From a Nun's Temple Starting with 100 Yuan, He Quietly Built the Global Number One

Ask AI: How did Zhang Jingzhang achieve the counterattack from grassroots to a global plastic machinery giant?

Author: Mu Long Xian Ren

Source: Most Chinese (ID: wcweekly)

People often use the “Sweeping Monk” from martial arts novels to describe those who are low-key in daily life but possess extraordinary skills.

In the business world, there is also a kind of “Sweeping Monk”—they hold the largest market share in their respective niche but are not well known to the public, known as industry “hidden champions.”

Chinese plastic machinery giant—Haitian Group—is a typical representative.

Haitian Group (Ningbo Haitian Group Co., Ltd.) is one of the world’s largest injection molding machine manufacturers, ranked first in global production for over 20 consecutive years.

Many plastic parts we come into contact with daily—such as Gree air conditioner casings, Haier refrigerator shells, Honda car dashboards, and mobile phone shells manufactured by Foxconn—are produced by Haitian injection molding machines.

It’s like a tiny screw in China’s manufacturing industry—you hardly notice its existence, but its role is crucial.

Interestingly, in the past, Haitian Group was just a small workshop with only 100 yuan in working capital, built in a dilapidated nun’s temple.

Now, it can compete with international giants, all thanks to one person—the soul of Haitian Group—Zhang Jingzhang.

Zhang Jingzhang

A Poor and Struggling Small Factory

As the leader who built Haitian Group from scratch, Zhang Jingzhang never takes credit. He often places himself very low and humbly hands over honors to his employees.

He said, “I just give ideas; the wealth of the enterprise is created bit by bit by the employees.”

Therefore, in Zhang Jingzhang’s view, the enterprise has two “gods”: one is the customer, and the other is the employee.

Zhang Jingzhang was born in 1937 in a small village in Ningbo, Zhejiang. He lost his father at age 6 and relied on relatives and his mother for support.

To stand out, Zhang Jingzhang studied hard and was admitted to Ningbo Agricultural School. Later, responding to the national call, he returned to his hometown to farm and was elected as the production team leader.

Due to his diligent and responsible work, in 1970, at age 33, Zhang Jingzhang became the director of Jiangnan Agricultural Machinery Factory, which was the predecessor of Haitian Group.

Early Photos of Haitian Group Entrepreneurs

The founding of Jiangnan Agricultural Machinery Factory dates back to 1966.

At that time, Ningbo Jiangnan People’s Commune responded to the call for “rural communes to focus on agriculture and, when conditions permit, to run small collective factories,” and established Jiangnan Agricultural Machinery Factory.

Although nominally an agricultural machinery factory, it was more like a small workshop—located in a dilapidated nun’s temple, only 30 square meters, with assets consisting of four rusty, incomplete instrument lathes and 100 yuan in working capital.

The factory was struggling; when Zhang Jingzhang took over, it was barely able to sustain itself.

To keep the workers fed, he led the team to take on any business.

They produced agricultural tools like sickles and hoes, processed cotton and farm machinery parts, screws, nuts—anything that could make money.

They dug up stone slabs from ruins to make workbenches; repaired discarded machine parts from scrap heaps to use as equipment.

Gradually, the factory started to improve, solving everyone’s basic needs.

But Zhang Jingzhang also realized that their products were too diverse, lacked stable sales channels, and had no core products to compete in the market.

The turning point came with a pair of delicate plastic sandals.

The Shoes That Changed Fate

Summer 1972, Zhang Jingzhang met a female commune clerk returning from a business trip in Shanghai. He saw her wearing a fashionable pair of plastic sandals.

At that time, most farmers still wore straw sandals, which easily rotted and tore after working in the fields, wading through water, or walking on gravel roads.

Zhang Jingzhang had never seen plastic sandals before and learned that they were made using a machine called an injection molding machine.

He quickly realized that plastic products had enormous business potential and began to focus on machinery that produced plastics, sending people to learn.

“At first, we attended industry exhibitions three days early. Because back then, the booths displayed disassembled machine parts rather than complete machines. We each focused on one part, studied carefully, then went back to make and assemble ourselves,” Zhang Jingzhang recalled.

After more than a year of study and experimentation, they succeeded.

In 1973, Zhang Jingzhang led his team to successfully produce the first 60-gram right-angle injection molding machine. When this machine hummed and produced the first pair of plastic sandals, it caused a huge sensation far and wide.

Haitian’s First Injection Molding Machine

In an era when plastic sandals were still rare, few believed that a rural workshop could develop and produce an injection molding machine—an incredible achievement.

This marked the beginning of Zhang Jingzhang’s lifelong relationship with injection molding machines, and he focused deeply on this industry for decades.

They quickly developed a 30-gram hydraulic injection molding machine, then tackled 400-gram hydraulic models, and renamed Jiangnan Agricultural Machinery Factory to “Ningbo First Plastic Machinery Factory,” selling injection molding machines across the country.

In 1985, Zhang Jingzhang officially registered the “Haitian” trademark.

The 1985 Haitian Trademark Registration

The name “Haitian” is grand and majestic, perhaps reflecting Zhang Jingzhang’s optimistic outlook: the enterprise is as vast as the ocean and as high as the blue sky.

Embarking on Overseas Expansion

In 1989, Zhang Jingzhang took Haitian injection molding machines to international markets at industry exhibitions. This was Haitian’s first step outside China, aiming for globalization.

He told employees: “We must actively move forward, not just stay within China… To go global, Haitian must see the world from a global perspective and meet international standards. We believe in our products and aim to conquer one country after another.”

Haitian’s First Exported Injection Molding Machine

In 1994, Ningbo First Plastic Machinery Factory restructured into Ningbo Haitian Co., Ltd., with Zhang Jingzhang as chairman.

That same year, Haitian’s injection molding machine output ranked first nationwide, securing its position as the industry leader.

Subsequently, Zhang Jingzhang accelerated international expansion.

In 2001, Haitian established a subsidiary in Turkey, opening the door to the European market, and later set up subsidiaries, technical centers, and manufacturing plants in Brazil, Germany, Japan, Vietnam, and other countries.

With excellent product performance and high cost-effectiveness, Haitian quickly penetrated global markets.

By 2003, Haitian’s injection molding machine production ranked first in the world.

Factory of Haitian Injection Molding Machines

The tremendous success in injection molding machines did not make Zhang Jingzhang complacent. He noticed that, whether in injection molding or CNC machine tools, the core motors had to be imported from abroad, always facing the risk of being “cut off.”

To break the monopoly of high-end industrial mother machines, Zhang Jingzhang decided to enter the closely related field of CNC machine tools.

In 2002, Haitian Precision was established, focusing on R&D and manufacturing of mid-to-high-end CNC machine tools.

He recruited top technical talent from both domestic and international machine tool industries. After more than 20 years of development, Haitian Precision has become a leading enterprise in China’s high-end CNC machine tool sector, awarded the “National Key High-Tech Enterprise,” playing a significant role in domestic substitution.

“True Revival of China Depends on Industry”

In 2006, on the 40th anniversary of the company’s founding, Zhang Jingzhang led Haitian International to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; ten years later, in 2016, he led Haitian Precision to ring the bell on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Zhang Jingzhang Leading Haitian Precision’s Listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange

Holding two listed companies, both leading in their respective fields, is very rare nationwide.

Later, Zhang Jingzhang also founded Haitian Drive, Haitian Metals, and Haitian Zhilian.

Haitian Drive focuses on servo motors, servo drives, and more than ten other products; Haitian Metals specializes in various series of die-casting machines, leading in domestically produced high-end die-casting equipment; Haitian Zhilian provides intelligent solutions and services covering production processes for enterprises.

In 2022, Haitian Group’s sixth major industry—Haitian Optical Machinery—was officially established, focusing on laser processing, aiming to become a global high-quality laser machine manufacturer.

Thus, Haitian Group’s six major sectors have taken shape, forming a relatively complete mechanical industry ecosystem, with products sold in over 130 countries and regions, and total assets exceeding 32 billion yuan.

Haitian Group

It’s evident that whether in injection molding, CNC lathes, die-casting machines, or laser equipment, Zhang Jingzhang has been rooted in manufacturing for decades.

During China’s booming real estate period, many advised him to venture into real estate and finance, claiming those were faster ways to make money.

Zhang Jingzhang refused. He said, “Virtual economy is impressive, but true revival of China depends on industry.”

With this belief, Zhang Jingzhang led Haitian Group steadily along a prudent development path.

Even during the global financial crisis, the group’s solid financial health gave employees confidence.

In 2023, at age 86, Zhang Jingzhang resigned from his roles as Executive Director of Haitian International and Chairman of Haitian Precision, passing the baton to his eldest son, Zhang Jianming. Currently, Haitian International is led by Chairman Zhang Jianming, with grandson Zhang Bin as CEO, and second son Zhang Jianfeng as Executive Vice President. Haitian has entered a new stage of “three generations managing together.”

Employees Are “God”

Some say Haitian Group’s rise was due to catching the right wind.

Specifically, it’s said Haitian started with injection molding machines, and in the 1990s, when China’s consumer market was booming and demand for plastic products surged, Haitian seized a great opportunity.

This view isn’t wrong but underestimates Zhang Jingzhang’s ability.

In fact, during the years of industry prosperity, some well-established companies failed to capitalize on the trend.

The industry once spoke of the “Four Great Kings,” but now all have disappeared, showing how fierce the competition was.

Why could the then-unknown Haitian Group rise?

One very important reason is Zhang Jingzhang’s strong personal charisma.

Zhang Jingzhang (Second from Left)

Zhang Jingzhang often talks about the “two gods” theory: Haitian Group has two “gods”—one is the customer, and the other is the employee.

In his view, since employees are gods, they must be treated as such.

As early as around 2005, the annual income of frontline employees at Haitian Group exceeded 60,000 yuan. Single employees had company-provided apartments; married employees could buy housing at cost price after ten years of service.

Zhang Jingzhang explained these policies: “Employees are also people. They work hard all day, and they need a warm environment when they go home.”

He doesn’t make empty promises but genuinely implements employee benefits.

Initially, many didn’t understand his approach, but gradually, the subtlety of these policies became clear—

Manufacturing large injection molding machines requires skilled workers. Without one or two years of experience, it’s impossible. Zhang Jingzhang fostered a strong cohesion among employees, ensuring team stability, which significantly improved product quality and labor efficiency.

Moreover, under his leadership, Haitian Group’s core team has remained very stable over the years, with no high-level departures, preserving the company’s vitality.

Employees Operating Haitian Injection Molding Machines

When the factory’s performance improved, many locals wanted their children to work there.

Most were from nearby villages; choosing whom to leave in was a delicate matter—offending some could be risky.

Zhang Jingzhang set a rule to cleverly resolve this: “Children from poor families get priority.”

This not only created employment opportunities for children from poor families but also allowed others to save face. Small details reveal Zhang Jingzhang’s wisdom in handling relationships.

From a dilapidated small factory in a nun’s temple to an industrial empire spanning over 130 countries and regions, Zhang Jingzhang’s story is a classic example of grassroots rising to greatness.

Throughout his decades in business, his core philosophy has never wavered: employees are the foundation of enterprise development. Only by prioritizing employee happiness can the entire team be united to forge ahead with a strong collective will.

After all, a truly solid business empire is never built on fleeting opportunities but deeply rooted in the most solid soil.

Today, nearly ninety years old, Zhang Jingzhang has stepped back from the front lines, but his personally crafted management philosophy—employees are the core of enterprise development—has become deeply embedded in Haitian’s DNA.

References:

[1]. “Dialogue with the Yangtze River Delta Champions | Haitian Plastic Machinery: Breaking the Ceiling to Achieve ‘World Number One’”, Southern Network

[2]. “Joy in Sharing with Others—Impressions of Haitian Group Chairman Zhang Jingzhang”, China Mechanical and Electrical Industry

[3]. “Zhang Jingzhang: From 100 Yuan to Building a ‘Plastic Machinery Kingdom’”, Southeast Business Daily

[4]. “Salute to the First Generation of Private Entrepreneurs Series—Haitian Zhang Jingzhang: Using a Lifetime to Perfect an Industry”, Ningbo Federation of Industry and Commerce