked out my production for two years.
Using these advance payments plus some bank loans, I raised more than 8 million yuan and built a new three-machine kiln vertical glass production line, which was then technologically leading in China.
1980s: Annual enterprise tax exceeded 10 million
Reporter: At that time, the market for small flat-drawn glass was so good. Why spend huge sums to invest in a three-machine kiln?
Gao Tingyu: At that time, the glass produced by the small flat-drawn process was in short supply. But it was very low-grade civil-use glass, and neither quality nor capacity was good. Although there was no problem selling it at the moment, after all, product quality was poor. I have a habit in doing things, and it has been this way all my life: if you do it, you must make the best product, and you cannot focus only on the immediate present.
Reporter: Some people call the "three-machine kiln" your second venture. After putting it into production at such a great cost, how were the returns?
Gao Tingyu: In April 1983, we completed the three-machine kiln vertical drawing glass production line, the first of its kind in rural China at the time. The returns were of course very good. Annual profits and taxes reached more than 6 million yuan, and the village's annual per capita net income rose to more than 1,000 yuan.
At that time, with money in hand, we began building a moderately prosperous village. Starting in 1985, we built villas, the first in all of Henan Province and even northern China. Our village was called the "Central Plains Moderately Prosperous Village."
Editor's note: 1985 was also the second year after the three-machine kiln vertical drawing glass production line was completed and put into operation. Gao Tingyu welcomed new glory in life: the enterprise's annual profits and taxes exceeded 5 million, and he was elected a member of the Jiaozuo Municipal Party Committee and a deputy to the Henan Provincial People's Congress. From then on, he began a career of 10 years as a municipal party committee member, 25 years as a provincial people's congress deputy, and 3 years as a municipal people's congress deputy.
Thirty years of sharpening one sword, finally becoming a leader in the glass industry
Reporter: In what year was the "Colburn" production line introduced?
Gao Tingyu: Negotiations began in 1993, and it was completed and put into operation in March 1996, with a total investment of 120 million yuan.
Reporter: Why spend such a great cost to introduce a production line from abroad at that time?
Gao Tingyu: After the "three-machine kiln" was put into operation, returns were always very good. But after the 1990s, small glass factories sprang up everywhere, disrupting the market structure, and problems such as product stockpiling and difficulty recovering payments began to appear. At this time, I felt we had to keep up with social development and the demands of the situation, eliminate outdated old capacity, and adopt more advanced technology.
At that time, domestically produced glass simply could not compare with the world's advanced products in terms of thinness, flatness, light transmittance and so on. After careful inspection and calm analysis, we introduced Belgium's advanced production process.
At that time, our glass quality was greatly improved. We could produce glass 1 millimeter thick, the first in the country. Capacity also increased to more than 1.5 million weight cases. Once again, demand exceeded supply.
Reporter: Your high-clarity glass was developed by yourself? How did that happen?
Gao Tingyu: The market is always changing, and eliminating outdated products is an eternal rule. So I am especially sensitive to products. Maintaining the most advanced technology and providing the highest-quality products is the way for an enterprise to stand bravely at the forefront. This is also one of the connotations of the "supply-side reform" advocated by the central government, I suppose.
Starting in 2002, I began independently researching and developing high-clarity glass with ultra-high light transmittance. It took more than two years to develop it. I applied for three invention patents. Our high-clarity glass reached a light transmittance of 91.5%, again the first in the country at the time. Because the product quality was good and only my company in the country made it, the scene from the 1980s appeared again: customers did not ask about price, and they brought money and stayed at the factory waiting to grab products. At that time, my high-clarity glass sold for 120 yuan per square meter.
Reporter: Later, the technology you worked hard to develop was stolen?
Gao Tingyu: Yes. Why is the enthusiasm for research and development among domestic enterprises not high? Our intellectual property protection system really still needs to be improved.
In 2007, the factory director in charge of technology was poached by others, and the high-clarity glass production technology I had worked hard to develop was leaked. High-clarity glass produced by other manufacturers flooded the market, and the price immediately fell. At present, it sells for only more than 30 yuan per square meter.
Reporter: Then what do you do?
Gao Tingyu: The same old method: continue to improve product quality. This is the magic weapon for remaining invincible. In 2009, I began negotiations with a Danish company to exclusively buy out its glass coating technology. By coating a layer of film on my high-clarity glass, light transmittance can be further increased to 97.5%, which at present is still something only our company in the country has. In 2012, we invested a total of more than 150 million yuan to build 5 glass coating production lines. At present, our products are supplied exclusively to Dutch and European and American markets, and are special glass for foreign agricultural production greenhouses.
Editor's note: It was that invited inspection trip to Dutch agriculture that once again completely changed Gao Tingyu's life direction. He was shocked by how advanced European agriculture was and how high Europe's land utilization rate was. By comparison, we were too far behind. An old horse in the stable still aspires to gallop a thousand li. So, in his sixties, he began a new journey into high-tech agriculture.