In today's China's auto industry, there are two big names who are very famous. "Boatman" is the most powerful chairman of a private car company, and "Tan Daran" is the strongest chairman of a state-owned car company.

BYD Wang Chuanfu started from scratch, from "Battery King" to "Electric Vehicle King", is a representative of Chinese private enterprises going global.

Tan Xuguang started as a general worker in a local state-owned enterprise, and he has been cutting waves all the way, leading Weichai Power to dominate the world, and now he has become the head of the "Big Mac" Shandong Heavy Industry Group. This group owns Weichai Power, Sinotruk, Weichai Heavy Machinery, Shantui, Zhongtong Bus, Yaxing Bus, Germany KION Group and many other listed companies.

Tan Xuguang is famous in the automobile and equipment manufacturing industry, not only because he has served as the top leader of Weichai Group for 20 years and is well-known at home and abroad, but also because of his domineering and persistent personality, and he proposed that "not fighting for the first is in the mix." , one day as two and a half days" passion culture.

Tan Xuguang: "If you don't fight for the first place, you are in the mix", he is the blessing of Shandong and the luck of China's auto industry

Tan Xuguang was born in Weifang, Shandong in 1961. Shandong not only has big cakes, green onions and big men, but also kites. Weifang is the hometown of kites. Since 1984, Weifang has hosted the "International Kite Festival" every year until now.

That year, Weichai Power was just an unknown diesel engine factory, and 23-year-old Tan Xuguang has worked in this factory for 7 years.

Weifang Diesel Engine Factory was established in 1946. Tan Xuguang grew up in the factory yard. As a "native Weichai native", he graduated from high school at the age of 16 and entered Weichai. He was assigned to the research institute to conduct product testing.

In 1987, Weichai Factory set up a foreign trade team. Tan Xuguang, a nimble-minded and eloquent man, was transferred to be a salesman, and his life turning point began at this moment.

In 1988, Tan Xuguang, on behalf of Weichai, set up an exhibition hall at the Canton Fair to carry out international trade. Since then, the bold and knowledgeable Tan Xuguang was sent to Indonesia as the chief business representative.

He has traveled to more than 3,000 islands successively, increasing the sales of Weichai Engine in Indonesia more than ten times, and the foreign trade export volume has reached 40 million US dollars from 300,000 US dollars. He alone accounts for half of Weichai's total annual sales. .

Tan Xuguang has become a remarkable figure in the diesel engine industry and a figure in the international market.

In the 1990s, it was extremely difficult to export 40 million US dollars. It is because he does not admit defeat, is not afraid of difficulties, and is not afraid of danger, that he has created a miracle in the industry.

By 1998, 20 years had passed since the reform and opening up, and private enterprises were booming, while state-owned enterprises suffered nine out of ten losses and encountered crises, and Weichai was no exception.

Just when Tan Xuguang was considering whether to start a business in the sea, an appointment was issued, and his life turned again.

This letter of appointment comes from Sinotruk, the parent company of Weichai, and the content is to let him be the director of the Weichai plant. At that time, most of the leaders of large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises were over 50 years old, and Tan Xuguang was only 37 years old. At first glance, this honor was infinitely glorious, but there were risks and difficulties.

At that time, Weichai Plant had a debt of 300 million yuan and was basically in a state of shutdown. 13,000 workers had not been paid for 6 months and were on the verge of bankruptcy.

His family did not agree that he would take over as the factory director. If the Weichai factory collapsed, it would be the sinner of Weichai. If he resigns to start his own business, with Tan Xuguang's ability, he will be able to make a breakthrough in the wave of the market economy.

In the end, he still accepted the appointment letter.

As a Weichai native, Tan Xuguang does not want Weichai to fall because he is a Weichai native.

When the new official took office, Tan Xuguang knew that only by changing the plan could he save himself. If he didn't reform, he would die. After reducing the number of Weichai Factory to more than 7,000 people, he personally focused on sales and expanded the engine from the heavy truck market to the construction machinery market. Tianliangtou visited the OEM.

In 2000, Weichai Engine occupied 30% of the construction machinery market at once, which was called a "revolution of power enhancement" by industry insiders.

In December 2000, Tan Xuguang announced to all the employees of the factory, "From today onwards, Weichai will have no internal or external debts." From 2001 to 2004, Weichai's performance doubled every year, and its annual turnover exceeded 10 billion yuan, becoming a major Chinese company. The only profitable company in the auto subsidiary.

Shortly after taking office, Tan Xuguang visited several engine factories in Europe.

Some factories are not bad, let him visit along the designated route, but all the important places in the workshop are covered and not shown to the Chinese. In some factories, he is only allowed to see the laboratory, and the workshop is not allowed to enter at all.

Skills are not as good as others, that's how others treat you. Tan Xuguang is determined to build a world-leading engine.

At the same time, a leader in Shandong said: "Weichai is not a simple processing enterprise. You want to build products from an enterprise with its own core technology, and you want to be a world power brand."

Under the leadership of Tan Xuguang, Weichai people carry forward the enterprise spirit of "not striving to be the first is to be in the mix", and continue to make breakthroughs and innovations, making Weichai Power the first in China and the world's largest engine production and sales company.

Today, the thermal efficiency of Weichai Power’s diesel engine body has reached 51.09% for the first time, setting a new global record and further enhancing Weichai’s right to speak in the global internal combustion engine industry.

In 2004, Weichai Power was listed in Hong Kong. In 2005, Delong’s capital collapsed, and its subsidiary Hunan Torch Group was in urgent need of sale. Hunan Torch owns high-quality assets such as Shaanxi Heavy Truck, Fast Gear, and Hande Axles, so more than a dozen companies covet it, including Weichai.

In the end, Weichai won a 28.12% stake in Hunan Torch for 1.02338 billion yuan and became famous in the first battle.

Knowing that you can't do it and doing it, it is called courage. After absorbing and merging Hunan Torch, Weichai has the most complete heavy truck industry chain in China from engine, transmission, axle and vehicle for the first time.

"If we only make engines, at best, it will be China's largest engine company. Once the industry chain is opened up and the core powertrain of heavy vehicles is formed, it will change the world."

The acquisition of Hunan Torch was a turning point in Weichai's development history.

In 2018, Tan Xuguang served as the chairman of Sinotruk. At the SINOTRUK leading cadre meeting, he said: "We want to become a full-series commercial vehicle manufacturing group, and within three years, become the number one commercial vehicle in China. Otherwise, it would be meaningless for me to come to SINOTRUK."

Soon, Sinotruk introduced the culture of "not fighting for the first place, that is, mixing" and "one day is two and a half days", and cut off the real estate business and other businesses.

"I am not afraid of death. It is better to put the urn in Weifang than to put it on the Heroes Mountain in Jinan."

In 2021, China National Heavy Duty Truck's total market share will reach 20.5%, ranking second among domestic heavy truck companies.

If you include Shaanxi Automobile heavy trucks, Shandong Heavy Industry ranks first in the truck market, and the production and sales volume of Weichai heavy-duty engines, Fast heavy-duty transmissions, and Shantui bulldozers ranks first in the world.

"We need to be a cow with knowledge, overcome difficulties and create greater glories. To be a cow, we are entrepreneurs cultivated by state-owned enterprises, we must try to care for our employees, and when our employees need them, entrepreneurs I'm going to be a rookie cow."

Nowadays, when people mention Weifang, the first thing that comes to mind is not only kites, but also Weichai Power; when it comes to celebrities in Shandong, not only Haier Zhang Ruimin, but also Shandong Heavy Industry Tan Xuguang. Editor / Xu Shengpeng