Despite being situated in a remote area, CIMC Xinhui has developed into an innovation incubator with multiple world champion products and innovative businesses through creativity and hard work, achieving vigorous growth. This success is inseparable from the decades-long perseverance of a large number of technical staff.
They do not speak grandiose words, but stick to the steadfast accumulation that leads to a breakthrough. They use their youth, wisdom, and sweat to make significant contributions to the company's business expansion and the creation of champion products. Kong Heqing is one of the most important representatives among them, and he is the main designer of the two world champion products: the 53’ container and the folding container. His story shows us the power behind the "aura" of a champion.
23 years of perseverance
In 1982, Kong Heqing was admitted to the Engineering Mechanics major at Huazhong University of Science and Technology. After graduation, he continued his studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, laying a solid professional foundation. Upon graduation, he successfully joined Dongfeng Motor Corporation to engage in design work. In over a decade at Dongfeng Motor, things went smoothly. In his early 30s, he had already obtained the title of senior engineer, who was honored as one of the top ten scientific and technological workers of the group, and became the technical head of his unit. Although these achievements were the envy and pursuit of many, Kong Heqing was not content with the comfortable status quo. His inner urge to change and surpass himself led him to resolutely give up the "iron rice bowl" of a state-owned enterprise and venture to the entrepreneurial hot land of the south.
In 2001, Kong Heqing joined CIMC Xinhui. Upon joining, without having enough time to fully digest the knowledge of the container industry, he received a challenging task: to complete the design of six non-standard containers within half a month. Such a workload was unimaginable in his previous position. As a newcomer, although the journey was difficult, with his quick learning ability and the support of his leaders and team, he eventually completed the task, deepening his understanding of container products and the industry in the process. However, faced with extremely heavy work pressure and the remote and desolate geographical environment of Da'ao Island, which caused various inconveniences in life, he began to question his initial decision and had thoughts of "wanting to quit." Finally, with the encouragement and care from the company leaders, Kong Heqing decided persevere a bit longer, which unexpectedly turned into 23 years.
In the 23 years of experience at CIMC Xinhui, he has maintained a deep understanding of container manufacturing and a keen awareness of the external market, driven by his relentless pursuit of technological innovation. He led his team to develop two world-champion products, the 53’ North American inland container and the foldable container, and participated in the R&D of modular buildings and integrated equipment products, forging a path of development marked by independent innovation with unique characteristics of the city.
The birth of a champion product
By 1996, CIMC had already become the champion of global container products, but its early capabilities were mainly focused on standard containers. The design of the seemingly identical cuboid structure of the 53’ container involved significantly greater challenges compared to conventional containers due to its super large and wide dimensions. It shall meet the requirements of vast internal space, load capacity, safety, and durability for high-frequency use in rail and road scenarios, as well as lightweight construction, and different operational system standards in China and the United States, there are multiple challenges in the design of the 53’ container while maintaining low-cost inland and maritime transport.
When the task was handed to Kong Heqing, the first generation design of the 53’ container had already been completed, but the results were not ideal. The first batches of sample containers exhibited issues like local cracking and difficulties in opening and closing doors. From establishing an understanding of the American 53’ inland container to digesting data and understanding customers, Kong Heqing embarked on an innovative journey since then.
As a "newcomer" transitioning into container design, the 53’ container held significant importance for Kong Heqing. Reflecting on the initial process, he described his emotions at the time as "cautious and meticulous," solving one problem at a time and attempting one innovation after another.
The 53’ container, champion product of CIMC Xinhui
Kong Heqing led the Xinhui technical team in researching the technical standards, new material substitutions, patent breakthroughs, and maritime container ship transportation solutions for the 53’ container, creating multiple "firsts" in the process: the first to develop and use transverse wave front wall panels, the first to employ strain measurement technology, the first to successfully develop shallow wave SCUFF panels, the first to successfully develop the JBHUNT 53’ steel dry cargo container prototype and EMP railway dry cargo container, the first to develop a high-frequency welded I-beam bottom cross member using a combination of CORTEN steel and ultra-high-strength steel, and the first to achieve flat stack transportation on container ships...
Thanks to their efforts, more than 40 innovative patent applications were ultimately completed. When these "firsts" were combined, the competitive advantage of CIMC Xinhui's 53’ container was solidified, surpassing domestic competitors in a few years and over 60% the market share, and becoming a "world champion product."
However, the birth of new products is always accompanied by various challenges and setbacks. In 2006, CIMC Xinhui designed a 53’ container with a higher width requirement for an American customer. To meet customer's needs, Kong Heqing and his team focused on expanding the internal size. However, due to a lack of detailed understanding of regulations, they relaxed over the external dimensions design. Unfortunately, an error exceeding 2mm ultimately caused the product to violate American AAR standards, resulting in a high compensation claim the customer against CIMC.
Kong Heqing (third in the right) and the team had technical communication with American company
At that time, Kong Heqing and his team in design and quality control were weighed down with heavy hearts, prepared for severe punishment, but later learned that the then-management team had taken full responsibility. It was precisely this corporate support and tolerance for innovation that later became Kong Heqing's driving force to persist in innovation, and this lesson made him more respectful to and cautious about technology.
Always imitated, never surpassed.
The foldable container is also one of CIMC's champion products. In 2002, the Group assigned the production of foldable containers to CIMC Xinhui and required completion of the production line within three months.
Kong Heqing and his team was working
At that time, CIMC Xinhui was unfamiliar with the product, standards, patents, market, customers, and supply chain. The team was also new, and none of them spoke English. Under this premise, they had to complete product development and design, market services, and support the planning and design of the special container line, while also assisting procurement and quality control departments to establish and improve the supply chain and inspection standards, facing unimaginable pressure and challenges. A gentle and refined man like him lost his temper and composure many times. Endless phone calls, emails, and chain-smoking... but the expectant eyes of the leaders always motivated Kong Heqing. With a strong sense of mission and responsibility, he devoted himself tirelessly, striving to learn from the foldable container master Martin, actively communicating with customers, thereby establishing multiple new standards and specifications, applying for many patents, upgrading products continuously, and gradually expanding the variety and series of foldable containers.
Efforts paid off; after a series of innovations by CIMC Xinhui, the foldable containers encountered a rare market boom. In 2006, CIMC Xinhui occupied 80% of the global foldable container market.
Photo of Kong Heqing (right) and Martin, the folding container expert
Subquently, to address the low-cost yet safe and effective delivery of CIMC semitrailers and other products across borders, Kong Heqing led the team to further explore customer needs, strengthen technical depth, and, in collaboration with sister companies within the group, developed the first-generation BUSDECK product for commercial/special vehicle transportation.
Commercial/special vehicles are large and heavy, making loading and unloading using cranes from folding containers unsafe, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. The primary design objective was how to enable vehicles to drive in and out of folding containers from outward-folding end structures.
This meant the end structure had to ensure normal inward folding and safe outward folding, necessitating a complete innovation of the folding hinge, the key component, the design of a matching balance system, and resolving the contradiction between enhancing the structural rigidity and reducing the weight of the container.
The champion product BUSDECK, developed by CIMC Xinhui
Under the bold design and careful deliberation of Kong Heqing and his team, they finally overcame all difficulties and successfully developed the new product. Their eyes were filled with tears of excitement at that moment. The successful development of BUSDECK and the subsequent skeleton car transportation folding container designed for CIMC’s specialized vehicle export logistics not only created an advantage for CIMC’s international logistics service business, but also aided the global market expansion of CIMC’s specialized vehicles. This represents a successful independent R&D practice of gathering market demand, developing the product, and returning it to the market. It signified a new height for folding container technology at the time.
From initial unfamiliarity to introduction, absorption, and eventually surpassing and leading, CIMC Xinhui’s folding container, from a somewhat mysterious (with a lot of patented technology) and underutilized "chicken rib" has developed into an enviable core product that continuously breaks through both technology and application fields, supporting CIMC Xinhui's development and maintaining its champion product status.
Kong Heqing mentioned, "Although the process was arduous, we have accumulated technology, trained the team, and now everyone in the team is considered an industry expert." Kong Heqing and his team take pride in the fact that since entering the folding container niche market in 2003, CIMC has always been imitated but never surpassed. The recent development and widespread adoption of automatic lock technology once again elevated the core technology of folding containers to a new height, further proving that "technological innovation is the absolute principle."
There's always something in the back of my mind.
Throughout his design career, Kong Heqing has accumulated 168 patents and won multiple group technology innovation awards, as well as Guangdong Province and Jiangmen City technological awards. However, more than these external accolades, being able to solve customer problems, earn their trust and respect, and contribute to industry progress is what gives him the greatest satisfaction. He remembers a U.S. customer who came all the way to Xinhui from Shanghai to consult him for professional advice, and another customer from Germany who called him during a business trip in Yangzhou to wish him a happy birthday—a birthday he himself had forgotten. These moments made him feel trusted, respected, and filled with a sense of achievement!
During his 23 years at CIMC, Kong Heqing has faced extreme challenges and darkest moments, but what kept him going was the spirit of self-improvement, pioneering, and resilience embodied by the people of CIMC Xinhui. This spirit enabled him to repeatedly challenge the impossible.
"In the unique development journey of CIMC Xinhui, an innate gene of innovation was nurtured, with a continuous sense of crisis and mission driving us to constantly push the boundaries of our capabilities and business scope. Even with old products, we maintain a high intensity of innovation," said Kong Heqing. "The bittersweet experiences of struggle contribute to a truly rich life." "Being responsible, resilient, dedicated, and grateful, a strong sense of responsibility and belonging prevents us from giving up when faced with difficulties, and instead, compels us to persevere."
Kong Heqing was delivering a speech at the 2023 industry forum
Nowadays, when the young members of the technical team experience inner turmoil or restlessness, Kong Heqing shares his stories to help them understand the significance of long-term hard work. In his view, only by enduring hardships and solitude can one eventually achieve success.
As products like the 53’ container and foldable containers reach maturity, Kong Heqing leads the team in actively exploring new "Container+" businesses. They have ventured into environmental protection equipment for containers and modern aquaculture equipment, which are now key areas of innovation being fully incubated by CIMC Xinhui. He also spearheads the development of modular data centers, who successfully completed several major domestic and international modular data center projects, continuously improving industry construction speeds and receiving high praise.
During the interview, Kong Heqing repeatedly emphasized that the innovative development of CIMC Xinhui is inseparable from the unwavering support of successive general managers and their teams for R&D activities! In recent years, in the exploration of new businesses, current General Manager Dai Zhiqian has personally overseen direction and pace, fully supporting new business development with resources and showing meticulous care and support for the R&D personnel!
CIMC Xinhui Technical Team
In 2018, Kong Heqing was appointed as Deputy General Manager of CIMC Xinhui, concurrently serving as Dean of the Research Institute and Chief Engineer. Since then, he has focused more on R&D strategy, technical routes, R&D systems, and talent training, dedicating himself to building a digital R&D management system and an advanced technology R&D platform to continuously enhance CIMC Xinhui's technical innovation capabilities.
Time pays off those who work hard; the stars guide the way for travelers. Although the road ahead remains challenging, the future remains promising!
