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Interesting article in the business section of todays Sunday Telegraph.
They even pinched part of their name. :rolls:
Zhang’s determination to crack the quality code was evident. Less than a year after joining the firm, he entered into a joint venture with the German firm Liebherr, gaining access to technology and the cachet that quality German engineering then carried in China.
In 1992, the group was renamed Haier, a corruption of Liebherr’s “Herr” and a pun on the company’s logo at the time (a western and a Chinese boy – “boys” being pronounced “hai-er” in Chinese). Zhang has since led the business as CEO and chairman into more than 100 markets.
Re: Haier owes its quality to Liebherr????
Zhang decided that the firm had to differentiate on quality. In 1985, a customer complaint provided the catalyst. On auditing the warehouse, Zhang identified 76 refrigerators which did not quite meet standards.
Zhang personally started breaking them with a sledgehammer – and insisted that the workers who had made them helped him, in front of the whole workforce.
It missed out the bit about there only being 76 refrigerators in the warehouse at the time. :rolls:
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