Going Global

Members of the China Elevator Association gathered in Hangzhou to learn more about Xizi Elevator Group.

Earlier this year, an eminent group of elevator-safety specialists, top officers from the China Elevator Association, and other VIPs of the global elevator industry visited Xizi Elevator Group Co. Ltd., part of Xizi United Holding Corp. (UHC), in Hangzhou, China. The visit served as an opportunity for the global industry to learn more about Xizi Elevator, a manufacturer of elevators and elevator components. The company began in 1981 as Hangzhou Xizi Elevator Plant and has steadily grown into a well-balanced company with interests in various fields, including: manufacture of parking systems, cranes, steel structures, elevators and elevator components, along with real-estate development and capital investment.

From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, Xizi Elevators was regarded as one of China’s most successful elevator manufacturers. In March 1997, it formed a joint-venture company with Otis that combined the expertise and technology of an industry leader with the competitive local resources of Xizi Elevators, which helped to push the company into the global market with its range of elevator-related products.

At Xizi Trust Tech, which specializes in the development of elevator drives, control systems and other electronic components, visitors paid close attention to the R&D workers, facilities and strict quality control processes. In the laboratory with China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment, guests witnessed how the company’s emphasis on quality translates to routine production-line processes where R&D results combine with optimized processing technology and quality-control measures. With great interest, Esfandiar Gharibaan, chairman of CEN/TC 10, tested the custom car. He remarked that the user-friendly system is the type of technology customers need so they can choose different styles and options that meet their requirements.

The visiting delegation ascended to the 25th floor of Xizi UHC’s corporate headquarters, where Wang Shuifu, chairman of Xizi UHC, spoke on the company’s status and strategic goals. The primary goal is to go global by making Xizi Elevator a provider of components for leading elevator manufacturers around the world. The guests spoke highly of the company’s workshops, laboratories and focus on quality control. Ian Todkill, chairman of Pacific Asia Lift and Escalator Association, commented:

”We are proud [to] have such an elevator-component manufacturer in Asia. What impressed me most [was] the employees’ dedication to [their] work and [the] great care [they take] in every. . . detail.”

The concept of providing energy-efficient products has served as a guideline for Xizi’s development and been integrated into its practices. For example, corporate headquarters sees an energy savings of up to 65%, while its permanent-magnet synchronization (PMS) machines save up to 44%.

Yang Zhihua, general manager of Xizi Forward Electrical Machinery, showed the visitors around the Xizi Forward production lines and laboratories, which specialize in driving motors and traction machines. A large machine in the showroom caught the visitors’ attention. According to Zhihua, the machine was designed for high-speed elevators traveling up to 7 mps and capable of considerable energy savings. With great interest, a number of visitors joined Zhihua to calculate how much energy the machine could save. They agreed that the PMS traction machine could significantly contribute to the environmentally conscious global environment.

Throughout the tour, guests discussed Xizi’s R&D strength and commitment to quality. According to Chen Gang, managing director of Xizi UHC, these are the fundamental factors for company development: the company must hold to high-quality products as a basic strategy to gain an edge in the market, for which continued technical innovation is necessary. With strong market competition, the company must determine the mechanism to best encourage innovation. Xizi’s motivational mechanism is to let customer needs guide innovation. While pursuing the production of environmentally friendly products, efforts have been made to cater to the diversified needs of users. By providing customers with more options in product configuration, thorough after-sales service and project-engineering solutions, Xizi Elevator Group has earned customer loyalty, which, in turn, enhances the company’s competitive edge.

According to Gang, the criterion used to judge whether an innovation is successful is to study its performance in the marketplace. At Xizi Elevator, the understanding of Peter Drucker’s management theory is so deeply rooted in practice that priority has been given to customer interest and satisfaction. Gang adds, “We regard customer needs as our guideline and have them integrated in [our] operation processes, maximizing customer value by means of market-oriented innovation solutions.”

To maintain a competitive edge in the global market, Xizi’s R&D team must continue making breakthroughs in the development of its own products, always aiming for the leading market-demand technologies in the elevator industry. However, it’s possible Xizi could achieve more through cooperation than competition. The company has made ties with domestic and international business partners, and even competitors. Cooperation is considered a cornerstone of the company’s global strategy, which sees one party sharing resources and experience, while obtaining support in the other party’s home market. Seeking worldwide cooperation has strengthened Xizi’s reputation, especially in the high-profile product sector and global market.

Miao Jianning, sales executive at Xizi Elevator, said that even when a product is sold, the work is not complete. Continued attention should be paid to if and how the products meet customer requirements. Xizi’s concern is not only over the component’s operational safety and reliability, but also its long-term lifecycle. He added, “To go global in [a] real sense, our efforts must be based on. . . first-rate product and service quality, merging ourselves into the valued supply chains of the international elevator business.”