A business that finds its opportunities looking up
Print Edition
When Lan Yangchun graduated from college, he had a different dream from most of his schoolmates. He wanted to open a company manufacturing the gondolas used to clean high-rise windows.
After several years’ work experience on machine design, Lan and several friends came to Minhang, where they founded a company with an investment of 100,000 yuan (US$16,110).
Now, 20 years on, Lan’s Shanghai Point High-Rise Equipment Co has become a supplier across China and in Europe, East Asia and the Middle East.
“Our success has rested on the understanding of building owners,” said Lan. “I feel sorry for the owners who had to endure our earliest products.”
In the beginning, Lan said he had only a vague idea how a window-cleaning unit worked. He started to do research from scratch.
“I just believed that China was in the full throes of rapid development and there would be countless high-rises mushrooming all over the country that needed this sort of machine,” he said.
The company tried to do several things all at once. It was developing products, studying the market, looking for clients and seeking business partners. At one point, Lan had only 2,000 yuan left in his pocket.
But he persevered by keeping a clear focus on what a good window-cleaning gondola needed to be: absolutely safe and made of anti-rust materials. At that time, the industry was already mature in Japan and Germany, so customers imported the machines.
“I was not the only one in China trying to make a domestic machine,” he said. “So we faced pressure from both at home and abroad.”
The No. 1 Yaohan Department Store in the Pudong New Area was the company’s first client.
“The owners of the building, who must be about 80 years old now, gave us our first real opportunity,” said Lan. “I will always be grateful to them.”
From that point forward, the company started to prosper. Lan and his team stressed top quality in every gondola they made. They won prestige clients like the Shanghai Securities Tower and the Zijinshan Tower in Nanjing.
“We always believed that our product design wasn’t inferior to imported products, but there was always a quality gap in some parts and the steel we used,” said Lan. “In recent years, improvements in the domestic manufacturing industry gave us stronger competitiveness.”
Last year, the company managed to secure about one-third of domestic orders in the 750 million yuan industry. It has opened a new plant in Pinghu, Zhejiang Province.
Meanwhile, Lan has become something of an authority in the industry. He participated in the committee drafting national standards for window-cleaning gondolas.
He said the company’s secret of success is to stick to the basics.
“We never cheat on materials or construction, and we offer competitive prices,” he said. “We don’t allow our clients to remove or change parts by themselves because we are ultimately responsible for the safety and functioning of the machine.”
Lan isn’t content to rest on his laurels.
“I always tell my employees that running a company is like being a farmer,” he said.
He explained “Success comes from hard work rather than adopting shortcuts to save money. When I walk down the street and look up at high rises, I sometimes recognize our gondolas high up there. Every time I see one that is not, I remind myself that there is still work to do.”
Lan said he believes the market still holds great prospects.
“I think there are still many companies that are not familiar with gondolas, and that’s our opportunity,” he said.
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