Proactively Expanding into International Markets: ASIMCO Camshaft “Cam” Overseas

On September 20, 2011, in the fragrant season of osmanthus, ASIMCO Camshaft (Yizheng) Co., Ltd. once again welcomed a group of overseas guests: Mr. Sourih Sarkar, Head of Operations at Komatsu Cummins Engine Company (KCEC), and Ms. Ryoko Arai, Purchasing Manager at KCEC, accompanied by Mr. Jiang Xiaoxiang from Cummins Shanghai IPO, made a special two-day on-site audit visit to our company. The advanced machining and inspection equipment, stable process control, and human-centered visual management on site all made the distant visitors feel that their trip was well worth it, and the on-site audit was successfully completed. Since 2010, ASIMCO Camshaft has achieved leapfrog growth in sales performance by enhancing product quality, improving production efficiency, actively developing new products, and expanding into new markets. In 2010, sales nearly doubled compared with 2009. In 2011, despite a downturn in the mainstream domestic automotive market and a corresponding slump in the auto parts industry, ASIMCO Camshaft maintained strong focus on product quality, retained existing customers, acquired new ones, actively expanded into international markets, and increased export sales, resulting in a resurgence of robust sales since August. As the original supplier of Camshafts for the CURSOR 9 series engines of Iveco, a brand under the Fiat Group, ASIMCO Camshaft has gained a significant competitive edge in the supplier selection process for newly built plants, thanks to its stable and superior product quality, as the Fiat Group’s business continues to expand globally. Following its designation as the sole supplier of Camshafts for the CURSOR 9 engines at SAIC Fiat Hongyan Powertrain Co., Ltd., ASIMCO Camshaft also signed a cooperation agreement with Fiat’s Brazilian plant in early 2011 for the CURSOR 9 Camshaft, and has now begun delivering products in bulk. In the first quarter of this year, the company successfully passed DCEC’s PPAP audit for the finished 4D and 6D Camshafts. Since commencing bulk deliveries, this product line has earned high praise from DCEC for its consistent quality and comprehensive after-sales service, while also winning favor from Cummins Global Procurement. Cummins UK (DEP) even made a special visit to our company to explore collaboration, and starting in June, Cummins UK began bulk deliveries of the 6BRGT and 4BRGT Camshafts. Recently, Komatsu Cummins (KCEC) has also extended an olive branch to us, conducting an on-site audit with the aim of collaborating with ASIMCO on the 6BRGT Camshaft project. As of September 2011, the company’s sales revenue had increased by nearly 40% year-on-year, with export sales revenue up by more than 50%. Orders secured for the fourth quarter of this year already exceed the company’s production capacity, so we are working around the clock to ensure timely, quality-assured, and quantity-compliant fulfillment of customer needs. It is projected that 2011 sales revenue will grow by more than 45% compared with the previous year.

ASIMCO’s Phase II Camshaft Project: 4D & 6D Production Lines Successfully Completed

From April 15 to 22, 2011, Mr. Zheng Xiaoyong and Mr. Tang Guanjun, SQI Product Engineers from Dongfeng Cummins, conducted a PPAP audit of our company’s newly built 6D production line. The two experts commended our company for completing the setup of the new production line in a remarkably short period of time, while also offering valuable comments and suggestions on the issues encountered on-site. The successful completion of this audit marks the official entry of the 6D project, in collaboration with Dongfeng Cummins, into the full-scale production phase. As of early May 2011, the 6D production line had successfully completed layout optimization, capacity expansion, and audit rectification, achieving an initial capacity of 3,000 units per month (for 6D products) and thus meeting the current installation requirements for D-type engine Camshafts at Dongfeng Cummins. With a total investment of over RMB 13 million, this line represents another significant cooperation project with Cummins, following our earlier collaboration with Foton Cummins. In addition, Cummins’ Darlington plant in the UK has begun collaborating with our company to expand capacity on the basis of our existing 4D and 6D lines, while also supplying similar products; among them, the 6-BRGT model (identical to the 6D) has already undergone sample testing on the test bench. A PPAP audit is scheduled for mid-June, with mass production slated to commence in July. At that time, our business cooperation with Cummins will be further enhanced, laying a solid foundation for our products to enter Cummins’ global procurement platform. (Technical Department, Zhang Jinbao)

ASIMCO Camshaft Wins Award from Foton Cummins

ASIMCO Camshaft (Yizheng) Co., Ltd. was named Foton Cummins’ “Best Supplier” for 2010. On March 10, 2010, Mr. Chen Aiguo, the company’s general manager, attended Foton Cummins’ 2011 Supplier Conference in Beijing and delivered a speech titled “Moving Forward Together, Creating the Future” as the supplier representative. 2010 marked the first year of ASIMCO Camshaft’s leapfrog development. Adhering to the business philosophy of “Customer First,” the company vigorously carried out training programs to enhance work quality and service awareness, focused on building team execution capabilities, and improved the management skills of managers at all levels as well as technical and quality personnel. It actively implemented and promoted advanced management methodologies such as the ISO/TS 16949 quality management system, Six Sigma, TPM, Lean Production, and 5S, enabling timely identification and effective resolution of problems so that these tools—once used merely for show—could truly deliver value in the production process. In Foton Cummins’ comprehensive supplier evaluation, our company achieved the top score, receiving high praise from Foton Cummins for product quality, on-time delivery, after-sales service quality, and fulfillment of customer requirements. The company fully recognizes that only by strengthening internal capabilities can it provide excellent customer service; only by always putting customers’ needs first can it win their trust and favor. Customer suggestions, demands, constructive criticism, and encouragement are also powerful drivers of corporate development. ASIMCO Camshaft will continue to uphold the mission of “Creating Value for Customers,” rigorously conduct process audits, product audits, and internal system audits, and continuously organize and implement continuous improvement initiatives to deliver high-quality products and superior services to our customers.

High Motivation on the Production Front Line, Striving for Outstanding Achievements in the New Year

For the employees of our Camshaft Company, 2010 was an extraordinary year. Through the concerted efforts of all staff, we shook off the lingering bitterness of consecutive years of losses and achieved our first-ever profit in company history. These accomplishments are the result of the hard work and dedication of every single employee. Currently, customer orders are steadily increasing, placing a heavy burden on production. To seize this favorable market opportunity, meet customer demands, and ensure on-time delivery, frontline workers resolutely gave up their rare days off and returned to their posts as early as the third day of the Lunar New Year. Not a single employee sought excuses to take leave; they voiced no complaints whatsoever, maintained their full enthusiasm, and showed no sign of slackening in their commitment—even though the holiday meant they couldn’t reunite with family and friends. Many of these employees had worked continuously for several months straight without a break before the Spring Festival. Although second-line departmental staff were not scheduled to work overtime, they did not sit idle either: most managers and employees closely involved with the production line voluntarily stepped forward to provide support, rushing over at the slightest call. The casting workshop’s late-night shift is supposed to end at eight o’clock, but today it’s already half past ten in the morning, and work is still underway. Curious, I went to the casting workshop floor, where a bustling scene unfolded. The fervent, energetic atmosphere completely captivated me, and the frontline workers’ boundless enthusiasm both inspired and left me somewhat awestruck. According to what I learned, since the AUTO production line is operated by another team, Workshop Director Qian Jun, in order to facilitate scheduling, initially planned to conduct some ideological preparation and encourage that team to also try running the AUTO line. Unexpectedly, this stirred up a hornet’s nest: due to time constraints, the usual practice is to run the AUTO line (which takes 5.5 hours) alongside the B line for cold-chilled cast-iron shafts (which takes 2.5 hours), whereas today’s order is for AVALON ductile-iron shafts (which take 3.5 hours). However, the team members insisted on starting the AUTO line that very day, arguing that their capabilities were by no means inferior. Director Qian countered that since the order involves AVALON blanks, it would be unsuitable to run the AUTO line—otherwise the working hours would be excessively long—and moreover, that team had no prior experience operating the AUTO line. Yet the workers immediately declared that they would work twelve hours if necessary to get the job done. Director Qian was unable to dissuade them, leading to the situation described above. It wasn’t until eleven o’clock, when the Production Director ordered the team to finish for the day, that their shift finally came to an end. Watching the glowing red flames illuminating the dark faces of the workers, I truly felt that their busy figures represent the most beautiful sight in the entire company. In conversations with frontline workers, one can clearly sense their positive energy, soaring motivation, and unwavering confidence in the company’s future. Over the years since the joint venture was established, the company has consistently put employees’ immediate interests first: for instance, to address concerns about electric bikes running out of battery power on the way home, the company installed power outlets in the bike sheds, eliminating that worry; when the workshop doors leaked badly and the winter became exceptionally cold, the company organized a comprehensive repair of all the doors; during the summer, when workshop temperatures soared and workers sweated profusely, the company promptly installed cooling fans; the sand-blowing machines generated excessive noise, so the company invested in noise-reduction improvements; and in the machining workshop, where there were no dust extractors and black smoke billowed during turning operations, the company quickly provided dust extraction equipment, significantly improving the working environment. Most notably, frontline employees’ incomes have more than doubled compared with pre-joint-venture levels… It is only natural that we should work diligently and wholeheartedly for the company’s development. “The company’s salary increase is a recognition of our hard work. When an enterprise consistently thinks of its employees, we feel motivated. With the current strong production momentum and tight delivery deadlines, we must prioritize the overall situation, follow production schedules, and work overtime to complete our tasks. Only when the company grows stronger can we employees benefit and enjoy a better life. As the saying goes, ‘If there’s food in the pot, there’ll be food in the bowl.’ Otherwise, talk of a ‘better tomorrow’ is just empty rhetoric,” said Wang Yonggang, a casting workshop employee, in an interview. His simple words vividly revealed the loyal dedication of the hardworking camshaft employees to the company, as well as their hopeful aspirations for a brighter future. We love our jobs, we love our positions, we love our company, and even more, we love the frontline workers who make such significant contributions to the company’s development! Let us string fragrant gardenias into garlands and inscribe the most brilliant words in honor of these dedicated workers!

Combining Theory with Practice for Win-Win Collaboration

Nanweike Company (Nanjing Iveco Automobile Co., Ltd. of SAIC Motor) has been a valued customer of our company for many years, during which our cooperative relationship has remained exceptionally harmonious. This is attributable not only to the high level of attention paid by our company’s leadership but also to the effective communication and mutual trust between our technical and quality departments. Since 2010, through statistical analysis of the monthly scrap material returned from Nanweike Company for Camshaft blanks, we have observed a steady monthly increase in the amount of scrap, with the lowest figure in the first quarter at 3.95% and the highest reaching 5.29% (since we supply raw blanks, defects such as sand holes, slag inclusions, and surface imperfections are unavoidable; Nanweike allows up to 4% scrap). Notably, in April the scrap rate soared to 10.27%. Witnessing piles of nearly finished blanks being returned, our company leaders and management were deeply concerned and promptly issued an order to identify the root cause of the problem and work with the customer to reduce scrap within a specified timeframe, directing our technical, quality, and sales departments to take immediate action. Upon receiving the directive, a task force dedicated to reducing scrap—comprising elite personnel from the technical, quality, and sales departments—was dispatched to Nanweike’s camshaft machining line the very next day. By collecting relevant on-site data and engaging in direct discussions with operators, the team quickly compiled preliminary information and data, which they immediately analyzed to determine the underlying causes. The analysis revealed that, due to the use of resin-bonded sand casting for the camshaft blanks, during the high-temperature pouring process and before the blank cools and solidifies, the resin-bonded sand breaks down under the heat, gradually losing support at the smaller end of the blank far from the gating system. As the blank cools and solidifies, gravitational forces cause slight downward bending, resulting in what appears to be a straight blank on the surface but actually exhibits a subtle curvature at the microscopic level (as shown in the figure above). During the 10th machining operation—milling the end face and drilling the center hole—the customer uses a standard steel pin to align and position the center hole, which represents the theoretical center point. In theory, this should pose no problem; however, since it does not coincide with the actual center of our blank, after machining the center hole, the machined center deviates from the blank’s true center in one particular direction. This misalignment leads to uneven material allowance in subsequent processes, causing turning and grinding operations to produce non-circular parts and ultimately resulting in scrap. To verify our findings, the task force conducted multiple on-site inspections at the customer’s facility. On-site verification by the customer confirmed the accuracy of our analysis, demonstrating that the only viable solution was to adjust the positioning datum so that it aligns as closely as possible with the blank’s inherent center. Given that the customer’s production line operates on a dedicated, specialized setup and is currently in peak season, any shutdown would be unacceptable. Therefore, if adjustments were to be made, they could only proceed with the approval of the customer’s technical and equipment departments. On April 27, the sales department coordinated with the customer’s technical, production, and equipment leaders, and the task force presented extensive data and evidence to persuade the customer. Without disrupting normal production, they took advantage of the customer’s lunch break and the time immediately following the day’s production tasks to carry out three temporary fine-tuning steps on-site, while simultaneously collecting and analyzing data post-adjustment to ensure the effectiveness of the changes. Over more than half a month of continuous on-site monitoring by our task force, it became evident that, following the adjustment of the 10th-process positioning datum, the customer’s scrap rate dropped significantly—from nearly 20 defective pieces per day in April (mostly due to non-circular turning and grinding)—to just 3–4 pieces per day now (primarily sub-surface sand holes, slag inclusions, and cold shuts, with daily input of 200 blanks). The customer’s camshaft workshop supervisor and shift foremen expressed considerable satisfaction. However, the full extent of the improvement will only become clear after one month of continued production following the adjustments—that is, by the end of May, when the exact scrap figures can be accurately assessed. After initially confirming the effectiveness of the adjustments, the task force decided to swiftly convert the customer’s temporary measures into permanent ones, thereby preventing a resurgence of scrap caused by instability in the shims used for adjustment. We designed and fabricated pressure blocks to replace the temporary shims and proactively visited the customer’s site to perform the replacement. The enthusiastic cooperation and positive attitude displayed by the customer’s on-site operators clearly demonstrated their satisfaction with the results of this adjustment. On May 25, Nanweike returned the May batch of blank machining scrap, which, upon counting, totaled 101 pieces (mainly sub-surface sand holes, slag inclusions, cold shuts, and surface defects). The customer had processed 3,400 blanks in May, resulting in a scrap rate of 2.97%; the average scrap rate for the first quarter was 4.45%, whereas prior to the adjustment, the April scrap rate stood at 380 pieces out of 3,700 blanks, equating to 10.27%. The tangible benefits are evident to all: in just one month, disregarding differences in the number of blanks processed, we directly reduced the customer’s scrap by 279 pieces. According to the customer’s internal calculations, each finished camshaft incurs labor costs of approximately RMB 300 per piece, along with tooling, cutting tools, and energy expenses totaling about RMB 150 per piece. Thus, the customer saved a total of 279 × RMB 450 = RMB 125,550. Moreover, they gained an additional 279 finished camshafts (market price: RMB 580 per piece). At the same time, our company also avoided producing 279 scrap blanks, saving RMB 279 × RMB 70.5 = RMB 19,669.5 in sales costs, truly achieving a win-win outcome. Through my involvement in this project, I have come to deeply appreciate that if we pay closer attention, think more carefully, and go the extra mile for our customers, we not only create value for them but also reap rewards for our own company—and most importantly, we earn their trust. Li Xiangguang

ASIMCO Camshaft (Yizheng) Co., Ltd. Held the Launching Ceremony of “Quality Activity Month”

On May 7, 2010, ASIMCO Camshaft (Yizheng) Co., Ltd. held the launch ceremony for its “Quality Campaign Month,” with the theme “Quality is in My Hands” and the slogan “Pay attention to every detail; use my wisdom and my hands to produce high-quality products.” The campaign plans to organize a series of activities, including training, quality competitions, and practical drills, to compare skills, quality, service, and collaboration, thereby fostering a positive atmosphere in which “everyone cares about quality, everyone participates in quality, and everyone makes contributions.” At the launch ceremony, General Manager Chen Aiguo and other company leaders delivered motivational speeches, emphasizing that “quality is the lifeblood of an enterprise” and that we must adopt the principle that “no punishment is too severe when it comes to quality issues.” They urged employees to strive to create value for customers, secure room for enterprise development, and realize their own personal value. All employees then took a quality oath and signed a pledge, solemnly committing themselves to quality control.

Camshaft Company’s “Management Improvement Activities” Begin to Yield Results

Starting in October 2009, the company comprehensively implemented the management philosophy of “P (Efficiency), Q (Quality), C (Cost), D (Delivery), S (Safety), M (Morale).” In particular, after designating 2010 as the “Year of Management Improvement,” the company launched a series of initiatives to clarify objectives, align thinking, and inspire employees’ proactive and positive work enthusiasm. In terms of ideological development, cadres and employees were encouraged to study Chairman Mao’s essay “On Combating Liberalism” and to submit essays sharing their insights from the study, thereby gaining a clearer understanding of their own shortcomings, overcoming various manifestations of liberalism that erode the organization, and enhancing their sense of responsibility at work. On Saturday mornings, “West Point Execution Capability” training was organized to build a highly professional, execution-oriented team that is customer-value driven, with all efforts focused on delivering customer value and cultivating a business persona characterized by “results-based exchange.” Regarding institutional development, the company continuously refined job responsibility assessments and introduced a “Weekly Work Commitment System,” which significantly strengthened each employee’s sense of responsibility—especially among managers at or above the department level—thereby setting an exemplary and leading example. In terms of team building, a variety of interactive activities—including suggestion-for-improvement campaigns, team-building exercises, tug-of-war and jump-rope competitions, and tree-planting events for Party members—enhanced employee engagement, fostered greater communication, mutual support, and trust among colleagues, strengthened team spirit, and markedly boosted employees’ sense of corporate pride. Thanks to the concerted efforts of all employees, a series of initiatives aimed at improving efficiency and reducing costs were implemented, resulting in a marked improvement in the company’s financial performance. By April, per capita value added had risen from RMB 15,079 in the same period last year to RMB 53,295, and the company has achieved profitability for four consecutive months, putting it on a healthy growth trajectory.