Building a Golden Brand for Automotive Air-Conditioning Heat Exchangers! — An Interview with Zhejiang Shuangkai Automobile Air-Condition Co., Ltd

Zhejiang Shuangkai Automobile Air Conditioner Co., Ltd., located in Wenxi Town, Qingtian County, Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, is a company specializing in the production of automotive air conditioner evaporators, condensers, heater cores, and other automotive air-conditioning components. It was formerly known as Wanma Automobile Air Conditioner Co., Ltd. As a member of the China Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry Association and the Automotive Air Conditioning Professional Association, the company has been engaged in the production of automotive air-conditioning components for 18 years. On October 28th, a reporter from "Automobile Air Conditioning News" interviewed Mr. Jiang Ning, the Sales Manager of Zhejiang Shuangkai Automobile Air Conditioner Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Mr. Jiang").

As a company specializing in the production of automotive air conditioner evaporators and condensers, Shuangkai currently offers over 3,000 product varieties of different specifications, which are compatible with almost all vehicle models currently available in the market.

According to Mr. Jiang, over the years, their company has always attached great importance to independent innovation and continuous improvement of product quality. Jiang Zemin once said, "Innovation is the soul of a nation's progress and the inexhaustible driving force for a country's prosperity. Without strong independent innovation capabilities and relying solely on technology imports, it will be difficult to escape technological backwardness." Mr. Jiang believes that this statement applies equally to enterprises. Especially nowadays, with China's accession to the World Trade Organization, the entire Chinese market has become increasingly open. Chinese enterprises not only have to face fierce competition from domestic peers but also compete with foreign-invested enterprises from around the world. If an enterprise cannot continuously innovate, upgrade its products and technologies, and develop itself according to market needs, it will be like "rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you will retreat."

"Our company has consistently introduced advanced technologies and processes from both domestic and international markets over the years, and conducted technological modifications and innovations based on market demands in different regions. Therefore, over the past decade, the company has been able to grow step by step to where it is today. Our products have received praise from numerous customers in terms of quality, appearance, and price, and are exported to over 30 countries and regions in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, etc. We provide automotive air-conditioning components for vehicles such as GM's FISKER, Korean LANOS (Russian factory), Ford FICSTA, Dongfeng Xiaokang, Chang'an Star, Wuling Zhiguang, and FAW Jiabao," said Mr. Jiang.

It is reported that the future development trend of automotive air-conditioning products requires not only smaller sizes but also better performance. Among domestic automotive air-conditioning manufacturers, Shuangkai has always been at the forefront technologically, and has successfully developed the fourth-generation evaporator. This product has been patented and is already in production and use. According to Mr. Jiang, the area of the fourth-generation evaporator is only the size of a sheet of 4A paper, and its thickness is only 38 millimeters. Compared to the third-generation evaporator, it is 42 millimeters thinner, yet its performance is even better than that of a 3-horsepower cabinet air conditioner.

"We can compete technically with international advancements, but it's not easy to bring our products up to international standards." When discussing the challenges faced during the development of the fourth-generation evaporator, Mr. Jiang still has vivid memories. "During the research and development process, we encountered numerous difficulties, including talent, equipment, and raw materials. In the absence of relevant domestic talent, we trained our own technical backbone. When there was no suitable equipment for automotive air-conditioning production, we built the machines ourselves. Since domestic raw materials differed from international ones, we conducted hundreds of experiments to finally obtain the optimal technical parameters. Furthermore, we humbly learned from foreign companies, especially Japanese automotive air-conditioning manufacturers."

"We have adapted advanced technologies for our own use and innovated to create Shuangkai's unique characteristics. Since our technology and product performance are comparable to international corporations, but our prices are much lower than foreign products, our products have received warm praise from consumers upon their launch. The new products have been highly welcomed in the international market and have once again passed the ISO/TS16949:2009 international certification."

"Our company's General Manager, Wang Qingsheng, once said, 'The domestic automotive air-conditioning industry has developed relatively late. We cannot grope blindly with our eyes closed. We must utilize international advanced technologies, enhance and improve them, break through technical barriers, and ultimately take the lead in possessing our own intellectual property rights.' Guided by this mindset, the company has broken through one new technology and developed one new product every year since 2001. To date, we have developed products such as laminated evaporators, subcooled tube condensers, and oil-cooled parallel flow condensers, and completed the standardization of over 800 joints for air-conditioning evaporators, filling multiple domestic gaps. This year, the company exported over 1 million automotive air-conditioning evaporators and condensers, with a production value exceeding 100 million yuan." Additionally, Manager Jiang also introduced that in order to continuously enhance the company's research and development capabilities, Shuangkai, besides designing its own nitrogen-protected tunnel brazing production line with international advanced standards and introducing various advanced equipment such as continuous progressive stamping dies, automatic flat tube straightening machines, and manifold automatic molding machines, has now established a comprehensive automotive air-conditioning performance laboratory. This laboratory is equipped with more than 10 testing devices and can conduct evaporator and condenser product mode environment testing, commercial air-conditioning performance testing, and other special performance experiments.

In addition to building a golden brand for automotive air-conditioning evaporators and condensers, Shuangkai Company has been committed to improving the working environment and enhancing the welfare benefits of its employees for many years. Manager Jiang believes that employees are the driving force behind the company's progress. Without the hard work of the employees, Shuangkai would not have achieved its current success. Therefore, the company provides each employee with bright and clean dormitories and purchases social insurance and other related welfare benefits. Meanwhile, every year, the company organizes various activities to enrich employees' leisure life, such as dining together, sports competitions, and outings. "We hope that our employees feel happy and content working at Shuangkai!" said Manager Jiang.

"Moreover, as a company, we believe that we should not be confined within our own world or only focus on the growth of corporate profits. Instead, we should broaden our horizons to the entire society and direct our attention to those who need our help." It is understood that Shuangkai Company has joined various charitable organizations to assist impoverished villages in self-infrastructure development and gives priority to recruiting talented individuals from poverty-stricken areas, contributing its own strength to the continuous progress of society. In June 2011, in response to the call of the Qingtian County Government, Shuangkai Company partnered with Linggen Township Government and Hanshan Village in Qingtian County to provide support for the development of Hanshan Village.

By adhering to the quality policy of "pursuing excellence in quality and honesty as the foundation" and the service principle of "pursuing high quality with integrity and striving for customer satisfaction," as well as aiming to create a "happy home" for its employees, Shuangkai Company has garnered continuous applause throughout its journey. In the future, Shuangkai Company will continue to work diligently, innovate continuously, and build a golden brand for automotive air-conditioning heat exchangers!  (By Yang Xiaona  Lin Rui)