Peninsula Client Reporter Lou Hua
Speaking of Stanley, many people will think of the classic advertising slogan "Yellow soil and black soil, use Stanley for fertilization." From starting with two or three shovels and three or four woven bags, we established the first compound (mixed) fertilizer production enterprise in Linshu County; from building the first urine-based high-tower compound fertilizer production line in China, we have now built the company into a comprehensive agricultural service provider committed to promoting the world's agricultural modernization process. Stanley Group Chairman Gao Wenban confidently said in an interview with Peninsula reporters: "The secret of success is nothing but honesty and trustworthiness, seriousness in doing things, and no falsehoods."
A man's tears made him firmly believe that there is no trust without trust.
Stanley Group Chairman Gao Wenban.
Wearing ordinary clothes, his eyes are bright and sometimes sharp, and his hands and wrists are covered with scars from severe burns many years ago. When the 70-year-old Stanley Chairman Gao Wenban sat in front of reporters, he looked calm and indifferent.
Gao Wenban, who was born as a farmer, is the eldest son of six brothers in the family. In order to earn money to supplement the family income, he carried a small bag to the market when he was a teenager, shouted repeatedly on the street, and sold small paper flowers and firecrackers during the New Year to earn 20 cents. Poverty, hunger, and suffering did not knock Gao Wenban down, but strengthened his confidence in working hard to get rid of poverty and become rich.
With the experience of testing the waters in a small business, Gao Wenban developed a keen business sense and set his sights on fertilizer, which is indispensable to farmers. Gao Wenban, who dared to think and work hard, decided to buy the raw materials and "mix" them himself. There was no raw material or packaging, so relying on a few shovels and a few woven bags, Gao Wenban embarked on his initial entrepreneurial journey.
A truckload of products can earn hundreds of dollars, which can be said to be huge profits in a small county town in the 1990s. However, in the eyes of Gao Wenban, no matter how high the profit is, it is just a small effort and will not last long. At that time, Gao Wenban had a bold idea. He wanted to build a fertilizer factory in Linshu. In 1995, Huafeng Fertilizer Factory, the predecessor of Stanley, was established.
's entrepreneurial journey was not smooth sailing. In the same year, Gao Wen's class sent hundreds of thousands of goods to , a company in Yanzhou, , but they had difficulties in asking for payment. "That company just wouldn't give me money. I asked for it again and again, but refused to give it again and again. The company always used various excuses." Shandong men don't shed tears easily unless they are forced into a desperate situation, but if this capital, which is related to the life and death of the company, does not come back, the company will undoubtedly die. "I cried in their company, and the big guys in the family hugged the table and cried." Gao Wenban recalled. After a long period of hard work, Gao Wenban finally got his money back, but it also made him realize that in running a business, you must be honest. A business without integrity will have no vitality. "For more than 20 years, I have never delayed the wages of employees, never overdue bank loans, and never failed to pay money owed to dealers." Gao Wenban said.
As for the insistence on corporate integrity, Gao Wenban is sometimes strict to the point of being "stupid". In the spring of 2009, the price of raw materials rose sharply, which drove up the price of fertilizer. When the price rose, Huafeng (the predecessor of Stanley) collected part of the payment from the dealers. Due to the increase in fertilizer prices, based on the increased market price, the company collected as much as 150 million yuan more than before. But what is surprising is that two days later, raw material prices fell again. Gao Wenban said nothing and returned all the overcharged money to the customer.
"Without integrity, nothing can be discussed." In Gao Wenban's view, adhering to integrity is the foundation of an enterprise. Gao Wenban’s persistence also deeply affects everyone in the company. His marketing staff said that we are not selling fertilizers, we are selling people and the Gaowenban brand; and his customers said that they can rest assured when dealing with Gaowenban.
A "bet" put him at the forefront of the industry
"There are only collapsed companies, not collapsed industries. Any enterprise must achieve continuous development through continuous innovation." Gao Wenban said that the reason why Stanley was able to upgrade from a small rural workshop to a leader in the field of agricultural inputs and fertilizers in just a few years was precisely because he continued to adhere to the concept of innovative development. On this road of innovation, the breakthrough of high-tower compound fertilizer production technology is a milestone in promoting Stanley's rapid development.
Gaowen Class introduced that the high-tower compound fertilizer production technology was successfully developed by American fertilizer experts in the 1970s after many years. It is a world-class compound fertilizer production technology that integrates energy saving, high efficiency and environmental protection. It has been listed as a key confidential and conservative civilian high-tech project by the U.S. government.
It is certainly good to launch a high-tower compound fertilizer production line. It can not only solve Stanley's technical bottleneck, but also solve the development bottleneck of the entire fertilizer industry. However, high returns are inevitably accompanied by high risks. The reason why this technology is not easily adopted by enterprises is because there have been countless failure cases in China.
"The investment in this project was more than 80 million yuan, but at that time our annual profit was only more than 20 million yuan. This was a bet. If you win, everyone is happy. If you lose, you will be completely defeated." Gao Wenban said. For Stanley, if he doesn't do it, he may be able to survive. If he fails, the company will completely collapse. To do or not to do? There was a fork in the road in Stanley's future. Gao Wenban recalled that at that time, everyone on Stanley's board of directors except himself was opposed.
Faced with a wave of opposition and tremendous pressure, in 2003, Gao Wenban made the decision to jointly challenge the high-tower compound fertilizer production technology with the Shanghai Research Institute of Chemical Industry. In his view, innovation has risks and risks need to be assessed, but staying put will only lead to a dead end. In this bet, Gawain's class won.
pioneered the first urea-based high-tower melt granulation long-acting compound fertilizer production line in China, which brought a qualitative leap to Stanley. "Before this, our annual sales revenue was only more than 300 million, and we encountered a 'ceiling'. But now, we are more than 30 billion, and the growth rate is still very large." Gao Wenban said that at the same time, Stanley has led the latest manufacturing technology of domestic compound fertilizer production with the most advanced high-tower compound fertilizer production technology in the world, driving the rise of more than 200 high-tower compound fertilizer companies in China like a prairie fire.
"If you don't change during the development of an enterprise, you will never be at the forefront of the industry." Gao Wenban believes that society is constantly changing, and enterprises also need to change in order to keep up with the times and be at the forefront of the industry.
A new model turns "passive" into "active"
With the continuous progress and development of society, consumers' needs are not only to eat enough, but also to eat well. "Letting farmers grow good food and letting everyone eat good agricultural products, while optimizing the structure of the domestic compound fertilizer industry, has become Stanley's new direction for future development." This is also Gao Wenban's dream.
In recent years, the country has called for the "Fertile Soil Project", which is to reduce the use of fertilizer materials and put forward zero-growth policy requirements for the fertilizer industry. Facing the new policy red line, Gao Wenban once again took the initiative to seek "change". Traditional marketing, whether it is customer purchase or door-to-door sales, is inseparable from passive sales. Under the new situation, Gao Wenban broke the traditional model and put forward the idea of "technology plus service", soil testing and formula, and improved seeds and fertilizers came into being.
Stanley's cooperation with the National Hybrid Rice Engineering Technology Research Center is the success of this corporate management reform. Gao Wenban recalled: "We planned the plan of 'mixing good seeds with good fertilizer' and decided to communicate with Academician Yuan Longping. Unfortunately, the first negotiation did not go well." Gao Wenban was very frustrated, so he took a bus to Haikou City and planned to return to Shandong. But after arriving in Haikou, he was unwilling to call Academician Yuan Longping again, and once again sincerely expressed his original intention and willingness to cooperate with "good seeds and good fertilizers". In the end, he was moved by the simplicity and sincerity of this Shandong man, and Academician Yuan Longping agreed to cooperate.
In the spring of 2008, Stanley Fertilizer Co., Ltd. and the National Hybrid Rice Engineering Technology Research Center held a grand strategic cooperation signing ceremony in Sanya City, Hainan Province. Stanley Company Chairman Gao Wenban and the world-renowned academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Yuan Longping, the "father of hybrid rice" in the world, jointly signed a strategic cooperation agreement. The two parties will work together on the implementation of my country's super hybrid rice "three varieties, three yields and four" high-yield project.
Later, Stanley Company followed the trend and held a grand strategic cooperation signing ceremony with the National Corn Engineering Technology Research Center and the National Wheat Engineering Technology Research Center. So far, the scientific matching of improved seeds, fertilizers and methods has been widely promoted and demonstrated across the country.
Provide integrated services for growers
What many companies dare not think of, Gaowen Ban has thought about, and what many companies dare not do, Gaowen Ban has done and succeeded. "What is our future? What does the industry we are engaged in serve?" Even at the age when he was demobilized and returned to work, Gao Wenban did not stop. The entrepreneur's foresight made him think about "change" again and how the company could serve millions of agricultural growers in the future.
"Stanley will build a full-industry chain service platform and create a full-industry chain service model to provide integrated services including seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural machinery, agricultural technology, grain trade, finance, and information for large growers, family farms, agricultural cooperatives, etc." Gao Wenban said that from European modern agriculture inspections to American modern agricultural practices, Stanley is committed to promoting the modernization of world agriculture. Regarding the future, Gao Wenban said that it is his dream to allow all Chinese people to eat high-quality agricultural products.
People like to use "the first person to eat crabs" to describe the courage of pioneers and pioneers, and Gao Wenban is a pioneer who has always been committed to the development of modern agriculture.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-