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November 1, 2015

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TE aims to expand with team play of engineers

By Leng Cheng | November 1, 2015, Sunday | Print Edition

AS the world’s leading provider on connectivity and sensor solutions, TE Connectivity chalked up nearly one fifth of its US$12 billion global business in China and will expand its investment footprint to the destination amid promising demand, Zhang Chao, TE Connectivity global vice president, president of TE Connectivity China and vice president of Human Resources, told Shanghai Daily.

Being the top maker for the industry with a history of 27 years in China, TE didn’t hesitate about taking root in China and will continuously do so in the future, Zhang said.

TE extended the capability of its factory in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province earlier this year, and plans to put another new plant in Suzhou into operation by the end of 2015. TE now has 20 existing production bases across China.

Zhang said those moves reflected TE’s strong confidence in the growth of China, even amid the biggest economic turbulence in 25 years.

“Whether talking about the market’s potential growth or talent’s capability, TE should and will continuously give priority to China,” Zhang said, adding that growing awareness of the “Internet of Things” in China is in line with TE’s interest.

With nearly 5 percent of annual sales allocated into research and development,
TE is also striving to cultivate nearly 2,100 engineers in China to push for innovation. That includes specialized training for Chinese engineers and TE’s internal mechanism to stimulate innovative ideas.

“We designed tailor-made training programs for Chinese engineers to help them enhance communications skills, organize internal competition to facilitate vertical and horizontal cooperation between engineers from different countries,” Zhang said, noting
that China has its own Engineers’ Day Event.

As an example under the mechanism, TE’s engineers are also working together with FIA Formula E teams, researching and developing connectors and sensors which can be used under harsh conditions such as high vibration and temperature.

Innovation index

Besides, with the “2015 China Engineers’ Innovation Index” released in September, the engineering company joined hands with Electronic Technology Information Research Institute (ETIRI), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, to discover the innovation capability of Chinese engineers and examine the challenges they face in innovation and engineering.

By interviewing 1,219 engineers across the country between June 2014 and June 2015, the research studied trends from various perspectives including geographic location, industry,
age, gender and performance. The index found that Chinese engineers are enthusiastic about innovation and have substantial innovation experience.

However, they need formalized help to enable more innovation. Significantly,most engineers hope to further stimulate their own innovation potential with support from enterprises, the report showed.

“For future improvement of providing better environment for engineers, we are also considering giving reforms in terms of employment management.The company has the obligation letting more opportunities for junior engineers to take part in national level programs, and help them increase their innovative motivation to a higher stage,” Zhang said.

Furthermore, TE focused on treating female engineers in an unbiased manner to stimulate their capacity that might have been underestimated. It has more than 15 percent of women in the engineer community, and aims to push that figure forward to display more of their technical ability and working efficiency.

Zhang said: “Innovation is a systematic work that needs team play. TE is working on that step by step and foresees a better working atmosphere for all of our engineers.”

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