Business Elites' Profile(1)
厦门外企精英访谈录之一

Editor's note:
As one of the earliest Chinese cities that opened to the outside world, Xiamen has attracted investment from numerous foreign enterprises, including quite a number of the World's Top 500 Corporations. They have made great contributions to the economic development of this International Garden City. Beginning this issue, Common Talk will publish a series of interviews with top management of well-known multi-national corporations located in Xiamen. These interviews will be aimed at covering their work and life in Xiamen, the corporations' development and the significant influence they have exerted on the city's economic development.
编者按:
厦门作为中国改革开放的前沿城市,吸引了众多的外资企业前来投资,其中不乏世界500强企业,它们对厦门经济的发展做出了巨大贡献.从本期开始,Common Talk将连续推出"厦门外企精英系列访谈",旨在介绍他们在厦门生活和工作经历,企业在厦门成长发展的状况,以及对厦门外向型经济发展所产生的重要影响.
本期推出的第一位人物是林德厦门叉车有限公司的总经理海因里希·温策尔先生.自1993年该公司在厦门成立起,温策尔先生就开始担任总经理职务.十几年来,目睹了林德厦门的成长历程.

Quality is our lifeline
By Yayu Wu & Enid Chen
Photos by Yao Fan



Name: Heinrich W. Winzl
Nationality: Austrian
Position: General Manager, Linde-Xiamen Forklift Truck Co Ltd

Linde's lifeline: quality
Q: In May, Linde launched a "Trans-China Linde Forklift Truck Rally". How did you come up with this creative idea and what kind of influence will this event exert on the company?
A: First of all, Linde brand has become widely known nowadays. So now we want to put the truck in a very difficult environment, to show the high-quality product to the people and let them recognize it. In this Trans-China Rally, a Linde forklift truck will go all the way from the northern city Harbin down to the south part of China-Shenzhen, which measures 6,600 km. The truck will arrive in Shenzhen this September.
Throughout China the roads are not always in good condition. The forklift truck has to undergo all kinds of weather conditions and will be tested completely. If such a truck can survive this, it can easily survive in nice weather conditions because usually they only go forward and backward in the factory, which is a pretty simple job. We know the truck's quality and we know it can succeed, but we want other people to recognize it because it will be under the spotlight and we cannot hide anything.

Q: So is Linde-Xiamen the first company to organize such a rally?
A: Yes. It's the first time in the world, not only in Xiamen or China and we are going to apply for the Guinness Book of World Records if it succeeds. As for the customers, they might not know which brand of forklift truck is good or bad. But now since we are doing this, we will prove to them that Linde is the No. 1 manufacturer and distributor of high-quality forklift trucks in China.

Q: On the occasion of Linde-Xiamen's tenth anniversary last year, Dr. Schmohl (Member of the Board of Linde Group) kept emphasizing that Linde's lifeline is quality, quality and quality.
A: That's true. When Linde-Xiamen was first established in 1993, there were many local brands with low prices. There were so many products of such a kind that China did not need even one more. So we made up our mind that we would go into the Chinese market with a quality product instead of a cheap one. Let them produce cheap ones while we build quality ones.
Since we have been in the market, lots of things have changed. The others copy us and both their designs and styles become better. In ten years, they might develop again further, but we will still be in the leading market position. We are doing a lot of things to make sure that Linde will always be ahead of all the other competitors.

Prospect of Linde-Xiamen
Q: So what do you think Linde-Xiamen will become in ten years?
A: One thing is for sure, Linde will be the main player in this market. Second, when Linde comes to people's minds, they will think about quality and service. We are already covering all Chinese provinces. In the future, our network will go even deeper into the country, closer to our customers.

Q: Is Linde Group going to make more investment in Xiamen?
A: Definitely. There will be more investment in China, particularly in Xiamen. We will for sure expand our business, not only in the material handling business, but also the other fields and not only in Xiamen, but also all over China. Our current success in China ensures further investment. Meanwhile, China is very attractive at the moment. In the last couple of years, the whole world has been eyeing China. If you look ahead in the coming ten years, the whole thing will definitely change completely. The Chinese market is booming and Linde-Xiamen will become a major part of the Linde Group.

Personal experience
Q: Since you are an expert with 26 years' experience in the material handling industry in Europe and the USA, why did you decide to come to China where you had to start from ground zero 12 years ago?
A: The first priority is a very interesting and challenging task. To build up a large factory and spread our business throughout the country from ground zero with nothing was a challenging and interesting thing. This is a chance that not many people have. Xiamen helped me because it is nice staying here. My hometown in Austria shares a lot of similarities with Xiamen. It's also a nice place for music with beautiful scenery.
But on the other hand, I would probably not have stayed here for 12 years if there had been no challenge. Somehow I'm an adventurer. When I left Europe, where life was comfortable and settled, I had to adapt to a whole new situation here in which I started a company. You never know what is waiting for you ahead and everything is completely different. When I first came here, Saturday was also a working day. We worked from Monday to Saturday. It was a very tough job at the beginning.

Q: What is the most important qualification for being a successful top manager from your point of view?
A: First and foremost, a top manager should be able to find the right employees, which is the most delicate issue in a company and the biggest asset. If you have the right people, your life will be easier. Otherwise, it will be very difficult.
Secondly, never give up when you encounter complicated issues. I'm the kind of person who likes problems and difficult issues, which I'm dealing with every day. We learn to find the solutions by experience over the years. Many managers are failing because they give up too quickly.

Q: What are your hobbies after work?
A: I enjoy Chinese music, culture and the food here and I do some sports. I feel I'm part of the environment here. But still I have my own way of living. I also read books about European and American literature.