From The Cotton Workers To The Richest Man In Shandong: Zhang Shiping, The Industrialist, Has Left, But The Legend Of Wei Qiao Has Not Yet Come To An End.

Heaven and earth change, time presses. Seventy-three years of life, seize the day.

In May 23rd, the daily economic news reporter learned from the Propaganda Department of the Zouping municipal Party committee that Zhang Shiping, founder of Shandong Wei Qiao venture group (hereinafter referred to as Wei Qiao and Wei Qiao group) and chairman of the former Party committee and chairman, died of illness because of illness, and died at 17 hours and 03 minutes in May 23, 2019, at the age of 73.

Zhang Shiping, a farmer born, has been dealing with traditional industries almost all his life. "Do the best you know." In an exchange with reporters in the daily economic news, another senior executive in Zouping is evaluating Zhang Shiping's entrepreneurial path.

No accumulation, no thousands of miles. Today, Wei Qiao group is already a global leader in textile and aluminum industry. From the shoulder strength of the sack to the helm of the "Wei Qiao Empire", Zhang Shiping created the legend of wealth.

In September last year, Zhang Shiping formally handed down his own "Wei Qiao Empire" to his son, Zhang Bo, to announce his retirement. After its retreat, the size of the Wei Qiao "empire" is still large, but the future of the Wei Qiao model, which depends on its strength, remains strong. It still needs time to give an answer.

From ordinary workers to the richest man in Shandong

"The government wants to thank Wei bridge for its contribution." This is a speech by Zhang Shiping, governor of Shandong province when he spoke at the plenary meeting of the Shandong delegation of the two sessions of the National People's Congress in 2016.

In the words of local government officials in Binzhou, the tax revenue created by Wei Qiao group can account for more than half of the total revenue. In Zouping, where the Wei Qiao group is located, Zhang Shiping's influence is everywhere. Even the taxi drivers in Zouping can tell a story of Zhang boss.

In June 1964, in order to support his family, he graduated from junior high school and entered the fifth oil and cotton plant in Zouping County, Wei Qiao Town, Zouping. (Note: Zouping withdrew from the county in 2018 and set up a county-level city). The job is to carry cotton bags. One hundred pounds a bag of cotton bags, Zhang Shiping has to pack dozens of bags every day.

Binzhou Daily reported in 2018 that in 1981, Zhang Shiping, 35, was elected director of the Wei Qiao oil and cotton plant because of his "hard work and diligence" at work. After becoming a household member, Zhang Shiping led the factory workers to do many "nationwide first" attempts.

In the 80s of last century, the "full load work method" and the reform of pioneer Ma Shengli and Bu Xin Sheng's work method were heard throughout the country. In fact, Zhang Shiping has taken one step forward to popularize the target cost management method in Wei Qiao oil and cotton plant. He saw the opportunity for the state to let go of grain purchase and went out to buy beans, peanuts and cottonseed oil for the first time in the same industry.

By 1984, Wei Qiao oil and cotton plant won the first place in the national supply and marketing system profit with a profit of 4 million yuan. In 1985, Zhang Shiping was selected as the national model of business labor, representing the provincial labor model to receive awards in Beijing. He still believes that this recognition is the biggest reward in his life. Now, Wei Qiao group, the world's top 500, is also motivated by this incentive.

In 1986, Zhang Shiping set up a towel factory. Because it was unable to beat eight poles of pressed cottonseed oil, it was opposed by many people at that time. He didn't listen. In 1989, he made use of the accumulation of 6 million yuan to raise about 10000000 yuan and built a spinning mill with 16 thousand spindles. At that time, the spinning field was almost occupied by local big state-owned enterprises, and private enterprises were few.

By the middle of 90s, the situation of the cotton textile industry was on the decline. First, the supply of cotton is tight, so no one can buy cotton. Immediately after that, the state issued the policy of "limiting production and pressing the ingot", and one of the old cotton spinning enterprises in Ji'nan, the first and two factories of the national cotton mill, went bankrupt.

At that time, Zhang Shiping began to study the policy seriously. The state stipulates the scope of compressed spindles: one is state-owned enterprises, the other is equipment belonging to imported equipment before liberation, and the old equipment produced in the 50s of last century. At that time, Wei Qiao belonged to a collective enterprise, and the new equipment used in the 80s of last century was not in the above-mentioned scope.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhang Shiping began to acquire equipment and factory buildings for bankrupt enterprises. In the depression of cotton spinning industry, Wei Qiao's scale expanded rapidly.

In 1998, Zhang Shiping's Wei Qiao textile merged Binzhou's largest state-owned cotton textile enterprise, Binzhou cotton. In 1999, due to power shortage, Wei Qiao textile built its own thermal power plant, and the surplus of electricity encouraged Zhang Shiping to set foot in the electrolytic aluminum industry in 2001.

"2018 Hurun rich list" shows that the Zhang Shiping family's wealth reached 65 billion yuan, ranking twenty-sixth in the list, which has long been ranked the richest in Shandong.

To achieve the ultimate goal of industry

Although only graduated from junior high school, but education has not become a stumbling block for Zhang Shiping to create "Wei Qiao Empire".

In April 10, 2018, fortune published the 50 most influential business leaders in 2018, Zhang Shiping, who was 72 years old, ranked twenty-fifth.

Fortune magazine commented on Zhang Shiping: since signing an oil and cotton processing plant in 1981, Zhang Shiping has built two huge projects in the area: Wei Qiao textile industry and Wei Qiao aluminum industry (controlled by Hongqiao, China).

The two companies have become the world's largest producers of their respective industries at different times and are listed in Hongkong.

The Zhang Shiping family controlled "China Hongqiao" (01378, HK), which overtook Russia's "Russia aluminum" in 2014, became the largest electrolytic aluminum producer in the world.

In fact, since 2012, Wei Qiao group has been selected as the world's top 500 in seven consecutive years, ranking 159th in 2017, 281 times higher than the first time. In the list of top 500 Chinese private enterprises in 2017, Wei Qiao group ranked third, second only to HUAWEI and Suning.

According to Zhang Shiping's plan, by 2020, Wei Qiao group should ensure that sales revenue exceed 450 billion yuan, strive to achieve 500 billion yuan, and enter the world's top 100 enterprises.

Compared with Ren Zhengfei's efforts to build HUAWEI into a truly globalized Chinese high-tech enterprise, Zhang Shiping, a farmer born, has been dealing with traditional industries almost all his life.

The two main industries of Wei Qiao group, textile and electrolytic aluminum, have been down all the way since 2000, and have even seen cliff breaking landslides. The textile industry's prosperity index has been in the bottom all year round; and since 2014, electrolytic aluminum has also become one of the most serious industries with oversupply in the world.

However, under the rule of Zhang Shiping, these two sunrise industries seem to have become young again. At the end of 2018, Zhang Shiping disclosed the business performance in 2018 at the Wei Qiao group company's conference: sales revenue was 283 billion 500 million yuan, and profit was 8 billion 700 million yuan, which was enough for many enterprises to envy.

"The jeans produced by Wei bridge are sold all over the world, and 90% of the materials used in the Apple phone shell are from Zhang Shiping's factory." In exchange with the "daily economic news" reporter, referring to Wei Qiao group and Zhang Shiping, a local government official in Zouping was proud of his speech.

In November 2018, the Binzhou daily published an article about Wei Qiao's 40 years of entrepreneurship. It summarized the Wei Qiao group as "the textile, dyeing, clothing, home textile" industrial chain, and the "thermal power mining alumina raw aluminum high precision aluminum strip and new material" industrial chain in one large enterprise, becoming the world's largest cotton textile enterprise and aluminum production enterprise.

"From textile to power plant, to printing and dyeing, and then to expansion of power plants, and finally to the electrolytic aluminum project, we are like the same as noodle, with more water, more water and more flour, and finally to the present situation". Shi Ping, who rarely interviewed by the media, once said so.

For Zhang Shiping's secret of success, a local private enterprise executive in Zouping made the generalization: "(Zhang Shiping) made the best of familiar things."

Retired last year to complete the shift.

No company will run smoothly. After the textile and aluminum industry achieved the ultimate goal, Zhang Shiping's Wei Qiao empire was also heading ahead against the wind.

"In recent years, under the background of the spanformation of economic development mode and the continuing high pressure of environmental protection, Wei Qiao group, whose main business is textile industry and aluminum industry, has been at the cusp of the storm." An electrolytic aluminum industry to the daily economic news reporter said.

Statistics show that in August 2017, Wei Qiao group was punished by the Environmental Protection Bureau of Zouping, Binzhou, for storing hazardous waste such as electrolyzer, slag and slag in red mud. At the end of 2017, Wei Qiao group was criticized by the environmental Inspectorate group for its "illegal construction of its own power plant".

At that time, the Shandong provincial government jointly issued instructions to other 9 departments. The Wei Qiao group and Xinfa group violating the illegal construction of 3 million 210 thousand tons of electrolytic aluminum capacity, and will be closed before the end of July 2017.

According to an industry insider, "Wei Qiao's capacity of electrolytic aluminum production should exceed 9 million tons." In addition to the 2 million 680 thousand tons that have been shut down, part of the Ministry of industry has been admitted to the Ministry of industry and commerce, while the other part has been put on record by the local government.

According to the information of Zhuo Chuang, the capacity of electrolytic aluminium in May 2017 was 44 million 673 thousand tons. Among them, Shandong electrolytic aluminum production ranks first in the country, reaching 11 million 998 thousand tons. In Shandong Province, the capacity of Wei Qiao, the largest electrolytic aluminum enterprise in the whole country and even the world, accounts for more than 70% of the capacity.

About a year after encountering environmental problems, Zhang Shiping, who built the "Wei Qiao Empire", officially retired.

Zhang Shiping's last public appearance should be in February 18, 2019. On the morning of February 18th, Zhang Shiping, chairman of the WeChat public number "Wei Qiao venture" of Wei Qiao group, condolences with the cadres and workers to the Tazi reservoir.

In May 22nd, "Wei Qiao venture" released the title entitled Zhang Bo: the chairman of the world top five hundred enterprises is "refined" into the article, said: in the spring of 2019, the exposure rate of Zhang Bo, chairman of Wei Qiao venture group, far exceeded the number of media reports before. There are two reasons for this: from September 26, 2018 onwards, Zhang Bo's identity in media coverage was officially spanformed into chairman of Wei Qiao group. Then, in October 7th, Wei Qiao group held a meeting of all cadres to announce the new board of directors, board of supervisors and general manager team.

In fact, as the only son of Zhang Shiping, Zhang Po was the "successor" of Wei Qiao group who was "established". Zhang's two daughters, Zhang Hongxia and Zhang Yanhong, had long been the backbone of the group management.

Last October 7th, at the meeting of all management cadres held by Wei Qiao group, Zhang Bo said: "the relay baton of history has been passed on to our generation. We must carry out the banner of Wei Qiao's pioneering work."

Less than 3 months after Zhang Bo's performance, at the end of the year, Wei Qiao group handed out a "surprising report card": in 2018, sales revenue was 283 billion 500 million yuan, and profits were 8 billion 700 million yuan, and the self import and export volume was 3 billion 400 million dollars, and the first tax break of all levels of tax was $10 billion, reaching 10 billion 923 million yuan, an increase of 13.3% over the same period last year.

However, in the afternoon of the second day (May 23rd), the reclusive Zhang Shiping went west. In the first full year of Zhang Bo's new era, it is time to verify whether the future development of the Wei Qiao empire can be smooth.