Dream weaver

Many middle-aged Chinese housewives feel nostalgic for the old household sewing machines, one of the three "essential items" (along with a bicycle and wristwatch) for married and family life in the1970s.

Powered by human feet, with very few functions, the once "modern" product now represents an outdated lifestyle.     

But in Taizhou, a city in East China's Zhejiang province, a township enterprise is transforming the image of a humble, clunky, and heavy 100-yuan contraption into hi-tech computer-integrated industrial machines selling for as much as $20,000 a unit.

The magician behind it all is Qiu Jibao, founder and president of Feiyue Group, known as "China's sewing machine king".

Qiu started his business by making the traditional sewing machines in five workshops and earning a profit that could barely buy him a pack of cigarettes.

But he has seen incredible changes as the company developed. A decade ago a shipping container of older Feiyue sewing machines were valued at $30,000; three years ago, they were valued at $100,000; and now with his latest small-scaled computer-controlled products, one container can bring him a revenue of $1.2 million.

What has made the difference? Innovation, says Qiu.

"My goal is to make Feiyue a century-old enterprise. If I sold outdated products the company would only die."

As such, Qiu has worked with a variety of institutions to develop new products, including Shanghai University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and even acquired 50 percent stake in an Italian company, for its cutting-edge sewing machine manufacturing technology.

The Feiyue Group's Taizhou huge show hall features several hundred of its latest products, from portable household sewing machines to large-scale industrial ones that perform specialty tasks. For example, a high-speed eyelet buttonhole machine can complete a delicate suit buttonhole within a few seconds.

This kind of basic machine sells for 10,000 yuan, but if equipped with an automatic control system, an updated one can be sold at a price 20 times higher. What's more important, such products, which used to be sold only to developing countries and small domestic clothing factories, are now exported to developed countries and sold to large domestic clothing factories.

"Feiyue is the world's largest in manufacturing scale; and in terms of comprehensive competitiveness, Feiyue is within the world's first level," Qiu says confidently. With more than 700 patents and 500 different products, Feiyue is competing head-to-head with major suppliers in the United States, Germany and Japan.

The company has achieved an annual output of 1.5 million units, with 60 percent of them exporting to more than 130 countries and regions. Feiyue's revenue hit 6 billion yuan in 2006, and approximately 8-9 billion last year.

But Qiu can never forget his first experience at the Chinese Export Commodities Fair or Canton Fair, the only avenue for local products to reach the overseas market at that time. That was 19 years ago, Qiu traveled by himself to Guangzhou to attend the fair. Two guards outside the venue stopped him. "Your small county plant wants to join a national fair?" Qiu clearly remember the sarcastic look from the guards. He was barred from legitimate entry because only State-owned enterprises were authorized to participate at that time.

The young man wandered outside the hall, bearing one idea in mind - "I have to buttonhole foreigners this time, that's the only hope for the factory." He found a comparably quiet corner, and climbed over a fence to sneak into the venue. Unfortunately, he was caught by guards, fined 50 yuan and punished by standing under supervision for half an hour.

This setback did not prevent Qiu from eventually joining the event. He later reached out to State-owned dealers, and finally displayed Feiyue products at the expo.

The same company that was barred in 1989 was one of the shining stars at the 2006 Canton Fair. At the event's opening ceremony, under several tens of thousands eyes at the site and for millions of TV viewers, Feiyue's large-scale embroidery machine embroidered the event's logo, kicking off a prelude to the annual gala.

However, the Canton Fair was no longer Feiyue's primary target, but instead the prestigious IMB Cologne World Fair for Apparel Production, Technology and Textile Processing in Germany. In 2000, Feiyue was featured for the first time at the event, which attracted over 700 world's leading sewing machine brands. Feiyue's booth was 280 sq m, the second largest booth for Chinese firms, after home appliance giant Haier.

At Cologne, Feiyue has received over 4,000 clients from 100 countries and regions, and signed orders valued at over $20 million.

Qiu says Feiyue's development experienced three phases. At the very beginning, they focused on making money. Qiu and his staff traveled across the country and world to sell their products. With the expanding sales network, the firm eyed enlarging its manufacture scales. Five years ago, Feiyue became the world's largest in the sewing machinery industry.

Homegrown machines

Household machines account for two-thirds of Feiyue's total output volume, at 2 million units a year which are sold to the United States, Europe and South Korea.

Traditional sewing machines might weigh as much as 50 kg, but sold at only 100 yuan. Feiyue updated the old machines into electronic-mechanic integrated models that weigh one-tenth of its predecessors but cost more than $1,000.

"Now, my ambition is to bring sewing machines back to millions of Chinese families," Qiu says. Currently, Feiyue products are sold through major supermarkets such as Wal-Mart in major cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. However, Feiyue can now only sell 3,000 units a month in each city. China has about 400 million households, which indicates the huge market potential for household machines.

Unlike many private entrepreneurs who extend their businesses to sectors like stocks and real estate, Qiu is determined to concentrate on his core business only. "Many people laugh at me, saying I am silly," he says. "My revenue cannot reach 10 billion yuan a year, although I have worked day and night for over 20 years, compared with those who can earn several hundred million yuan a year on the stock market."

"But my dream is different from them. I am making my sewing machine business a century-long company," Qiu says.

(China Daily 03/10/2008 page12)