Reborn in 2012, building a new energy empire

At noon, the father and son ate lunch in the factory's small canteen. Several experienced workers sat around a table, and naturally, the conversation revolved around the new equipment.

"That thing is amazing," said a veteran fitter surnamed Wang.

"I watched Xiao Liu program this morning. He made a drawing on the computer, pressed a few buttons, and the machine produced it by itself. The precision is also very high. I measured it with a micrometer, and it was exactly the same."

"It's just that it's hard to learn," Old Chen chimed in. He was the one who had expressed resistance earlier. "It's all in English, and all those parameters, like feed rate, depth of cut... I can't remember them all."

Jiang Jianguo, carrying his rice bowl, walked over and sat down next to the experienced workers: "Take your time. I had Xiao Wang make a Chinese translation table, translating all the commonly used parameters. Memorize a few each day, and you'll be proficient in a month."

"Factory manager," Old Chen said somewhat embarrassedly, "I wasn't very nice yesterday, please don't take it to heart."

"Why are you saying all this?" Jiang Jianguo waved his hand. "We've been working together for over a decade. If the factory needs to transform, everyone has to transform with it. If you can't adapt, I'll help you; if you can't learn, I'll find someone to teach you. But there's one thing: you can't stay stagnant."

That's a very honest statement, and the veteran workers all nodded in agreement. They've worked for Jiang Jianguo for so many years and know he's not the kind of boss who would ditch his old employees just because he has new equipment.

After dinner, Jiang Haoran followed his father on a tour of the old workshop. It was still the same as before: the cement floor was uneven, the paint on the equipment was peeling, and the air was filled with the strong smell of cutting fluid and rust.

Several experienced craftsmen were busy at their respective machine tools, their skills were proficient, but the parts they were processing were all the most basic models, with meager profits.

The old and new workshops are separated by only one wall, yet they feel like two different eras.

"We'll have to keep the old equipment running for a while longer," Jiang Jianguo said. "The factory will have to rely on these jobs to survive until the new workshop is fully operational. And we can't just cut off all our old customers all at once."

"Taking it step by step is the right approach," Jiang Haoran said. "Once the new workshop's production capacity stabilizes, we can gradually transform the business of the old workshop. Some experienced workers really can't adapt to the new equipment, so they can mentor newcomers and do quality control in the old workshop."

At 3 p.m., Jiang Haoran prepared to leave.

At the factory gate, he stopped and said to his father, "Dad, the first batch of component drawings from Xinrui Technology will be sent over next week. They are all basic structural and connecting parts, and the precision requirements are not particularly high, which is perfect for practicing on the new equipment."

Jiang Jianguo's eyes lit up: "Great! Don't worry, as soon as the drawings arrive, I'll arrange the design and manufacturing process. I'll personally oversee the first prototype."

"Also," Jiang Haoran added, "Dr. Gu from Kirin Technology will be bringing his technical team over next week to check on the factory. If conditions are right, we'll get priority for orders of some more sophisticated components."

"I understand." Jiang Jianguo nodded. "When Dr. Gu and his team come, they will definitely see a well-prepared team that can fight tough battles."

Jiang Haoran looked at the steady confidence in his father's eyes and nodded.

He didn't say anything more, just glanced at the time: "Then I'll head back to Shanghai now, Dad. Call me anytime if you need anything here."

"Drive carefully." Jiang Jianguo waved his hand and watched his son get into the car. He didn't turn around until the silver sedan drove out of the factory gate, turned onto the main road and disappeared from sight.

An hour later, Jiang Haoran returned to his apartment in Lujiazui.

Jiang Haoran put down his car keys and bag, unbuttoned his coat, poured himself a glass of water, then sat down at his desk and turned on his laptop, which was always on standby.

The screen lit up, and he opened the unread email.

The latest email is from the HR Director of Jiutian Investment, and the subject is "Job Candidate Evaluation Report".

Jiang Haoran opened the attachment, where a detailed evaluation report and five resumes were neatly arranged.

The five candidates for project manager at Kirin Technology, found through headhunters, had remarkably similar backgrounds, all possessing extensive experience in the manufacturing industry.

This is partly the result of careful selection, and partly reflects the growing pains and reshuffling that the photovoltaic manufacturing industry is currently experiencing.

As the industry enters its darkest period, capacity adjustments and corporate downsizing have ironically led to a flow of talent with solid industry experience into the market.

Jiang Haoran carefully reviewed each resume, his sharp eyes penetrating the formulaic descriptions to get straight to the heart of the matter.

The first candidate previously served as the production operations director at a top-five photovoltaic module company, where he personally witnessed the ramp-up of production capacity from megawatts to gigawatts.

His resume details how he built a production management system, optimized the process to reduce the fragmentation rate by 0.2%, and dealt with supply chain crises caused by multiple raw material fluctuations.

He rose through the ranks from a production line technician to a management position, and he knows every aspect of the workshop like the back of his hand.

The second person comes from the photovoltaic equipment industry. He worked for eight years at a company that provides core cutting and cleaning equipment to leading silicon wafer companies, where he was responsible for R&D, after-sales technical support, and major customer project management.

The resumes are full of specific technical details, such as "leading the team to stay at the customer's site for three months to solve the problem of adapting the new equipment to the process" and "leading the localization of key components of a certain type of slicer, reducing costs by 30%".

The third person has a more comprehensive background. He worked in lean manufacturing in the automotive parts industry in his early years, and later joined a photovoltaic inverter startup as the vice president of supply chain and production.

He personally witnessed the entire process of the company from R&D prototypes to mass production. Even when the company's cash flow was at its tightest, he served as the chief quality officer for a period of time, going deep into the front line to solve the persistent problem of early product failure.

The fourth and fifth individuals also come from a photovoltaic auxiliary materials company and an engineering company specializing in automated production line integration, respectively. Without exception, they all have experience starting from technology, delving into the heart of the industry, and undertaking actual operation or project management responsibilities.

Jiang Haoran focused on their capabilities demonstrated in their past experiences: whether they truly understood the industrial implications behind the technical parameters.

Do you have experience in transforming products from laboratory to factory and from samples to mass production?

Have you ever effectively communicated with R&D engineers, production line workers, suppliers, or even customers, and been able to solve practical problems?

Kylin Technology is standing at a critical juncture between tackling key research challenges and achieving industrialization.

The technological achievements in Sun Zhigang's laboratory need to be transformed into stable and reproducible processes; Wang Qiming's team needs to find a balance between cost and performance for their prototype and design a highly manufacturable product.

This requires a project manager who can "get down to the grassroots level." He doesn't have to be a top expert in every field, but he must be able to understand technical discussions in the lab, comprehend process bottlenecks in the factory, judge the industrialization feasibility of a technical route, and coordinate internal and external resources to clear obstacles for the industrialization process.

These individuals are the key link between technology, production, and the market, and are an important guarantee for ensuring that capital investment can be efficiently transformed into industrial competitiveness.

Among the group of experienced professionals leaving the photovoltaic industry during this period of adjustment, there may be a perfect fit.