Master technicians at heart of Infiniti's pursuit of quality

The head of Infiniti's China operations believes people matter more than machines when it comes to making cars.

"Speaking of quality, I don't think machines play the most important role. It is people who produce cars, so what matters is whether they want to do it well in the first place," said Daniel Kirchert, president of Dongfeng Infiniti Motor Co.

The automaker's emphasis on the importance of people is most evident at its Xiangyang plant in Hubei province, where 36 of its 2,500 employees are jujiang, or master workers.

On average, jujiang workers have been in their fields for at least 19 years and are extremely skillful and critical to ensure and improve the quality of making vehicles.

Xu Liuyin is one such jujiang. Her hands can feel the difference between 40 and 50 micrometers, about the diameter of six to eight hairs.

Xu's hands move at least a kilometer each day and have moved 5,000 km since she entered the industry 19 years ago, she said.

"People work seems simple. But only well-trained people have such ability to detect such differences and a strong sense of responsibility. That is what I am proud of," said Xu.

Kirchert said jujiang represent a spirit of continuous focus and challenge to offer their customers outstanding quality and experience as well as Infiniti's commitment to long-term, sustainable development in China.

The jujiang spirit has helped the Xiangyang plant create world-class vehicles.

"Infiniti has four plants worldwide - in the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom and here in Xiangyang - and I have been to all of them. I am confident in our Xiangyang plant. We made a lot of preparations two or even three years before the plant started production to ensure it meets our global standards," said Kirchert.

A 2014 Infiniti assessment gave the Xiangyang plant a score of 4.5 out of 5 points, the same score as its plant in Japan.

Infiniti's emphasis on quality has helped the brand win the heart of customers despite an overall slowdown in the Chinese auto market.

Infiniti sold 28,429 vehicles through the first nine months in China, a 36.76 percent surge from the previous year.

From January to September, there was a slight uptick of 0.3 percent in auto sales from the same period last year.

Positive outlook

Kirchert said despite some fluctuations, Infiniti is positive about the Chinese auto market and the Chinese economy, saying the premium auto segment will grow 10 percent annually in the next five to 10 years.

Based on that outlook, Infiniti is expanding its sales network.

"We now have 95 dealerships in China and the number will grow to 100 within this year. We will open another 20 to 30 in 2016," he said.

Considering the pressure on dealers as a result of the economic slowdown and strong competition, Infiniti has proposed smaller and more flexible types of dealerships.

"They are good choices for small cities as they can meet customer demands while not involving a great deal of investment. In fact, many investors are very supportive of such dealerships."

Kirchert said one highlight of Infiniti's work this year is having thorough discussions with dealers to maintain their development.

"We pay much attention to inventory levels. And we believe a reasonable period is 45 to 60 days. The dealers and corporate headquarters have the same goal and make many decisions together. Infiniti will offer firm support to our dealers and ensure a win-win result."

Kirchert also said Infiniti will make stronger efforts to use soft power instead of engaging in price wars.

"Our brand is more recognized in China than it was a year or two ago. Our concept of Gan Ai, our performance and beautiful design have won us more and more customers,

"In some ways, our jujiang spirit represents our commitment to long-term development in China: We do our jobs well and we focus on sustainable growth. It does not matter if on some days our growth slows because that is not the most important thing. What really matters is that we do not compromise quality," said Kirchert.

lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/19/2015 page18)