He Shijun, an entrepreneur in Zhoushan

He Shijun, an entrepreneur in Zhoushan, founded Zhoushan Donghai Plastic Screw Factory (later renamed as Zhoushan Jinhai Screw Co., Ltd.) in 1985. On this basis, the three sons expanded and established enterprises such as Jinhai Plastic Machinery Co., Ltd., Jinhu Group, and JWELL Group. After years of operation, these enterprises are now outstanding in the Chinese plastic machinery industry, and the entrepreneurial story of He Shijun is also a microcosm of the development history of Jintang screw industry.

In He Shijun’s factory area located in Yongdong, Dinghai, there is an inconspicuous old machine tool by the window, which is a bit “old” compared to other advanced equipment in the workshop

This is the specialized screw milling machine that I developed to produce the first screw back then. Over the years, I have been carrying it with me every time my factory changes. Don’t look at the old guy who doesn’t have the latest trend in CNC equipment, but it can still work! It is the predecessor prototype of numerous “CNC screw milling” machines and is a self-produced equipment with independent intellectual property rights. It has been collected and “permanently collected” by Zhoushan Museum.

The production process of this machine embodies the aspirations of the Chinese people. At that time, it was a period of rapid development in China’s plastic industry, but the core component of plastic machinery, the “screw barrel”, was monopolized by Western developed countries. A VC403 screw for producing chemical fibers was priced at a staggering 30000 US dollars.

This is a machine, not made of gold or silver. I have decided to make the Chinese people’s own screws. Peng and Zhang immediately supported my idea. We have verbally agreed to a gentleman’s agreement, without signing a contract, paying a deposit, or discussing the price. They will produce drawings and I will be responsible for the development. After three months, we will take out 10 screws for delivery and trial use. If the quality meets the requirements, we will discuss the subsequent price in person.

After returning to Jintang, my wife borrowed 8000 yuan for me and I started developing screws. It took half a month to complete the production of specialized screw milling. After another 34 days, 10 BM type screws were manufactured using this machine. In just 53 days, 10 screws were delivered to Zhang, the technical department of Shanghai Panda Wire and Cable Factory.

When Zhang and Peng saw these 10 screws, they were extremely surprised. Within three months, I brought the screws to them.

After quality testing, all meet the requirements. The next step is to install and try it out, and the wires produced are also similar to imported screws. That’s amazing! “All the engineers cheered and cheered. This model of screw is sold for $10000 per unit on the market. When Mr. Zhang asked me how much these 10 units cost, I carefully quoted 650 yuan per unit.

Everyone was stunned to hear that there was more than a slight difference between $10000 and 650 RMB. Zhang asked me to increase the price a bit more, and I said, “How about 1200 yuan?” Zhang shook his head and said, “2400 yuan?” “Let’s add more.” Zhang smiled and said. The final screw was sold to Shanghai Panda Wire and Cable Factory for 3000 yuan per piece.

Later, I started a screw factory with the rolling capital of 30000 yuan sold from these 10 screws. By 1993, the company’s net assets had exceeded 10 million yuan.

Because the screws produced in our factory have good quality and low prices, there is an endless stream of orders. The situation where only Western countries and large state-owned military enterprises can produce screws and barrels has been completely broken.

After establishing the factory, I also cultivated many apprentices. What will the apprentice do after learning techniques? Of course, it’s also about opening a factory, and I encourage them to use technology to start a business. So my factory has become the “Huangpu Military Academy” in the screw industry, where every apprentice can stand alone. At that time, each household produced a single process in a family workshop style, which was ultimately controlled and sold by a larger enterprise. The authors of each process were then paid, which became the main production method for Jintang screw machine barrels and led everyone to embark on the path of entrepreneurship, prosperity, and prosperity towards a moderately prosperous society.

Someone asked me, why should I share the technology with others about something I have finally developed? I think technology is a useful thing, leading everyone to become rich together is very meaningful.