At the BICES 2013 exhibition, Shantui, appearing under the business philosophy of “Value Leadership, Win-Win Future,” released its all-new Plus series bulldozers. Xu Gang, Deputy General Manager of Shantui Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., gave a detailed introduction to the new Plus products. Taking this opportunity, the author interviewed Deputy General Manager Xu Gang and held an in-depth discussion with him about Shantui's Plus series bulldozers and the story behind them.

 

　　New Plus Products Attract Attention

 

　　Shantui's latest product, the SD32plus crawler bulldozer, impressed many industry peers. When speaking of this product, Xu Gang's confidence was evident. “Although Shantui bulldozers rank among the best in the industry and have obvious technical advantages, we cannot therefore rest on our laurels and stop striving for progress.” As for the development background of Shantui's new Plus series bulldozers, Xu Gang said that although the industry situation is currently sluggish, enterprises cannot reduce investment in R&D, nor can they stop pursuing excellence in product performance.

 

　　Indeed, it is precisely this persistent pursuit of product quality and performance that has produced Shantui's impressive sales results. According to Xu Gang, in 2013, when the industry was still depressed and host-machine enterprises faced numerous difficulties, Shantui's bulldozer sales and market share both grew—a miracle, so to speak.

 

　　However, Xu Gang believes that in addition to the pursuit of high-quality products, the support and care of customers are also the driving force spurring Shantui to keep innovating. “In fact, Shantui's current achievements all depend on the support of our customers. Shantui is very grateful for this, and customers' care also fills Shantui with the motivation to move forward. Compared with the previous generation, the new Plus series bulldozers launched this time have significantly improved in energy efficiency, reliability, safety, and other aspects. This is also our way of giving back to users with good products.” According to the author's understanding, although the new Shantui Plus series bulldozers have greatly improved in performance, the price of the complete machine, the prices of related spare parts, and related services have not undergone major adjustments, which also indirectly demonstrates Shantui's sincere return to its users.

 

　　According to Deputy General Manager Xu Gang, the Shantui SD32plus crawler bulldozer exhibited this time is only one of the new Plus series bulldozers; Shantui has already completed the development of the entire Plus series. “During the equipment testing stage, Shantui delivered eight trial vehicles to eight users with different working conditions, and further revised and improved the Shantui Plus series through users' experience. Judging from user feedback, satisfaction with the Plus series bulldozers is quite high.” From the on-site response to the Shantui SD32plus crawler bulldozer at BICES 2013, the Plus series is indeed extraordinary.

 

　　According to the reporter's understanding, Shantui's Plus series bulldozers mainly include four products: SD13plus, SD16plus, SD22plus, and SD32plus. The Plus series bulldozers extensively absorb advanced technologies in the contemporary bulldozer field. In response to customers' diverse requirements for bulldozer performance and configuration, through technological innovation and the adoption of new technologies and processes, the main technical parameters, component configuration, reliability, comfort, maintainability, and other aspects have all been comprehensively improved.

 

　　Technological Innovation Shows Results

 

　　As a leading enterprise in China's machinery manufacturing industry, Shantui has consistently insisted on cultivating and developing independent innovation capability since its establishment. Through years of effort, Shantui now owns 513 patents of various types and 6 copyrights, and has formed multiple core technologies in areas such as bulldozers, road machinery, concrete machinery, fire trucks, four-wheel and track assemblies, hydraulic torque converters, and transmissions. As the leader of Shantui's technological innovation, Xu Gang believes that Shantui has now explored a technological innovation path suited to its development.

 

　　“Shantui products adhere to two orientations: one is technology-oriented, and the other is market-oriented.” Xu Gang believes that Shantui's long-term goal is to become a “century-old brand,” which requires sustained technology and products as support and requires Shantui's technological innovation and R&D capabilities to keep improving. Under the long-term strategy, Shantui will launch products that meet user needs in a timely manner according to specific times and specific market conditions—that is, market-oriented.

 

　　“Being market-oriented requires Shantui to develop one generation and reserve one generation of products based on international cutting-edge technology. In this way, the R&D and verification cycle for Shantui products is greatly advanced, and the time to market for new products is greatly shortened. This is a win-win situation, whether for enhancing Shantui's competitiveness or for enabling users to use better products to improve efficiency.”

 

　　In fact, in addition to high-quality innovative products, Shantui has never stopped its R&D efforts in key components such as bulldozer transmissions, torque converters, hydraulic parts, and crawler undercarriages. “In research on key components such as hydraulics and transmissions, Shantui is also proceeding step by step. Only in this way can Shantui ensure that its products always maintain leadership in every technical aspect.” Xu Gang said. Through technological innovation, Shantui upgrades mature products and develops new products, continuously increases investment in R&D of core components, and vigorously develops key technologies and core technologies with independent intellectual property rights, achieving technological breakthroughs in advantageous fields and technological leaps in key areas. Professional scientific research and technology also solidly reflect Shantui's determination to create value for users.

 

　　Talent and Management Advance Together

 

　　An industry leader once said that in today's market, competition among various types of equipment is ultimately competition in advanced technology, and competition in advanced technology is ultimately competition for talent. The importance of talent to enterprises is evident.

 

　　Regarding talent, Xu Gang said that Shantui has already carried out much effective work in talent introduction and cultivation, and in the future Shantui will further increase investment in talent.

 

　　It is reported that in talent cultivation and introduction, Shantui conducts closed-door training for middle-level cadres every year and carries out quantitative assessments of cadres according to four modules: “task performance, management effectiveness, recognition, and corporate culture.” At the same time, in talent introduction, Shantui adapts to local conditions, localizes talent use, actively promotes the whole-unit introduction model, enhances the talent aggregation effect, implements echelon training, and optimizes the talent structure. “Outstanding talent is the cornerstone of Shantui's continuous innovation. We insist on gathering talent through multiple channels to ensure that Shantui's technology always stands at the world's forefront. For example, we have strategic cooperative relationships with many well-known domestic and foreign enterprises and institutions, and often organize employees to study in countries and enterprises at the industry frontier to improve our overall quality.” Xu Gang said.

 

　　In management, Shantui continuously improves the quality of new products and the pace of R&D. Since 2012, Shantui headquarters and Shantui Chutian Company have successively established new product trial production centers and product verification centers, and set up test bases in Heilongjiang, Shanghai, Wuhan, and other places to conduct complete-machine test verification, data information collection, test vehicle maintenance, improvement of test vehicle problems, and complete-machine performance testing. In terms of quality, Shantui vigorously carries out the “6X” quality improvement activity; optimizes the supply chain system project and establishes full-process control; establishes the SQS quality system to continuously improve key points and ultimately satisfy users. In terms of service, Shantui continuously increases maintenance efforts for major customers, making users proud to use “Shantui” products. At the same time, it strengthens after-sales service work, improves the after-sales service system, increases the density of market service personnel, and establishes the Shantui Customer Support Center, whose main work is parts supply, technical training, and technical service. In 2012, Shantui proposed the commitment of “12 months of warranty service throughout the year with no limit on working hours,” bringing a revolution in service concepts to China's construction machinery industry, especially the bulldozer and road roller industries.

 

　　However, these dazzling achievements only represent the past. “The launch of Shantui's 2013 ‘Quality Improvement Year’ activity marks that Shantui's requirements for quality have entered a higher stage.” Xu Gang said, “This requires us not only to be stricter in product quality requirements, but also to comprehensively upgrade internal management, product marketing, maintenance services, and other aspects.”

 

　　Although the industry was still hovering at a low level in 2013, it is believed that under the guidance of the business philosophy of “Value Leadership, Win-Win Future,” Shantui—with independent innovation, hard work on internal strength, and efforts to improve product quality—will surely lead the development of China's construction machinery industry and stand tall in the forest of the world's construction machinery industry.