Is Another Super Private Enterprise Preparing to Manufacture Cars?

The potential of the new energy vehicle market is enormous, with giants entering the field one after another. Now, even Shandong Weiqiao Pioneering Group is preparing to get involved.

Zhang Bo, the leader of Weiqiao Pioneering, even stated: "We aim to achieve an annual production capacity of 500,000 vehicles and a production value of 100 billion within 3-5 years."

Who is Zhang Bo, and why does he dare to make such a bold statement?If you are familiar with the Weiqiao Pioneering Group, perhaps it would not come as a surprise.

As a strong private enterprise within Shandong Province, Weiqiao Group is ranked among the Fortune Global 500, with three listed companies under its umbrella.

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In 2023, the sales revenue of Weiqiao Pioneering Group has even surpassed the 500 billion mark, outstripping the more well-known Haier in scale.

All of this is inseparable from Zhang Bo's father, the founder of Weiqiao Pioneering Group—Zhang Shi Ping.

Zhang Shi Ping, who comes from a poor background and only has a junior high school education, has managed to overcome numerous challenges and, relying on the two "sunset industries" of textiles and aluminum, has amassed a fortune of 65 billion, becoming the richest man in Shandong and earning the titles of "King of World Cotton" and "King of World Aluminum".In 2016, among the most influential business leaders in China, he surpassed Jack Ma to rank third.

Zhang Shi Ping's experience is quite legendary, yet he was very low-key and mysterious, and it was not until his death that people began to understand him.

Born in 1946 in Weiqiao Village, Zouping County, Shandong Province, Zhang Shi Ping often went hungry as a child due to poverty.

To alleviate the burden on his family, Zhang Shi Ping entered a small oil and cotton factory to carry cotton bales after finishing junior high school. This job was very hard, with Zhang Shi Ping carrying dozens of cotton bales weighing over 100 jin each day.

However, Zhang Shi Ping was not afraid of hardship or fatigue, and he persisted in this job for 17 years. The common consensus about him was "able to endure hardship, too diligent," and as a result, this job not only tempered his character but also brought him good fortune.In 1981, Zhang Shiping became the factory director of the fifth oil and cotton mill in Zouping County.

At this time, Zhang Shiping was 35 years old, marking the beginning of his career takeoff.

However, the condition of the oil and cotton mill was very poor, with the internal equipment in disarray, and not even good window glass. A more significant issue was that the mill only engaged in the simple business of "collecting, processing, and selling." It was busy during the peak season, but once the off-season arrived, there was virtually no business, resulting in the mill operating at a loss.

For Zhang Shiping, who never admitted defeat, this was an excellent opportunity for a challenge. He was determined to make the mill successful and to do it well.

Zhang Shiping took out his savings from the past and mobilized the employees to raise funds together to purchase oil pressing equipment, expanding production to include the processing of oil from soybeans, peanuts, and cottonseeds.The factory became more agile, production was enhanced, and the enthusiasm of the workers also needed to keep up.

Zhang Shiping established many factory regulations, the most important of which was to be punctual for work, otherwise there would be fines, and he began to implement a piece-rate wage system where more work meant more pay.

However, many workers were already accustomed to a lazy work attitude, and some even began to strike due to dissatisfaction with Zhang Shiping's strict discipline. Nevertheless, Zhang Shiping did not indulge them; even if misunderstood, he was determined to enforce his tough approach to management.

He led by example, showing up at his workstation promptly at six-thirty every day. If any worker complained about the work not being easy, he would bluntly say, "If you can do it, do it; if not, leave." When he found that a subsidiary factory was wasting resources, he fired 20 people all at once.

In order to attract more business, Zhang Shiping changed his old habit of waiting for customers to come to him and instead took the initiative to go out and promote his products.Under a series of bold reforms, the factory's production efficiency was rapidly enhanced. In less than three years, Zhang Shiping transformed the initially loss-making small factory into the most profitable factory in the national oil and hemp industry.

In 1984, the Fifth Cotton Oil Factory achieved a profit of 4 million yuan, ranking first in the national supply and marketing industry for that year.

In this year, Zhang Ruimin had just become the factory director of the Qingdao Refrigerator Factory. Like Zhang Shiping, he used "iron-fist" methods to swiftly lead the refrigerator factory back on track.

Due to his outstanding performance, in 1985, Zhang Shiping was awarded the title of National Commercial Labor Model and received recognition in Beijing, which became the proudest achievement of his life.

However, soon after, the industry fell into a slump, with an overcapacity in cotton production that was virtually unsellable. Zhang Shiping often faced rejection when he went door to door to sell.What to do? Zhang Shiping thought, if no one is willing to buy, it might as well be self-digested, and start his own textile business.

Saying that, he acted on it. Lacking funds, Zhang Shiping found ways to call on his employees to take shares, and he put all his savings into raising 890,000 yuan in capital, purchasing 52 looms.

A year later, the towel factory was established, and as expected, it made a profit of 250,000 yuan in less than a year. Soon after, he raised more than 10 million yuan to build a spinning factory with 16,000 spindles.

At the same time, he seized the opportunity to establish the Weiqiao Pioneering Group, and what awaited Zhang Shiping was an even broader commercial empire.

For Zhang Shiping, encountering a problem and solving it, and striving to do things to the best of his ability, is his philosophy of action.So when Weqiao Textile was troubled by power rationing during its expansion, his first thought was to build his own power plant.

However, at that time, there was no precedent for private individuals building power plants. The leaders of the power grid found Zhang Shiping and said that if he insisted on building his own power plant, they would no longer supply electricity to Weqiao in the future.

But Zhang Shiping did not give up. Instead, he tried every means to go through the procedures and obtain approval, and finally established a power plant in 1999.

A year later, Weqiao's self-built power plant was completed and put into operation, starting power generation with a 78,000 kilowatt-hour unit, and creating a cogeneration model.

This not only solved its own electricity needs but also reduced costs by one-third compared to the national power grid.Subsequently, the scale of Weichao Textile continued to expand, and its business scope became broader and broader. In 2001, when China joined the WTO, Zhang Shiping seized the opportunity to expand the market globally.

By 2005, Weichao had become the world's largest cotton textile enterprise, with products sold to many countries and regions such as Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea.

Of course, with the development of the power plant, there was an excess of electricity, which could not be used up at all. However, for Zhang Shiping with a business acumen, this was not a problem at all.

Zhang Shiping quickly decided to enter the aluminum electrolysis industry.

Zhang Shiping discovered that in the aluminum electrolysis industry, the cost of electricity accounted for as high as 45%. If he were to undertake it himself, he would definitely be able to defeat competitors in the market.In 2001, Zhang Shiping founded China Hongqiao, focusing on aluminum electrolysis. Subsequently, the first 250,000-ton aluminum electrolysis production line was put into operation.

Leveraging its low-cost advantage, China Hongqiao experienced rapid development. Benefiting from years of accumulated experience, in 2005, Zhang Shiping began to plan for the alumina project.

In order to form a complete industrial chain and achieve "one fish, multiple dishes," Zhang Shiping gradually entered the fields of high-precision aluminum sheet, foil, and new materials, as well as mining. His combination of strategies was hailed by the business community as the "Weiqiao Model."

Zhang Shiping has overcome obstacles in the red ocean market, which was not initially favored, and has established a complete aluminum industry kingdom.In 2011, China Hongqiao was listed in Hong Kong, and the Zhang Shiping family became the "richest in Shandong" with a fortune of 30 billion.

In 2014, China Hongqiao surpassed the giant Rusal to become the world's largest aluminum manufacturer by output.

In an extremely poor environment, Zhang Shiping achieved extraordinary accomplishments, and many people were curious about the secret of his success, but Zhang Shiping said:

"Respect the market, control costs, and improve quality, this is our secret to success."

What others see as a sunset industry, Zhang Shiping has written a commercial myth, and many people have suggested that he venture into real estate and the internet, but Zhang Shiping has rejected them all.He publicly stated: "I made up my mind 10 years ago, never to enter real estate and futures."

In Zhang Shiping's concept, doing business means being "down-to-earth," never engaging in speculative activities:

"Good market conditions, earn a bit more; poor market conditions, earn a bit less."

Smart people know what to do, and those with great wisdom know what not to do.

In the 2017 Hurun Rich List, Zhang Shiping once again topped the list of the richest people in Shandong with a net worth of 65 billion yuan.Despite possessing billions in assets, the veteran entrepreneur is extremely frugal.

He leads a simple life, with his office containing only a desk and a metal cabinet. The snacks on his desk are merely two green radishes and a plate of stir-fried peanuts.

His material demands are minimal; a 200-yuan basic mobile phone can last him a long time. After work, he enjoys returning home to eat meals prepared by his wife, especially corn-based steamed buns.

On one occasion, while dining with a reporter, he accidentally dropped the food from his mouth onto the table. Without a second thought, he picked it up with his hand and ate it, then raised his glass to the reporter in a hearty manner, saying, "Cheers!"

As a big boss, he doesn't even have a secretary. When traveling, if he feels it's unnecessary, he simply grabs his bag and goes alone.He said: "As long as I can carry my own luggage, I don't need anyone else. When I can't carry it anymore, that's when it's time to rest."

He is extremely strict with himself, waking up on time at 4 a.m. and appearing punctually in the lobby for the morning meeting at 6:30 a.m.

However, Zhang Shi Ping, who is so "stingy" with himself, is very generous when it comes to "spoiling" his employees.

Weiqiao has a total of 160,000 employees, with 150,000 of them being farmers. He made a promise to his employees: "A home to live in, care in old age, medical treatment when sick, and education for their children."

To solve the housing issues of his employees, Zhang Shi Ping spent 20 billion yuan to build 7.6 million square meters of self-built housing.To ensure that the entire family can live comfortably, each house has a minimum area of no less than 90 square meters and is sold to employees at half price. If an employee resigns and returns the house, the full payment is refunded.

In addition to building houses, several kindergartens and schools have also been established, allowing employees' children to receive education within the group.

To ensure the enthusiasm of the employees, Zhang Shiping has increased the salaries of his staff 17 times in 6 years, with a cumulative amount exceeding 200 million yuan.

He also set up suggestion boxes within the company to facilitate employees to timely submit their opinions and issues. He said, "Many things that are trivial to me might be a big deal for an individual employee. Therefore, it is necessary to take care of them."

Someone once asked him if he would give up the low-profit textile industry. He firmly replied that he would not, as he could not bear to leave so many employees behind.In the eyes of the employees, this elderly man in his seventies is the head of the family. In Zhang Shibing's eyes, these employees are like his children, in need of his protection.

In 2018, at the age of 72, Zhang Shibing took the initiative to step back from the limelight and handed over the Weigao Pioneering Group to his only son, Zhang Bo.

On May 23, 2019, Zhang Shibing passed away suddenly. This stubborn "ascetic" fought against fate throughout his life, with few defeats.

Taking over the baton from his father, the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people in the Weigao Group was also handed over to Zhang Bo, making the pressure on him so great that he doubted the meaning of life.

In 2017, as a domestic environmental storm approached, Weigao, with its numerous self-owned thermal power plants, was thrust into the spotlight. Subsequently, Weigao announced the shutdown of 2.68 million tons of production capacity, resulting in a loss of 3.166 billion yuan.In November of the same year, Weiqiao was also criticized by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

In addition to this, Weiqiao is also facing a decline in its main business, impact from the capital market, and challenges in corporate growth.

To cope with the crisis, Weiqiao Venture relocated nearly 4 million tons of aluminum electrolysis capacity from Shandong to Yunnan, which is rich in hydropower resources.

Subsequently, Zhang Bo set his sights on car manufacturing, but can Weiqiao succeed in entering the car manufacturing industry?

Zhang Bo's greatest confidence probably lies in Weiqiao's "lightweight automotive layout".In recent years, the trend of using aluminum alloys to replace steel in the automotive field to achieve vehicle lightweighting and to reach energy-saving and environmental protection effects has become increasingly apparent. It is estimated that by 2025, the domestic market space for automotive aluminum alloys will exceed 130 billion, which is precisely Weiqiao's core business.

In October 2021, the first all-aluminum vehicle body of Weiqiao's automotive lightweighting project came off the production line and entered mass production, breaking through more than ten "bottleneck" key technologies.

In January 2023, the large-scale integrated die-casting project of Shandong Hongcan, a subsidiary of Weiqiao, officially started construction, focusing on creating the country's first "aluminum water-die casting-automotive manufacturing-recycling reuse" new demonstration industry chain.

In September, Weiqiao Group invested $1 billion in Shanghai Ke Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. for the production and development of Jishi automotive products. Soon after, the first product of their cooperation, the Jishi 01, was launched.

Nowadays, the competition in the new energy vehicle industry has become increasingly fierce, and it has already entered the elimination round. For Weiqiao, the future challenges are immense.However, for 54-year-old Zhang Bo, there is still time.