EditedbyTanXingyu
HainanCoconutPalmGroupCo.,Ltd.hasprovidedjobsfor6,000employeesandaccelerateddevelopmentofthecoconutindustryacrossHainanProvince.
HuangPeilun,chairmanoftheTradeUnionofHainanCoconutPalmGroupCo.,Ltd.,hasbeenworkingthereallhislife,experiencingtherisesandfallsofthecompany.IamaveteranemployeeofHainanCoconutPalmGroupCo.,Ltd.(HCPG),China’slargestproducerofcannedfruitbeverages.Morethan54yearshavepassedsince1964whenIfirststartedworkingpart-timeatHaikouCannery,thepredecessoroftheHCPG.
Establishedin1956,HaikouCannerywasalargeenterpriseinHainan.Intheplanned-economyera,undertheinstructionofthegovernment,thefactoryproducedanumberofproductsincludingcannedpineappleandcannedfish,whichprovedquitepopularamongconsumers.
However,ourproductionefficiencywaslowatthetime.Inthe1960sand1970s,wewerestrivingtoraiseannualoutputto10,000tons.Toreachthisgoal,themunicipalgovernmentofHaikoumobilized30,000workersandstudentsacrossthecitytosupportthefactory.
AndthatgoalistinycomparedtothedailyoutputofjustoneoftheHCPG’s23factoriestoday.Thiscomparisonevidenceshowdramaticthechangeshavebeeninthecompanyaswellasthecountry.
Inthe1980s,duringChina’stransitionfromaplannedeconomytoamarketeconomy,manystate-ownedcompanieslaggedbehind,includingHaikouCannery.
From1981to1985,thefactorysufferedlossesforfiveconsecutiveyearsandreplacedfourmanagers.Atthelowestpoint,20,000yuansaveditfrombankruptcy.Manyofitsmosttalentedemployeesleftthefactory.
Backedintoacorner,governmentofficialswereasnervousastheremainingstaffastheyhuntedforsomeonetosavethefactory.Eventually,theyfoundWangGuangxing.
Bythetime,Wanghadworkedinthecanneryfornearly30yearssincebeinghiredin1958.Heknewalmosteverycornerofthefactoryafterspendingtimeworkingateveryposition.HisconsistentoutstandingperformancewonhimchancestoleadteamsofsomestateownedcompaniesincludingHaikouBeverageFactory.Whereverhewent,productionnumbersimproved.
Themunicipalgovernmentdeterminedthathewasthebestchoiceto“putoutthefire.”In1986,WangGuangxingreturnedtothecannerytotakeover,hopingtopullitoutofcrisis.
Wangbeganmakingabigdifferencethemomenthetookoffice.AfterHainanProvincewasestablishedin1988,talentpouredintotheislandfromallpartsofChina.Wangseizedtheopportunityandwastednotimerecruitingtalentedpersonnelanddevelopingproducts.
Hefocusedonscientificandtechnologicalresearch.Afterthesuccessfuldevelopmentofnaturalcoconutjuiceprocessingtechnology,heproposedrewardingtheresearchteamabonusof300,000yuan—anastronomicalfigureatthetime,whichcausedstrongpublicpressureandinspiredadebateinHainanDailyonsuchabig-ticketbonusforthosewhocontributedtoscientificandtechnologicalresearch.Thedebateculminatedwithfullsupportfromtheprovincialgovernment,makingthearrangementthefirstofitskindinthecountry.
WangGuangxingpersistedwithreforms,withoutconsiderationofhispersonalinterests.HewasfirstinChinatobeginreplacingthe“threeironrules:”“ironricebowl”(securejob),“ironchair”(guaranteedpost)and“ironsalary”(guaranteedsalary)with“morepayformorework.”
Theinitiativeviolatedtheinterestsofsome,andothersdidnotunderstandit.
WangGuangxingranforelectionasadeputytothePeople’sCongressofHaikouCity,butlost:Hedidn’tgetenoughvotesfromthecannery.Everysteponhisladderofcorporatereformwaslitteredwithobstacles.
In1995,HaikouCannerybecameoneofthefirst100pilotcompaniesinChinatopracticeamodernenterprisesystem,anditwasrenamedHaikouCoconutPalmGroupCo.,Ltd.
Thecompanyhassincefacilitatedgreaterprogress,offeringjobsfor6,000employeesandenhancingthedevelopmentoftheentirecoconutindustryinHainan.
Ingeneral,ittakessevenyearsforacoconuttreetoproducefruits,andeachtreecanearnseveralhundredyuanayear.Ifafarmergrowshundredsorthousandsofcoconuttrees,hecanearnasubstantialincomeforthefamily.
Today,500,000farmersinHainanhaveescapedpovertyandbecomeprosperousbyplantingcoconutpalms,andthecoconutindustryhassolidprospectsfordevelopment.
IhavebeenworkingfortheHCPGallmylifeandhavewitnessedalltheupsanddownsofthecompany.Thereissomuchtotell.
Iwasmostimpressedbytwothings:First,abusinesscannotthrivewithoutsupportfromthecountry’spoliciesofeconomicreformandopeningup.Second,acompanycannotmoveforwardwithoutacompetentleader.
Theroadofreformisfulloftwistsandturns.Nothingcouldhavebeenachievedwithoutsolidfaithandcouragetoovercomechallenges.
2012:TheofficebuildingofHainanCoconutPalmGroupCo.,Ltd.,whichremarkablyacceleratedthecoconutindustryacrossHainan.VCG