Deep Affection at Tiangong
When it comes to Tiangong International Company Limited, it is not only well-known to people in Zhenjiang but also renowned across Jiangsu Province, the whole country, and even the world.
It is "large" – with more than 4,000 employees, it is the only enterprise in Zhenjiang listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and also the first enterprise in China listed in Hong Kong integrating high-speed steel and high-speed steel cutting tools.
It is "high-end Positioning" – with 38 national patents, many domestic and foreign experts, and hundreds of technical talents, it gathers a large number of scientific and technological elites in the national high-speed steel, mould steel, and cutting tool industries.
It is "strong" – its two major product categories (special steel and tools) take a leading position in the industry at home and abroad. Its annual output of rare earth high-speed tool steel ranks first in the world. Its high-speed steel cutting tools are exported to more than 50 countries and regions, serving over 160 manufacturers and retailers. Its twist drills account for one-third of China's export market in this category.
It is "fast-developing" – it has grown from an obscure small hardware factory to a world-renowned Tiangong International in just over 20 years, which can be called an economic miracle. Today, Tiangong is striding forward towards its goals: achieving annual sales of over RMB 10 billion and profits and taxes of over RMB 1 billion in another 2-3 years, and building itself into a world-class brand company ranking first in the global special steel and tool industries within about 10 years...
Among all these dazzling honors, the most shining yet most down-to-earth, the most commendable yet most easily overlooked one is its "affection" – family affection, hometown affection, and social friendship.
Deep Family Affection: Treating Employees Well and Implementing Humanized Management
Modern human capital theory reveals that whether employees have a sense of belonging to the enterprise will greatly affect their work enthusiasm and ultimately the economic benefits of the enterprise. If an enterprise retains its employees, it retains its wealth and hope.
At Tiangong International, "treating employees well" has always been regarded as a fundamental principle of the company, and employee management is marked with the label of "humanization" in all aspects. The entire enterprise is like a big family, full of centripetal force.
To ensure that employees can give full play to their talents, Tiangong has formulated a sound internal talent employment system and incentive mechanism. Employees are assigned positions based on their strengths, and receive rewards corresponding to their contributions. Every Tiangong employee has truly found their own position and a place to display their personal talents here.
To ensure that employees receive due rewards for their work, Tiangong closely links employee benefits with enterprise development. As the enterprise's performance grows, employees' incomes increase simultaneously. According to statistics, the average monthly salary of employees is approximately RMB 2,000. For senior employees who have worked for more than two years, Tiangong has specially set up the "Seniority Award for Frontline Employees" – an additional seniority reward is given based on their total annual salary for each additional year of service. For employees who are particularly hardworking and diligent, Tiangong holds an annual selection activity of "Top 100 Migrant Production Models of Tiangong". Those selected receive a one-time reward of approximately RMB 1,000 and a monthly salary increase of RMB 50. Since 2004, Tiangong has selected 10 households of migrant employees as "Honorary Villagers of Qianxiang Village" every year. Both spouses of these households are entitled to benefits including one year of free grain rations, liquefied gas, cooperative medical care, and exemption from their children's tuition and miscellaneous fees. The employment orientation of "reaping rewards for work and more rewards for more work" has greatly stimulated the work enthusiasm of all employees, bringing vitality to the enterprise.
To support employees in times of difficulty, Zhu Xiaokun, Chairman of the Board of Tiangong International, has always advocated that "employees can forget me in daily life, but they must think of me first when facing difficulties" and has led the company's management team to practice this. To provide housing support, given that migrant employees account for over 60% of the total workforce, Tiangong has invested more than RMB 50 million to build nearly 1,800 married-couple dormitories for them. Migrant employees who have worked for Tiangong for two years are exempted from housing fees. Since 2006, Tiangong has successively built nearly 500 low-cost housing units for employees, with a selling price of only RMB 600 per square meter. Each household receives a subsidy of approximately RMB 20,000 (based on cost price) and RMB 100,000 (based on market price). Currently, the second batch of nearly 200 low-cost housing units has been completed. In terms of travel assistance, every Spring Festival, Tiangong arranges about 40 vehicles to send employees from Anhui and northern Jiangsu back home for free, even during the rare severe snow disaster in 2006. For employees who leave the factory after the 26th day of the 12th lunar month and return to work on time on the 7th day of the first lunar month, the Company reimburses the approved round-trip travel expenses. As early as 2000, Tiangong took the lead in Zhenjiang to launch a preferential policy for car purchases: the enterprise provides a RMB 30,000 subsidy for each car purchased and covers the "three fees" for five years to encourage cadres to buy cars for more convenient travel. In regard to family support, in 2002, Tiangong pioneered the provision of pensions to the parents of non-Qianxiang Village cadres at or above the director level. Children of employees living in married-couple dormitories at Tiangong can attend Tiangong Kindergarten for free, effectively relieving employees of worries and allowing them to live comfortably and work with peace of mind.
Notably, amid the global economic crisis since last year, while many enterprises have adopted the strategy of "cutting staff to improve efficiency", Tiangong has taken a different approach by "stabilizing staff to improve efficiency". Instead of laying off employees and pushing them to the society, Tiangong has taken advantage of the relatively low production pressure to organize systematic training for employees to enhance their technical skills, accumulating strength to seize opportunities for economic recovery. Over the past year, the enterprise's benefits have remained basically stable, and no employees have been laid off, demonstrating sincere care for employees in difficult times.
Hometown Affection – Caring for the Hometown and Benefiting the Local Community
When recalling Tiangong's development history, Zhu Xiaokun, the "leader" of Tiangong International, always speaks with deep emotion: "It is the barren land of Qianxiang that raised me, and the poor villagers of Qianxiang that inspired me. The aspirations of my childhood and the hardships of my growth make me never forget Qianxiang Village and always want to repay the people of Qianxiang."
It is often said that rural areas are extremely poor, farmers live in great hardship, and agriculture is underdeveloped. Facing this widely recognized challenge in China, Tiangong International has taken the lead in addressing it in a planned way since 20 years ago, pioneering a path of building a new socialist countryside featuring increased agricultural efficiency, rural prosperity, and farmer wealth.
Turning barren land into wealth-producing fields. Tiangong's efforts to benefit the hometown started with land consolidation to improve agricultural productivity. Once known as "a land of fish and rice without enough food", Qianxiang Village suffered greatly from barren land. In the autumn of 1988, Tiangong International allocated the first RMB 20,000 to launch large-scale land consolidation. In 1989, it allocated over RMB 50,000 to consolidate nearly 200 mu of land; in 1990, it invested RMB 60,000 to consolidate more than 200 mu of land; and in 1991, it consolidated 100 mu of land... Statistics show that from 1992 to 2000, the enterprise invested RMB 11 million in agriculture for the whole village, turning thousands of mu of land with large elevation differences into "flat plains". Land consolidation increased the village's cultivated land by 300 mu, and the per-mu yield rose from less than 500kg to over 900kg. Subsequently, Tiangong invested heavily in building 4 permanent ditches with a total length of 6,500 meters, a 1,000-meter cement road for grape planting, 5 electric irrigation stations, and 35 supporting buildings. It also purchased agricultural machinery such as large tractors, combine harvesters, no-till planters, ditchers, drive harrows, seed drills, rotary tillers, and dryers, realizing full mechanization of farm work. The grand blueprint of agricultural modernization, which generations of Qianxiang people had dreamed of, has now become a reality with Tiangong International's feedback to the hometown.
Transforming poor rural areas into modern communities. Transforming the poor and backward appearance of Qianxiang Village has always been Tiangong International's dream. Since the new century, with Tiangong's support, a vigorous new village construction campaign has been launched. In 2004, Qianxiang Village carried out the largest-scale village merger in its history, merging scattered natural villages into a central village. Tiangong has invested more than RMB 40 million to uniformly plan, design, and construct a new villa community and 13 high-rise residential buildings. Villagers who relocated receive a subsidy of RMB 80,000 to 100,000. Today, Qianxiang Village is filled with neatly arranged villas, high-rise residential buildings, and staff apartments, making it hard to find the old houses of the past.
Creating a beautiful environment is another important measure for Tiangong International to benefit the villagers. Since 2000, Tiangong has invested over RMB 5 million in road construction, river improvement, and greening projects in the village. The three ditches that once crisscrossed the village have been straightened, desilted, and reinforced with stone revetments and decorated with stone railings. The two banks of the ditches are connected by classical white marble bridges, and there are wide green belts between the railings and the riverside roads. In 2007, Tiangong invested over RMB 3 million to build the 15-mu Tiangong Square, which is equipped with tennis courts, basketball courts, fitness facilities, flower beds, rockeries, fountains, and pools. It integrates entertainment and leisure functions, and a large color electronic screen allows villagers to watch TV programs and short videos about the village. Today, Qianxiang has become a garden-like village with a green coverage rate of over 30%, more than 4,000 large trees, and over 40,000 square meters of green space, realizing the goal of "every household has a garden and greenery can be seen everywhere".
Improving farmers' living standards. "Leading the villagers to become prosperous together" is Zhu Xiaokun's life pursuit and an important development goal of Tiangong. Driven by Tiangong's economic take-off, the living standards of the once-poor villagers of Qianxiang have undergone earth-shaking changes, creating the "Tiangong-Qianxiang Model" featuring industrial development driving agricultural prosperity and mutual growth of people's wealth and enterprise strength.
Tiangong's efforts to enrich the people are multi-level and all-round. Over the years, the welfare policies that have continuously improved the happiness index of Qianxiang villagers are concrete and practical.
Unified large-scale agricultural operation and ration allocation: To enable all villagers to devote themselves to work at Tiangong, the Party Committee of Tiangong made a bold decision in 1996 to take back all the villagers' contracted farmland and entrust it to professional households for large-scale modern agricultural operation. Professional households receive remuneration based on a fixed quota of grain delivery and share the profits from excess output, which not only stimulates their enthusiasm but also increases agricultural output. To support this decision, Tiangong implemented a series of supporting reforms in Qianxiang Village, including providing free grain rations and liquefied gas to villagers since 1997. This has truly liberated the villagers from farm work and promoted the development of both industrial and agricultural productivity.
Guarantees for the elderly: In 2005, Tiangong International invested nearly RMB 5 million to build the first enterprise-run elderly apartment in Zhenjiang. With a construction area of 4,700 square meters, the apartment has 53 standard rooms, equipped with elevators, a medical room, an activity room, a library, a reading room, a chess room, a fitness room, a large dining hall, a small canteen, and a bathroom. There is also a swimming pool and a basketball court outdoors, and elderly villagers can live there for free.
The traditional concept of "raising children for old-age security" has become a thing of the past for Qianxiang villagers. According to Tiangong's regulations, female villagers aged 55 and above and male villagers aged 60 and above are entitled to pensions, with a base amount of RMB 80 per person per month, increasing with age up to a maximum of RMB 180. For villagers who live to 100 years old, each of their immediate family members receives a RMB 5,000 reward. An elderly villager from Qianxiang said emotionally, "We are full of gratitude. Without Tiangong, how could more than 300 elderly people in the village live such a happy life today?"
"Encouraging education is the fundamental guarantee for the sustainable prosperity of Qianxiang." Tiangong International closely links enterprise development, villagers' wealth, and talent cultivation, focusing on both business operation and talent development. Free compulsory education has long been a "new policy" of Tiangong for talent cultivation. According to the regulations, all children of Qianxiang villagers enjoy free compulsory education. Those admitted to key senior high schools receive a reward of RMB 3,000-5,000; those admitted to universities receive RMB 5,000-10,000; and those admitted to postgraduate programs receive RMB 20,000. Since the implementation of this welfare policy, Tiangong has invested RMB 800,000 in education, cultivating 3 postgraduates and over 70 university graduates. Nearly 30 of them have returned to work at Tiangong and are now contributing to key positions, becoming a new driving force for the enterprise's development.
The difficulty of accessing medical care is no longer a problem for Qianxiang villagers. Tiangong International provides RMB 3 million to the village every year to improve public welfare such as medical and health services. The village allocates hundreds of thousands of yuan annually to cover cooperative medical insurance for all villagers. Minor illnesses are treated at the village community health center, and all medical expenses for serious illnesses treated in hospitals are reimbursed. Villagers of Qianxiang proudly say, "The medical benefits of Qianxiang villagers are no worse than those of urban residents."
Social Friendship – Caring for Society and Making Selfless Contributions
"When I achieve success, I must give back to society. Only in this way can we demonstrate the sense of corporate citizenship and promote social progress." This is what Zhu Xiaokun, Chairman of the Board of Tiangong International, often says, and it has been repeatedly verified by practice:
In 2006, to help outstanding poor college students complete their studies, Tiangong set up the "Tiangong Scholarship" in colleges and universities including Shanghai College of Science and Technology and Nanjing Normal University, allocating hundreds of thousands of yuan annually to support poor students. In August last year, it donated another RMB 100,000 to Jiangsu Haixie Education Foundation to support outstanding poor college students in Jiangsu.
In 2003, when SARS raged across China, Tiangong made generous donations of RMB 500,000 each to the civil affairs departments of Zhenjiang and Danyang to support the fight against SARS..
In 2006, when Hunan and other regions were hit by rare floods, Tiangong donated RMB 150,000 to support the disaster-stricken people.
In 2007, Tiangong donated RMB 300,000 to Jiangsu Legal Aid Foundation.
In 2007, to support the earthquake relief and post-disaster reconstruction in Wenchuan, Tiangong donated nearly RMB 1.6 million.
In 2008, Tiangong sponsored the RMB 15 million "Tiangong Charity Relief Fund" in Danyang.
There are countless cases of Tiangong's support for poverty alleviation, education assistance, and disability assistance. Statistics show that since 2000, Tiangong has invested tens of millions of yuan in social charity activities.
In recent years, one of Tiangong's most talked-about and innovative initiatives to repay society is the establishment of "Danyang Tiangong Huinong Rural Small Loan Co., Ltd.", the first of its kind in Jiangsu Province.
To expand financing channels for "agriculture, rural areas, and farmers" (three rural issues), effectively help farmers get rid of poverty and become prosperous, and realize a well-off life as soon as possible, Tiangong began to prepare for the establishment of a micro-credit company two years ago. On July 22, 2008, "Tiangong Huinong" was officially launched with a registered capital of RMB 100 million, co-founded by Tiangong Group and four individual investors.
Compared with traditional financing methods, "Tiangong Huinong" is faster, more flexible, and more effective. In terms of service objects, it mainly serves private enterprises, individual industrial and commercial households, farmers engaged in planting and breeding, and individual farmers who meet certain conditions. Regarding fund use, all loans are used to support the "three rural issues". For application procedures, they are simple and practical – the whole process from application to loan disbursement usually takes only three days, with low costs that only cover basic expenses for daily operations. In terms of loan interest rates, no collateral is required for financing, and the interest rate is determined through negotiation between the two parties. In practice, the annual interest rate generally ranges from 7% to 17%, which is significantly lower than that of private lending and pawnbroking.
As the first micro-credit company in Jiangsu Province, "Tiangong Huinong" attracted great social attention as soon as it was established. Within one week of its opening, it issued loans of RMB 4.1 million to 10 farmer households; within more than 20 days, the total loan amount reached over RMB 26 million. Up to now, "Tiangong Huinong" has issued a total of 599 loans worth RMB 291 million, of which RMB 282 million (accounting for 96.98%) is used for agricultural-related projects, covering the purchase of saplings, piglets, feed, and forest maintenance.