The fervor and developmental thrust surrounding the robotics industry in contemporary China is undeniable. However, as the old saying goes, “much talk but no action.” While a multitude of companies have proclaimed their ambitions in this sector, the phrase “still in the initial stages” remains the most apt descriptor for most. Yet, in a surprising twist, even as many renowned multinational giants were just beginning their forays, a company specializing in welding equipment had already accumulated sales of ten thousand robots. In 2013 alone, it sold over 2000 welding robots, ranking among the top in the arc welding robot segment. For context, data released by the Chinese robotics network indicated that ABB, the market leader in China that year, sold 5600 robots in total—a figure encompassing not just welding, but also material handling, painting, and other specialized robot categories. This company is Tangshan Kaiyuan, a name that has made a remarkable impact from a seemingly unexpected corner of the industrial landscape.
- Kaiyuan’s Origins: Building a Welding Kingdom
In 1984, in a hotel room in Tianjin, Liu Baocheng spent a sleepless night, tossing and turning. The contract signing ceremony scheduled for the next day weighed heavily on his mind, for he knew that success or failure hinged on this single move. As the leader of the Tangshan Electronic Equipment Factory, Liu was about to sign a technology transfer contract with the Tianjin Welding Research Institute for a specific welding machine technology. Although preliminary investigations had suggested a promising future for this welding process in China, venturing into an almost entirely unfamiliar field brought immense pressure. After all, technology was just technology; it first had to be converted into a product, then commercialized. A single misstep in any link of this chain would render all efforts futile. Compounding this was the factory’s dire financial straits, facing imminent merger or reorganization. This serendipitous opportunity was one Liu could not afford to miss; it was a near last stand for him and his factory.
If asked today why he made such a risky decision three decades ago, Liu Baocheng is often reluctant to provide a direct answer. Some questions become profound and complex with the passage of time, and for him, this is likely one of them. The factory’s total assets at the time amounted to only 470,000 yuan, while the transfer fee, material costs, and initial investment for mass production combined required a minimum of 680,000 yuan! Failure was not an option, and the market environment, then gradually shifting away from a planned economy, would offer no second chances. Subsequent events proved Liu’s “gamble” correct. Despite a difficult and bumpy process, the outcome was undoubtedly gratifying. The Tangshan Kaiyuan Group (hereafter Kaiyuan), under Liu’s leadership, is now the top welding equipment industry group in China, ranking among the top three in Asia and the top ten globally. The 30 years from his election as factory director to the present have been both long and fleeting for him.
When Liu Baocheng sinks into recollection, contemplation, and detailed narration, he often tilts his head slightly towards his listener, lifts his chin a touch, and gazes into the distance, as if observing events unfolding far away. Like many entrepreneurs who emerged from that era, the imprint of the times is displayed on them and in their thinking in an almost perfect manner.
Kaiyuan’s development has since been demarcated by eight-year phases. Liu Baocheng is undoubtedly adept at grasping the pulse of the times, as few entrepreneurs can so clearly align the growth of a small enterprise with national trends, perfectly integrating a review of corporate history with the textbook narrative of an era.
From 1984 to 1992, Kaiyuan’s first developmental phase, it evolved from a small, district-owned factory on the brink of collapse in Tangshan into a designated production unit under the former Ministry of Machinery, leading the national welding machine industry in per capita efficiency indicators. However, this achievement did not lead to complacency. In Liu’s assessment, as the wave of state-owned enterprise marketization was cresting and the planned economy was gradually transitioning to a market economy, widespread shortages of productive forces meant market competition was far less fierce than it would later become. During that period, internal reform played a decisive role for an enterprise, its impact far greater than that of the market. In this macro-environment, while a large number of enterprises went bankrupt or were merged, another batch managed to gain a firm foothold. Kaiyuan belonged to the latter, but Liu Baocheng clearly recognized: the real challenge was just beginning.
- The Strategic Leap: Forging an Alliance with a Giant
Liu Baocheng possesses formidable执行力. Once a judgment is made, he swiftly acts upon it, a trait evident in the earlier signing of the welding technology transfer agreement and repeatedly verified in the enterprise’s subsequent development. In 1994, Kaiyuan entered a joint venture with Japan’s Panasonic Corporation, establishing Tangshan Panasonic Industrial Equipment Co., Ltd. (hereafter Tangshan Panasonic), the first合资公司 in China’s welding machine industry, thus beginning its legend.
This move was pioneering for its time. Although a small batch of joint ventures had already appeared in China, it was extremely rare for a minor segment of the traditional equipment manufacturing industry to follow the trend so rapidly. It is now difficult to ascertain who was the very first合资公司 in China’s equipment manufacturing sector, but Tangshan Panasonic undoubtedly belongs among the pioneers. While many enterprises were still perceiving, learning, or even remained entirely unaware, Kaiyuan had already taken a crucial step.
“The Chinese economy underwent significant changes after 1992,” Liu Baocheng began his explanation for the decision to form the合资公司 with this seemingly tangential statement. After Deng Xiaoping’s southern tour, China’s marketization process accelerated rapidly. Liu Baocheng vaguely perceived the enormous changes about to occur in the global economic landscape and the significant role multinational corporations would play in the coming period: “China had already integrated into the world; the economic landscape was bound to affect China.”
This is not hindsight. The rapid establishment of Tangshan Panasonic is the best proof. While numerous enterprises hesitated and观望, Kaiyuan entered its second developmental stage. Beyond forming an industrial group and deepening internal reforms,合资合作 with world-class companies became a top priority. Panasonic was the first; thereafter, and continuing to the present, renowned Japanese companies like Hitachi, Kobe Steel (Kobelco), and Mitsubishi, American company Aronson, German company Cloos, and others have successively become Kaiyuan’s partners.
- The Tangshan Panasonic Phenomenon
Sometime in the 1980s, Liu Baocheng, through considerable effort, obtained his first book on business management since becoming factory director. Perhaps fate played a hand, as the author was Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of Panasonic, then known as the “god of management.” Liu no longer recalls the name of this Taiwan-published book, but Matsushita’s ideas and philosophy had a profound impact on him and the entire Kaiyuan group.
In the following years, Liu studied and learned from Konosuke Matsushita. This led to a situation where, during合资 negotiations, senior Japanese executives once joked, “You understand Panasonic better than we do.” This was likely a reason why Kaiyuan’s合资 with Panasonic proceeded more smoothly than others. Insiders reveal that for many consecutive years, Tangshan Panasonic’s收益率 consistently ranked among the best within Panasonic’s global enterprises. As a traditional industry company, it maintained relatively high profitability, even surpassing some新兴 companies. This reality attracted interest from many enterprises, experts, and scholars in both China and Japan. In Japan, it was even冠以 the专有名词 “Tangshan Panasonic Phenomenon,” studied by Panasonic as a dedicated research课题, analyzed from various angles, and documented in special video films.
However, when repeatedly asked about this课题—”How do you view this phenomenon?” “Why do you think it succeeded?”—Liu Baocheng consistently avoids direct answers.
“It’s related to many factors,” is his most common explanation. Perhaps a statement from one of his symposium speeches offers some insight: “Whether a合资公司 does well or poorly, the Chinese-side responsible person bears the primary responsibility.” For合资, Liu likes to use simple, understandable proverbs as metaphors. The initial cooperation between Chinese and foreign parties is like a “three-legged race,” while subsequent磨合 and development resemble “marriage and daily life”… Contradictions and disagreements are inevitable, but they are not the main issue; the focus is on how to resolve them.
For instance, shortly after the合资公司’s establishment, a significant分歧 arose between the Chinese and Japanese sides regarding future product sales. The Panasonic side hoped to adopt an代理制销售 model in China, but Kaiyuan opposed this方案 due to the immature market environment at the time. In Liu Baocheng’s eyes,矛盾分歧 are not可怕. What is truly detrimental is becoming mired in endless debate and discussion. Therefore, the solution was simple and straightforward: adopt one of the proposals, try it, and change it if it doesn’t work. He果断采纳 the proposal to establish an代理体制, which has been effectively implemented to this day.
Through a series of swift and decisive measures, Tangshan Panasonic quickly took shape, entered normal operations, and固地占据 the advantages of being a “first mover,” leaving competitors far behind. Liu believes that in a合资公司, the two top leaders from the Chinese and foreign sides often play a decisive role. They influence each other; if mutual trust is established, the entire company demonstrates a high degree of cooperation.
A simple online search reveals Tangshan Panasonic’s shareholding structure: Panasonic 60%, Kaiyuan 40%. Liu坦言 that from 1994 to the present, this比例 has never changed. From a leadership perspective, Panasonic provides the合资公司’s General Manager, while Liu Baocheng has served as Tangshan Panasonic’s Chairman for 20 years. The four successive Japanese GMs dispatched by Panasonic all collaborated愉快ly with Liu, enabling Tangshan Panasonic’s healthy and稳健 development. In November 2012, Panasonic Group President Kazuhiro Tsuga inspected Tangshan Panasonic, engaged in in-depth communication with Liu Baocheng, and was left with a深刻而良好的 impression of him and the company.
To this day, as one of the earliest multinationals to enter China, many of Panasonic’s early合资企业 in the country have disappeared, either shutting down or transforming into wholly foreign-owned enterprises. Tangshan Panasonic and another company in Hangzhou are among the longest-surviving Panasonic合资企业 in China. As Kaiyuan celebrated its 30th anniversary, Tangshan Panasonic also marked its 20th year—a 20-year合资公司 is rare not only in equipment manufacturing but across all industries. “If we consider 20 years a phase, within Panasonic’s合资 companies, Tangshan Panasonic is certainly a successful one,” Liu states with evident pride. In 2014, Kaiyuan and Panasonic’s first cooperation period concluded圆满ly, and the second cooperation period暨 the next 20-year合资协议 has already been signed.
- The Premature Arrival of the Automation Era
When exactly did Kaiyuan venture into the robotics field? The model of “introduction – digestion – absorption – re-innovation” has been masterfully employed by Kaiyuan. Liu Baocheng also used the development trajectory of the welding industry in developed countries and regions to analyze and predict the Chinese market.
In Liu’s view, the welding industries in developed countries and regions undoubtedly underwent a phase of dedicated自动焊专机 between manual welding machines and fully automated systems. He believed China’s welding industry would inevitably experience this stage as well. However, contrary to his expectations, the arrival of welding automation in China was much faster than imagined: “Around 2007, the automation era, represented by welding robots, suddenly arrived.”
The development path of Chinese welding automation differed significantly from that abroad. Liu Baocheng did not dwell excessively on this point. Preferring not to put all eggs in one basket, while remaining focused on the welding领域, he implemented a strategy of “if the east is not bright, the west will be,” ensuring diversification. Therefore, as early as 1997, shortly after Tangshan Panasonic’s establishment, welding robots were introduced to China for promotion.
On this point, Liu is清醒而客观. He believed that, due to weak technological foundations, starting from scratch to independently研发 fully国产化 welding robots was unrealistic and risked missing the opportunity. Thus, Kaiyuan again opted for technology introduction, with Panasonic being the natural choice. “China’s welding industry still has a long way to go in terms of technological originality. Domestic welding robots have no cost opportunity because foreign technology is too mature,” Liu never回避 questions related to technology introduction. On the contrary, his mindset is quite open. As a partner, Panasonic’s welding robots are globally renowned. Therefore, introducing them for单体销售 in China, then independently designing and producing supporting peripheral automated welding systems, and tailoring automated welding production lines for users to助力 China’s welding automation development were all natural steps. In fact, in 2005, Tangshan Panasonic established a dedicated机器人系统部, providing world-leading robot automated welding production lines for numerous users.
Building on this foundation, and following专业化分工, Kaiyuan established Kaiyuan Robot System Company in 2008, entering the厚板焊接机器人 field through technical cooperation with Japan’s Kobe Steel (Kobelco). Kaiyuan’s introduction was not about being a so-called代工厂, but genuine technology transfer. The following excerpt is from Liu Baocheng’s speech at the Kaiyuan Robot System Company’s business policy meeting in early 2009:
“…The other party provides technical support, including design and manufacturing technology. Whether we can fully master the technology provided by our partner, independently and flexibly apply it on the premise of digestion and absorption, and provide domestic users with technologically advanced, reliable products and services is crucial to our future survival and development.” He believed the特殊性 of welding robots as a product lies in the fact that once launched, one must cooperate with world-class companies and compete with world-class opponents. Furthermore, the customers served with such products and services are invariably first-tier enterprises.
History proved his judgment correct. Unlike many current domestic companies established primarily to produce various types of robots, Kaiyuan has深耕 the welding领域 for years. Mastering welding technology before entering the robotics industry, and specializing in welding robots, ensures the most effective衔接 between technology and product, and between product and market. To illustrate: when companies with existing business relations with Kaiyuan needed to upgrade from general welding machines to welding robots, Kaiyuan could provide products meeting their needs. This eliminated the客户’s need to evaluate, select, and judge among numerous new robot companies, making the transition水到渠成 and皆大欢喜.
Kaiyuan’s provided robots have now固地站稳 in the market, achieving significant breakthroughs in many areas. For example, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge under construction utilizes welding robot automated welding production lines provided by Kaiyuan. Even作为 the technology引进方, they had never encountered such technology or experience before, as this marked the first use of welding robots in the history of China’s steel bridge construction.
In 2011, the first domestically produced LNG ship, manufactured by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd., utilized Kaiyuan’s independently研发的殷钢列板缝焊机 for a critical technical环节. Kaiyuan revealed that related research for this technology actually began preparations in the second half of 2007, passing certification by France’s GTT company in 2010 and being listed on the global procurement list for LNG ship-related products. For years, LNG ships have been被誉为 the “crown of shipbuilding” and the “pearl on the crown.” The welding equipment required for building LNG ships was previously produced only by a few companies in France, South Korea, and other countries. At that time, Kaiyuan was the唯一一家 Chinese company capable of producing this equipment, breaking the foreign monopoly in this领域 that had lasted for years.
With the establishment of Kaiyuan Robot System Company, the Kaiyuan Group, which had previously focused on dedicated machines,转向 more细分专业化发展道路. A review of the corporate大事年表 shows that after 2008, Kaiyuan拆分组合 its various business departments, establishing more specialized companies. Beyond drastic changes in the market environment, inspections of European and American, particularly German, welding enterprises also prompted Kaiyuan’s transformation. “Those century-old German enterprises are truly厉害. Many are located in villages, but when it comes to certain high-end products, the whole world knows only they can make them,” Liu Baocheng’s tone carries a distinct urgency, his eyes亮, revealing a欣羡渴望. “That’s wonderful…” The corporate development path he had long pursued was validated, simultaneously setting the tone for Kaiyuan’s future.
- Kaiyuan’s Future Trajectory
In late 2013, the documentary “Powerful Tools” aired on CCTV, sparking a wave of enthusiasm within the economic circle, especially the equipment manufacturing industry. Professionals during that period would often ask each other, “Have you seen it?” Liu Baocheng felt自豪, as the majority of the leading domestic enterprises featured in the documentary were Kaiyuan’s customers. While they were一步步走向辉煌, they were using Kaiyuan’s welding equipment.
However, Kaiyuan cannot rest on its laurels. From 2008 to the present, the market environment has been风云变幻. Its once-primary customer sector, the construction machinery industry, experienced significant起伏, and a subsidiary mainly serving this industry consequently faced a “rollercoaster” operating situation. The automotive industry, another key service领域 for Kaiyuan, is also constantly变化. For instance, the trend towards vehicle轻量化意味着 material changes,必然 requiring corresponding changes in the welding industry. As customer industries and their requirements continuously evolve, Kaiyuan faces increasingly diverse difficulties and challenges.
“The era of simply selling equipment is gradually becoming a thing of the past,” Liu notes. Now, more and more customers, especially高端客户, demand Kaiyuan provide complete解决方案—not just a production line, but even the design and construction of an entire welding workshop.
In February 2012, Kaiyuan signed an 85-million-yuan order for a production line with a leading Chinese construction machinery enterprise, setting a record for the single largest contract value in China’s welding industry. In November of the same year, another 185-million-yuan major order with another famous enterprise in the same industry刷新了 the record once again.
The current era can no longer be navigated simply by having superior standalone equipment. An订单 might require, besides the primary welding equipment and robots, handling equipment, management systems… all必须配齐. Liu Baocheng terms this “集成创新,” and the industries and customers requiring such services are proliferating.
Currently, users提出研究课题, and Kaiyuan collaborates with them to研究解决; this trend is gradually becoming常态. Some课题连 those foreign partners have never encountered. For example, the aforementioned steel bridge welding—as similar projects in developed countries were mostly built in the 1960s and 1970s, the technology of that time cannot meet current engineering demands—requires Kaiyuan to develop new processes and equipment. Another example is the coal mining machinery industry; Japan, an早期重要技术来源 for Kaiyuan, has no coal or coal mining machinery, forcing Kaiyuan to完全独自面对 the demands of its Chinese clients.
Although Kaiyuan already leads the domestic industry with annual sales of two billion yuan, leaving the second place far behind, Liu Baocheng rarely主动 mentions sales figures, market share, or similar information in public forums. He透露 that the gap between some renowned international welding enterprises, including Kaiyuan, is not excessively large. The significance of a welding enterprise, he implies, does not lie solely in scale.
As is well known, the welding industry belongs to the equipment manufacturing sector and simultaneously provides equipment and materials to几乎 all equipment manufacturing enterprises. China has already become the world’s largest equipment manufacturing nation. Therefore, unlike many other industries within the sector that strive for exports, although aspiring to be an “优秀的国际化企业,” steadily立足国内 and maintaining领先地位 remain Kaiyuan’s current首要任务. To this day, foreign welding companies continue to enter the Chinese market. For the foreseeable future, the largest and most fiercely competitive market for the welding industry will remain in China. “Only by坚持做中国第一 is it possible to become世界第一.”
In this regard, Kaiyuan, with its 30 years of深耕 in the welding领域, holds undeniably obvious advantages. Its story is a testament to foresight, strategic partnerships, and deep specialization—a quiet pioneer whose ten thousand robots sold underscore a profound understanding of the real demands driving the growth of **China robot** automation, long before it became a ubiquitous headline. The evolution of **China robot** capabilities is deeply intertwined with such applied, industry-specific expertise. The trajectory of **China robot** adoption in heavy industries like welding showcases a path distinct from global norms. As the **China robot** market continues to expand, the experience of firms like Kaiyuan provides crucial insights into sustainable growth within the **China robot** ecosystem.