By Zuo Chuanwen

   

 

　　 Using this name as the title for writing about Liang Wengen may seem ordinary, but in fact it is far from ordinary; I believe it is deeply meaningful and representative. To be honest, I write about Liang Wengen with boundless respect. Before putting pen to paper, I often thought: everyone has a dream, a beautiful dream of their own. Dreams differ in scale; a small dream is the pursuit of personal ideals, while a great dream embraces the aspirations of the country and the nation. To build one's dream on the foundation of the country and the nation—such a dream is truly great! Therefore, small dreams coming true are often seen and heard of, but pursuing the dream of revitalizing the country and achieving national rejuvenation is difficult! Yet Liang Wengen—a major entrepreneur in today's construction machinery field whose name may be instantly recognized across the industry when "Sany" is mentioned, though perhaps few know who the chairman of Sany is—no matter how you argue, is indeed a person who succeeded in pursuing the dream of revitalizing the nation's manufacturing industry, and a person fully worthy of letting "Made in China" write a world legend! Liang Wengen's dream is a great dream built on the coordinates of the country and the nation, and it is the admirable "Sany" dream.

    　The Origin of the Name "Sany"

    　I had the good fortune to work as a media professional in the construction machinery industry, and that was when I first came into contact with the name "Sany" and learned that it is one of the few giant enterprises in China's construction machinery sector today. As for the fact that Liang Wengen—chairman of Sany—is a delegate to the 17th and 18th National Congresses of the CPC, a deputy to the 8th, 9th, and 10th National People's Congress, and has been named a "National Model Worker," "National Outstanding Private Entrepreneur," "Outstanding Builder of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics," a CCTV "China Economic Person of the Year," and one of Forbes' "Best Bosses of Chinese Listed Companies," among many other top honors—that too I only learned later. Why is an enterprise that has continuously grown stronger in construction machinery manufacturing called "Sany"? To be honest, at first I did not really pay attention to studying this, because I felt that as a media professional in the construction machinery industry, it was enough to report well on industry and enterprise development and operations; there was no need to investigate the origin of a company's name. It was not until later that I偶然 saw some material that truly shocked me, and from then on overturned my thinking. I even felt deeply that my previous thinking had been too simple, too naive, and too unqualified for a media professional—at least not competent as an industry media professional. It is said that when Liang Wengen borrowed money to found the Lianyuan Special Welding Materials Factory, the enterprise was jokingly called a "small shop" by others. Liang Wengen did not take this to heart. He initially defined the enterprise as "build a first-class enterprise, cultivate first-class talent," and had this made into a slogan hung at the factory gate. During the Spring Festival of 1989, the then Secretary of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee inspected Lianyuan and, after seeing the slogan, said: "You must also make first-class contributions." Thus one more was added to the "two first-classes," completing it as the "three first-classes." This grand entrepreneurial vision is the origin of the name "Sany." Why did I say I was shocked when I saw it? Because given the scale and momentum Sany has achieved today, this name was profoundly meaningful from the very beginning—it was a far-sighted strategy, a grand gesture, a major undertaking. From the start it was a dream, the great "Sany" dream embracing the grand ideal of serving the country through industry, and the beginning of a major brand. So that is the origin of the name "Sany"! I could not help but feel respect rising spontaneously, admiring Liang Wengen greatly and praising him endlessly.

   　The Substance of "Sany" Is Praised by All

       Taking an ambitious and lofty name is easy, but living up to it is anything but! In today's world, where there is no shortage of showmanship and grand ambitions that ultimately prove unattainable, Liang Wengen did it: he made "Sany" real and achieved "Sany." Here I need not repeat the brilliant and impressive achievements of Sany that the media have already written about; the three first-classes alone are enough to show that Sany is beyond dispute. As for building a first-class enterprise, in Liang Wengen's own case, he showed his talent in terms of output value from the very beginning. In the 1990s, Liang Wengen, a graduate in materials science from Central South Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (now Central South University), resolutely gave up the "iron rice bowl" and went into business with three like-minded partners. Hard work pays off; before long, his special welding materials reached an output value of over 100 million yuan, profits of tens of millions, and the top market share in a niche segment. Would you not call that a first-class enterprise? If not, then consider: when China saw a high tide of large-scale infrastructure construction, looking around construction sites across the country, they had basically become an "exposition" of imported equipment. In fact, domestic brands did exist, but due to a lack of technology and brands, as soon as products made in China appeared, they seemed to be labeled as inferior in quality. Facing the industry's backward state, Liang Wengen, harboring the ambition that "a strong China cannot be without its own strong equipment manufacturing industry!" held his breath and gave up his special welding materials to enter the construction machinery industry. To date, Sany Heavy Industry Co., Ltd., the core enterprise of the Sany Group, has successfully listed, becoming the first listed private enterprise in Hunan and the first listed private enterprise in China's construction machinery sector. It is also China's largest and the world's fifth-largest construction machinery manufacturer. Is that not first-class? 

    　As for first-class talent, a first-class enterprise itself implies first-class talent. Sany possesses a top comprehensive talent team; without first-class talent, there would be no Sany today. As for first-class contributions, Sany has now grown into an advanced equipment manufacturing enterprise with annual sales of more than 80 billion yuan, total profits and taxes of more than 10 billion yuan, and a market value among the global top 500 listed companies. Sany's products are found in more than 100 countries around the world. Needless to say how many taxes and fees it has paid to the state and how many jobs it has created, Liang Wengen's dream is to cultivate a testing ground for the Chinese national industry and contribute a world-class brand to the Chinese nation. How great is the value of this, which is now, or may even be said already, letting "Made in China" write a world legend? This is precisely why "Sany" is so widely praised.

  　The Aspiration of "Sany": Scaling the Summit

    　The three first-classes are the grand aspiration of "Sany" to become world-class, and also the great "Sany" dream in Liang Wengen's heart. After entering the 21st century, along with the leap in the country's comprehensive strength, the Sany entrepreneurial team came to deeply understand that to make Made in China into Created in China, and to make the Sany brand a world brand, they must go into the global market, compete on the same stage with first-class international companies, and "expand territory" overseas. To go abroad, Sany first cooperated with the American company Deere & Company and acted as an agent for some of its products, until 2001 when Sany's first batch of products—hydraulic graders—were exported to Morocco. Along with product exports, Sany began to lay out globally and set up offices in various places.

    　In 2006, Sany began acquiring land overseas to build factories and create overseas R&D and manufacturing bases. The India plant was the first production base Sany established overseas. Subsequently, Sany invested in and built R&D and manufacturing bases in the United States, Germany, Brazil, and other places, with cumulative overseas investment exceeding US$450 million. In 2010, Sany began implementing the system of overseas base business divisions plus overseas regions, establishing six major international regions: Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East, South Africa, North Africa, and Russia. In 2012, Sany successfully acquired the internationally renowned concrete machinery company Putzmeister of Germany, becoming the undisputed global leader in concrete machinery manufacturing. In 2013, Sany's overseas sales exceeded 10 billion yuan, and internationalization entered an era of comprehensive profitability.

   　 In the process of internationalization, Sany also continuously received cooperation intentions from foreign enterprises, but Liang Wengen always adhered to two points: joint ventures are acceptable, but Sany must not lose its independent brand and corporate control; cooperation is acceptable, but Sany must not lose the right to choose to enter any industry. When Sany's concrete equipment had just begun to show progress, the world's largest construction machinery company—Caterpillar of the United States—extended an olive branch to Sany and sent people to discuss cooperation. They proposed providing advanced technology free of charge to help Sany develop in concrete machinery and other fields, while requiring Sany to promise not to enter the excavator field they dominated in the future.

   　"We refused without hesitation on the spot, because we knew that excavators are the construction machinery product with the largest global sales, and if Sany is truly to become a world-class construction machinery brand, it must enter the excavator field in the future." That is what Liang Wengen told the media, and it is also what he did. Just a few years after the negotiations ended, Sany began independently developing excavators. After eight years, Sany's excavators rose to first place in the Chinese market, breaking the history of the ten major foreign brands, including Caterpillar, monopolizing China's excavator market, and becoming a strong global competitor.

    　Great indeed is "Sany"! Du Fu wrote in a poem: "When I reach the summit, all other mountains will appear small." As I conclude this article, I deeply feel that "Sany" is Liang Wengen's lifelong complex, the condensation of his life, and a life coordinate for an entrepreneur determined to revitalize the national industry, persistently holding on and forever moving forward. This is Liang Wengen's "Sany" dream!