ASIMCO Camshaft Donates to Families of Employees Affected by Fire to Help Them Through Tough Times

On the evening of April 7, 2014, a tragic fire broke out at the home of our employee Dai Dehui, destroying almost all the household furnishings, cracking the walls and even snapping the roof beams, rendering the house essentially uninhabitable. To this day, his family of six is still living with relatives. The sudden blaze was like a nightmare that shattered the once-peaceful life of the Dai family, adding insult to injury for this ordinary household. Fire is merciless, but people are compassionate; when one suffers, support comes from all directions. Upon learning of Dai Dehui’s situation, the company sprang into action. The trade union launched a donation drive among all employees, urging everyone to extend a helping hand to their unfortunate colleague. The campaign received overwhelming support from every member of the workforce, who demonstrated the spirit of unity, friendship, mutual assistance, and solidarity by generously contributing and lending a hand to this distressed family. In just two days, more than RMB 17,600 was raised. Although this amount may seem insignificant compared with the losses suffered by the Dai family, it carries the heartfelt care of all employees and conveys their sincere encouragement and best wishes. On April 25, Zhou Quan, Director and Chairman of the company’s trade union, on behalf of all employees, personally handed over the donated funds to Dai Dehui, asking him to convey the company’s concern and condolences to his family. He also encouraged Dai to regain his confidence, work hard, and strive to rebuild his home as soon as possible. Dai Dehui was deeply moved by the company’s care and encouragement and repeatedly expressed his profound gratitude for everyone’s help! The company’s care and the employees’ kind deeds exemplify the cohesion and centripetal force of the Camshaft family. While bringing warmth, they also offered Dai Dehui and his family immense comfort and hope. Through concrete actions, all employees have once again fully demonstrated that Camshaft is not only a harmonious and warm family, but also a strong backing and source of strength for every employee.

ASIMCO Camshaft Successfully Visits French FPT

On March 24–25, 2014, Zhou Quan, Sales Director of ASIMCO Camshaft (Yizheng) Co., Ltd., and Du Wenwen, Head of the Quality Department, together with staff from the FPT Shanghai office, paid their first dedicated visit to the FPT Bourbon-Lancy plant in France. During the visit, the two sides engaged in in-depth and friendly exchanges on quality, packaging, logistics, third-party services, testing methods, and other related matters. The FPT Bourbon-Lancy plant, located in southern France, currently employs more than 1,000 people and primarily manufactures C8, C9, C10, C11, and C13 engines. The company also produces engine blocks, cylinder heads, crankshafts, connecting rods, and Camshafts. Since the start of production (SOP) of the C8 and C9 series Camshafts in 2006, ASIMCO Camshaft has been the exclusive supplier. FPT has expressed satisfaction with our company’s performance in product delivery and quality. The ASIMCO Camshaft team visited Mr. FASANO Marco, Director of Quality; Mr. Dupla, Quality Manager; Mr. Duge and Mr. Russo, Quality Engineers; and Mr. Didier from the Logistics Department. The ASIMCO Camshaft team presented improvements and control methods for Camshaft heat treatment. The FPT quality team expressed satisfaction with ASIMCO Camshaft’s work and accompanied the group on a tour of FPT’s laboratory, testing center, and production floor. At the testing center, they communicated with FPT’s quality engineers and agreed on a standardized method for testing the hardened layer. In the FPT Logistics Department, the two sides confirmed the supply plan for C8 and C9 in 2014. At the same time, FPT put forward improvement requirements for ASIMCO Camshaft’s current packaging methods. ASIMCO Camshaft pledged to submit an improvement proposal and a detailed implementation plan as soon as possible to meet customer needs. Through this successful visit, ASIMCO Camshaft gained direct insight into customer feedback, laying a solid foundation for stabilizing and enhancing product quality and for providing even better service to customers in the future.

We congratulate our company on being awarded the Second Prize in the Yangzhou Association for Science and Technology’s Golden Bridge Project for the 2012–2013 period.

We warmly congratulate our company on winning the Second Prize of the Yangzhou Science and Technology Association’s Golden Bridge Project for the 2012–2013 period for our project “Application of Truss-Type Robots for Rough Turning on Line C9.” Our company has the highest employee turnover rate on the upstream section of Line C9, mainly due to the extremely high labor intensity. Currently, one worker operates two machines, each weighing over 30 kilograms, with a total handling load of nearly 10 tons per shift. We have previously used balance hoists, but they suffered from instability, tool collisions, and low efficiency, making operators reluctant to use them. Moreover, the equipment varies in size and shape, so a single balance hoist cannot accommodate multiple machines, resulting in considerable operational inconvenience. The truss-type robot is a fully automated loading and unloading mechanism that completes each cycle in under 10 seconds, requiring no human intervention throughout the process—making it the ideal solution to the staffing challenges in this operation. The widespread adoption of robots in manufacturing is the future trend, and choosing the upstream section of Line C9 for this pilot project is aimed at accumulating experience for the company’s subsequent full-scale rollout. Most truss-type robots currently available are small, with a payload of around 10 kilograms, whereas our company requires a robot that is 16 meters long and can handle a payload of 100 kilograms, posing significant challenges to the robot’s mechanical components. In addition, most robotic control systems on the market are imported from Japan and Germany, making them expensive. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop robots that offer excellent performance-to-price ratios, possess independent intellectual property rights, and are specifically tailored to our needs. Leveraging Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s technological strengths in robotics research, our company has partnered with the university to develop a truss robot at about one-third the cost of comparable imported products, while achieving nearly equivalent operational reliability. The introduction of this robot will significantly reduce workers’ physical exertion, lower the risks associated with heavy lifting, eliminate safety hazards related to such tasks, and mitigate the enterprise’s employment risks. The application of automation is the future trend in mechanical manufacturing, as it can effectively improve working conditions, reduce operating costs, and enhance corporate competitiveness. In March, ASIMCO Camshaft (Yizheng) Co., Ltd. achieved a historic output value exceeding RMB 9.5 million, with per capita annual output approaching RMB 400,000. These remarkable results were attained through optimized human resource management, technological improvements, and continuous equipment upgrades. Moving forward, our company will continue to accelerate its development, comprehensively promoting the application of various suitable robots. As hardware continues to improve, the company’s business performance will undoubtedly maintain steady growth.

Welcoming the Peak Sales Season and Ensuring On-Time Delivery — A Report on the Establishment of a Reinforcement Team in the Metal Processing Workshop

Since the end of last year, ASIMCO’s Camshaft division has experienced a small surge in demand, with monthly orders for both steel and ductile iron camshafts increasing by more than 20%. Steel camshafts such as the 112 and 310 models have also moved from trial production and small-batch runs into full-scale mass production and supply. Around this year’s Spring Festival, several customers called and emailed to place larger orders: some ductile iron camshafts saw demand double compared with last year, while orders for certain steel camshafts were about 40% above normal levels. Ensuring product quality, quantity, and timely delivery is the responsibility of the company’s production system. To cope with the rapid growth in market demand and to uphold the company’s commitment of “not losing a single camshaft,” the production system promptly organized discussions and sought solutions. If the previous work arrangements—such as the “three shifts with two rotations” and the standard three-shift system—were maintained, there would be a significant shortage of operators. Even with emergency hiring, the time required for recruitment, training, and on-the-job proficiency would still be insufficient to meet immediate needs; moreover, once market demand returns to normal levels, there would be an excess of staff that could not be accommodated. Director Ji Youqun, who oversees production, proposed drawing on last year’s “Enhanced Shift” initiative implemented in the casting workshop: establish a dedicated shift that rotates weekly to cover two shifts on each of the three production lines. This way, production lines with heavier order volumes can keep their equipment running continuously, operators can enjoy regular weekly rest, and both personnel and equipment utilization are maximized. Following the proposal, the machining workshop held a mobilization meeting. However, given differences in equipment, process routes, and product characteristics across the various production lines, not all employees could meet the requirements. Therefore, the workshop selected highly skilled and physically fit personnel to form the “Enhanced Shift,” while also identifying safety, quality, and equipment risk points on each line and developing corresponding mitigation measures. After providing short-term training to these assigned workers in unfamiliar roles, the machining workshop first implemented the scheme on two production lines in January and expanded it to all three lines in February, achieving excellent results. Despite having fewer than 20 working days in January and February, output levels matched those of typical months. The implementation of the “Enhanced Shift” ensured timely product delivery during peak market demand, significantly boosted employee incomes, and eliminated the pressure of workforce surplus during off-peak periods. Throughout the implementation process, we continuously summarized our experiences and applied FMEA principles to identify and control potential risks, enabling ongoing optimization of the scheme to achieve optimal operational performance.

Visible Changes — A Documentary on the Improvement of Working Conditions in the Foundry车间

“Improving the working environment for our employees is tantamount to enhancing their compensation—and that, in turn, is the best benefit we can offer. With a clean, comfortable, and labor-saving work environment, we feel much more at ease and our enthusiasm for work has soared!” This is what the staff in our foundry workshop have been saying lately. The first impression most people have of a foundry workshop is one of dirt, disorder, and poor conditions—and that was certainly true of us in the past. But over the past two years, things have begun to change. The company has invested more than one million yuan in a series of improvements, covering dust extraction upgrades, reduction of physical strain, ergonomics, and floor cleanliness, among other areas. In particular, the automated rail system for the resin-bonded sand casting line has completely transformed our operations over the past nearly twenty years: manual ladling and pouring have been replaced by an automated pouring line, making the job far easier. As our workers put it, they now need only about 30% of the effort they used to expend. Thanks to these continuous internal improvements, the foundry is no longer synonymous with brute, heavy-handed labor; many physically demanding tasks can now be handled by machinery, thereby minimizing worker fatigue to the greatest extent possible. Our guiding principle in these improvements is this: most workstations should be manageable even for female colleagues, and every workstation should enable our workers to perform their duties right up until retirement. For example, the introduction of automatic hydraulic lifting platforms eliminates the need for workers to bend over; the use of automated floor-sweeping machines prevents secondary pollution during cleaning; enhancements to the dust-extraction piping system ensure there is no airborne dust contamination anywhere in the workshop; and upgrades to ventilation and lighting provide employees with a fresh, well-lit working environment. In 2014, we will continue to upgrade the foundry workshop with additional projects, including installation of fume extraction at the furnace opening, a fully automated cutting machine, a through-type shot-blasting machine with rail-guided conveyance, and equipment for cooling castings, among others. We will also begin exploring solutions for a rail-based automated pouring system. As these improvement initiatives are gradually completed, we aim to transform the workshop into a modern, state-of-the-art foundry production facility. Of course, such improvements in the work environment would not be possible without the valuable suggestions and input from all workshop employees, nor without the diligent implementation and enforcement by workshop management. We have never stopped striving for change, and we will continue to move forward, creating a safe, comfortable, and clean working environment that fosters greater employee satisfaction and a deep sense of belonging—making them feel as though the company is “home.” Together, we will compose a harmonious symphony of enterprise and workforce.

Usher in the Year of the Horse with Full Steam to Achieve High Yields

On February 5 (the sixth day of the first lunar month), the first working day after the holiday, the company entrance was filled with the sound of firecrackers early in the morning, creating a lively and festive atmosphere. At 8:30 a.m., the company’s leadership team arrived at the entrance to welcome employees back to work and extended New Year greetings to those returning to their posts. After the holiday, production at the company has been brisk yet well-organized, with employees quickly getting back into their regular work rhythm. Despite the ongoing rain and snow, production has not been affected. With AVALON Camshaft demand nearly doubling, the production department promptly adjusted its plans, and workshops held mobilization meetings to ensure output for each shift, thereby meeting customer needs. Both the casting and machining workshops have operated all equipment at full capacity, and all frontline employees are enthusiastically engaged in their work for the new year. The service departments supporting production have also stepped up, proactively providing high-quality services to the front line without hesitation. Everyone is working hard to capture market share and achieve higher output; February production and sales are expected to increase by more than 45% compared with the same period last year, marking a strong start to the Year of the Horse.

Foton Cummins Visits ASIMCO Camshaft

On November 11, 2013, a delegation of four from Beijing Foton Cummins Engine Co., Ltd. (BFCEC)—Mr. Dai Songgao, Deputy General Manager; Mr. Guo Jianghua, Purchasing Manager; Mr. Kenny, Quality Manager; and Mr. Li Jinning, Purchasing Engineer—paid a visit to ASIMCO Camshaft Co., Ltd. Mr. Chen Aiguo, General Manager of ASIMCO Camshaft, led the company’s reception team in extending a warm welcome to the guests. During the meeting, Mr. Chen provided a detailed overview of ASIMCO Camshaft’s development over the past few years, as well as its future plans for expansion and capacity enhancement. In particular, he reviewed in depth the preparations for ISG capacity, which was the focus of this exchange, and elaborated on the respective strengths and prospects for development. On behalf of the company, Mr. Chen expressed sincere gratitude to BFCEC for its longstanding support of ASIMCO Camshaft. Subsequently, accompanied by Mr. Chen and other company representatives, the delegation visited ASIMCO Camshaft’s casting and machining workshops as well as the precision inspection laboratory. At the production site, the guests toured Foton Cummins’ dedicated production lines for ISF and ISG Camshafts, observed the production rhythm, and inquired about the operation of the production lines. They highly commended our company’s clean production environment, advanced testing equipment, and well-organized line layout. This visit by senior executives from Beijing Foton Cummins Engine Co., Ltd. will help further strengthen and expand the business cooperation between ASIMCO Camshaft and Foton Cummins.

Viking Project Team Visits Cummins Headquarters

From August 12 to 19, 2013, a three-member ASIMCO Camshaft team, led by Technical Director Dai Hongxing, visited the CEP plant of Cummins Inc. in Columbus, Indiana, USA, to discuss the Viking project. The Cummins Viking project falls under the company’s Light-Duty Diesel (LDD) engine line. This engine model features eight cylinders arranged in two banks of four in a V configuration, with a displacement of 5.0 liters, making it a high-end V8 automotive engine. The project is a significant initiative for Cummins in the light-duty engine segment. During this visit, the ASIMCO Camshaft team held face-to-face discussions with Cummins representatives, including Rod C. Wilson, Director of Procurement for the LDD project, and Paul E. Gray, Procurement Manager, reviewing the project’s progress, exchanging updates on the current status, and discussing the next steps to prepare for mass production in 2014. In addition, the team toured the LDD engine assembly line at the CEP plant and explored opportunities for expanding other business areas. They also visited two other medium-duty engine plants—CMEP and RMEP—and engaged with the procurement departments there regarding camshaft-related business.