Largan, a major lens manufacturer, took over the team to face the headwinds of the market. Faced with the adverse environment and the decline of the mobile phone market, what is the progress of Largan's automotive and VR development? Can the newly appointed team save this game? "

Largan, a major lens manufacturer, has stepped up to take over the team to face headwinds in the market. Faced with the adverse environment and the decline of the mobile phone market, what is the progress of Largan's automotive and VR development? Can the newly appointed team save this game?

"June may be better than May! But it won't be much better. It looks more pessimistic than last year." After the disruption caused by the lockdown and inflation affecting consumption, as the peak season for the electronics industry in the second half of the year approaches, At the shareholder meeting held this month by the lens manufacturer Largan, investors were not able to hear the good news about the market recovery from Lin Enping, the "provincial leader". However, they unexpectedly got two things after the meeting. New news: details of production expansion plan, addition of successor team.

The first is Largan’s production expansion plan. In addition to frankly admitting that he was affected by the disconnection, Lin Enping revealed the plan for the new factory for the first time. It is expected to open production capacity in the third quarter of 2023. The production line will mainly focus on mobile phones. However, since this year, there has been a small increase in the volume of automobiles and VR lenses.

Secondly, in terms of management personnel, with the expiration of the director's term this year and the re-election, Largan's two "creative generations": founder Lin Yaoying and Chen Shiqing, who used to be in charge of technology, both left the board of directors, and the chairman was also replaced by Lin Enping, who has been CEO for many years. .

The more eye-catching new directors also include Huang Youzhi, the former chief technology officer of Largan, and Chen Junming, deputy manager of R&D. Rumor has it that they are Chen Shiqing’s nephew and son, although Largan’s spokesperson is unwilling to confirm the relationship between the two generations. , but the two will take over Chen Shiqing’s important research and development responsibilities. Is

really entering a generational change? Lin Enping also generously said: "It is indeed the case," which made investors pay special attention to the new management team and hope that they will emerge from the downward economic situation and emerge from the new situation.

In this wave of personnel changes, Huang Youzhi not only joined the board of directors for the first time, but also filled the "general manager" position that had been vacant for 12 years after Chen Shiqing was promoted to chairman. Will he enter the operational level in the future? Lynn's division of labor is yet to be determined, but he will currently be responsible for technical tasks.

A classmate said that Huang Youzhi forgot to eat and sleep when he started experimenting.

So, Largan, which has always been technology-oriented and does not stick to job titles, why did Huang Youzhi, who is in charge of research and development, become the general manager? Who is Huang Youzhi?

"Frankly speaking, when I heard the news (Huang Youzhi was appointed as general manager), I was not surprised at all." "Vision" interviewed Huang Youzhi's classmate and said that he had been with Huang Youzhi in front of Tsinghua University for a long time. Principal He Chenhong conducts research in the laboratory.

He described that 30 years ago, Huang Youzhi insisted on buying materials and DIY to complete the experiment for a technical detail, and went to the bottom of it, forgetting to eat and sleep, which left a deep impression on him. It is not difficult to imagine that he will use his hands-on and truth-seeking craftsmanship to create a winning optical industry.

▲ Huang Youzhi, the new headquarters of Largan Lighting. (Source: Tsinghua University)

Looking back at Huang Youzhi’s study process. He graduated from the Department of Power Mechanical Engineering of Tsinghua University in 1992. He studied under the then 36-year-old young professor He Chenhong with the title of "Computer-aided Waterjet Milling System". Two years later, he graduated from the Institute of Power Mechanical Engineering. .

Opening the collection in the National Library, Huang Youzhi's graduation thesis has turned yellow, but the list of his thanks includes, in addition to his supervisor He Chenhong, who later served as the president of Tsinghua University, and the incoming Tsinghua University School of Engineering. Dean Cai Hongying, and General Manager Pu Hongyan of Yida Precision Machinery, which started from scratch and specializes in CNC equipment.

This classmate of Huang Youzhi recalled that the Department of Motivation was a large department and students may not be familiar with each other. However, when they were under the tutelage of Teacher He Chenhong, they had a good relationship with each other. Huang Youzhi never kept secrets, and he had theoretical knowledge and practical skills Skills, always willing to share with those around you. To this day, everyone still gathers together to congratulate Teacher Chenhong every Teacher’s Day.

He bluntly said that under Huang Youzhi’s promotion, the Department of Motivation of Tsinghua University established the Largan Scholarship, which provides a 27-month scholarship of 10,000 yuan per month to underprivileged students in the undergraduate department. It was Huang Youzhi who wanted to express his gratitude. He was cultivated by the school back then, and it can be seen that he still has a close relationship with the motivation department.

Since the implementation of the scholarship program, Largan not only arranges for award recipients to visit the company every year and report on research topics, but also asks department teachers to recommend outstanding students to work at Largan. A few years ago, a second-generation scholarship student from a new immigrant entered Largan to work because of the scholarship program.

In addition, Huang Youzhi thanked the four women in his life at the beginning of his master's thesis: his mother and three sisters, which shows how much he values ​​his family. As for whether Huang Youzhi planned to take over the family business back then, Huang Youzhi's classmates thought it was not particularly obvious.

In Largan New Generation’s management team, there is another younger face, Chen Junming, who is rumored to be Chen Shiqing’s son, was also successfully elected as a director at this shareholders’ meeting.

Although in the written explanation of the director re-election proposal, there is only a simple introduction to the candidates’ academic qualifications. It is understood that Chen Junming has a Ph.D. in engineering from Ohio State University. After graduating from the Department of Engineering at Jiaotong University, he briefly worked at Largan. Most of his work experience is still in the United States.

crawls through Chen Junming's works. In his early days, he conducted special research on camera lens detection technology. Later, his research topics shifted to digital vision and modeling. After obtaining his doctorate, he worked as a software engineer at Google in the United States for more than three years. Engineer, he did not officially return to Taiwan to join Largan until 2019.

The market situation continues to be bad, and the growth challenges are still severe.

sees that the young successor echelon has been lined up, but the current industry situation and challenges they are facing are not easy.

The weakness of the mobile phone market this year is an indisputable fact. According to the "Global Mobile Phone Quarterly Tracking Report" published by research firm IDC, global smartphone shipments will decline by 3.5% this year to 1.31 billion units. TrendForce also estimates that consumption momentum in the first two quarters is not optimistic.

Judging from the revenue figures, Largan's cumulative revenue in the first five months was 16.41 billion yuan, an annual decrease of 11.6%. In May, it was an annual decrease of 6.15%. The decline in revenue has a tendency to converge. However, Lin Enping explained that mobile phone brands are generally pessimistic compared with last year, which means that the slow decline is still just the "normal play" of seasonal factors.

"In the past, small-scale trial production was carried out in June, and more in July. This year, there are more customers for 8P (8-piece plastic lens), and 9P may be imported." Lin Enping, who has always been conservative but speaks honestly, said frankly that even before The VCM (Voice Coil Motor) bundled lens sales plan that has been strongly promoted at several conferences has not been very well accepted by customers.

Although Largan’s investment in yield and advanced optical technology has not diminished in the past, and it has always been a leader in the market, as a component supplier, Largan has emerged due to the large number of plastic lenses used in smartphones. The honor and disgrace will ultimately depend on the environment of the mobile phone brand manufacturer and even the entire consumer market.

"The company has been focusing on this (smartphones) for a long time. The market is stagnant and high-end products are not selling well. Moreover, you have the highest market share and have been hurt the most. Is there any way to deal with it?" Faced with external doubts, Largan What should be changed may not be the art of war, but the battlefield. Lin Enping's answer was as expected. Apart from doing the best with technology, there was really nothing else to do.

▲ Largan CEO Lin Enping.

The succession echelon continues the first-generation division of labor model

Although Largan's management has always been a bit mysterious, from the technical team headed by Huang Youzhi and Chen Junming entering the board of directors, it is not difficult to find that the major shareholders, the Lin family and Chen Shiqing, are of the same lineage. It is a continuation of the original management of Lin Yaoying and Chen Shiqing who were in charge of external affairs and internal affairs, and established a second-generation division of labor model.

understands the true meaning of Largan's new generation, and what's more, Largan has always emphasized that relying on its optical technology champions, a team led by the new generation is the key to Largan's future. If the lenses are applied to VR devices, it may be a promising place for Chen Junming, who has more experience in integrating virtual and real things, to "make contributions".

Huang Youzhi entered the board of directors and was promoted to general manager. It seemed like a small reorganization within the company. However, as one of the few operators with manufacturing and technical backgrounds among the new directors of Largan, the outside world was looking forward to this newly appointed president. Manager, re-polite this lens leading to the market and create the next prosperous era for Largan.