Setting Sail Through Winds and Waves — A Journey of Ambition

Today marks our company's tenth anniversary. I'm deeply grateful to have each of you here — it's your relentless dedication and contribution that made this moment possible. That we can gather here today is a matter of fate, and more importantly, of trust. Behind that trust lies a mutual responsibility and commitment. Ten years of Weisi — grateful to have you. On this special occasion, I'd like to look back on where we've been and ahead to where we're going.

1. The Original Vision

Stay true to the beginning, and the end will follow. Rewind to 2005. The first project I worked on after joining the workforce was the Schneider Electric China R&D Center's low-voltage apparatus testing laboratory. It was also the first testing general-contracting project my design institute had ever taken on. With no experience, no guidance, tight deadlines, and heavy responsibility, I single-handedly completed all the measurement and control system programming for Schneider's LV apparatus testing lab, including commissioning and delivery.

That experience made something clear to me: even though PLCs and measurement software were already widespread, China's testing industry design standards were still stuck in the traditional relay circuit era. Our engineering drawings were relics from the 1960s and 70s. Using such outdated designs to test rapidly evolving products was archaic, backward, and destined for obsolescence.

After the Schneider project, I went on to participate in and lead projects for Siemens, the Tianshui National High/Low Voltage Apparatus Quality Inspection Center, the Chengdu National Medium/Low Voltage Apparatus Quality Inspection Center, and the Xi'an High Voltage Apparatus Research Institute, among others. Through these projects, beyond deepening my understanding of automation and the testing industry, I kept trying to bring modern control concepts into traditional designs — using advanced technology to lead and transform legacy industries. This laid both the intellectual and technical foundation for the company's eventual founding.

2. The Testing Business

Ten years ago, approaching thirty, with Mr. Hu's full support, we founded the company. We carried forward the vision of using modern technology to transform traditional industries, becoming one of the few specialized technical companies in China focused on electrical apparatus testing equipment and laboratory construction.

The road was rough. Starting a business is never easy. For us back then, bridging the gap from theory to practice was a grueling process. Through teamwork and collective effort, we worked with Siemens, ABB, XIHARI, NARI, Daquan Group, Beiyuan Electric, Chint Electric, and others. In the field of test loads and testing equipment, we broke through an oligopoly of just a handful of suppliers. We independently developed, designed, and manufactured a whole series of test loads and equipment. Our products withstood the market's scrutiny — to this day, our testing equipment still runs reliably in those factories and inspection institutions. We've built a solid reputation and real influence in China's testing industry.

Looking back at our core testing work over the past decade, it breaks down into several areas:

(1) We independently developed, designed, and manufactured switch apparatus temperature-rise test equipment, electrical endurance test equipment, mechanical endurance test equipment, and contact characteristic test equipment — taking our testing product line from nothing to something, from something to excellent.

(2) We pioneered synthetic circuit testing systems for low-voltage apparatus in China, developed critical current test equipment for DC apparatus, and completed fully automatic switching test load systems — securing our distinctive edge and technical lead in the testing field.

(3) By integrating data acquisition components directly into our equipment, we replaced traditional standalone and expensive proprietary data acquisition systems. This made things easier for users while dramatically reducing their lab investment. We were early adopters of LabVIEW software on testing equipment, leveraging the platform's power to deliver more competitive products and services.

(4) Beyond civilian high/low-voltage power distribution equipment, we expanded testing technology into rail transit, aerospace, and defense. We developed testing equipment and systems for railway signal relays, point machines, aerospace signal relays, and aerospace engines.

(5) To further strengthen our competitive position, we've been working on IoT and big data technologies to improve the digitization and intelligence of testing equipment — practicing what we preach about using advanced technology to reform traditional industries, and turning scientific capability into real productivity for our customers.

3. Industry Applications

As the company grew, we realized that electrical apparatus testing is an extremely niche field. While maintaining steady growth in testing, we've spent the past decade exploring and expanding into adjacent areas.

One of our strengths is industrial automation — LabVIEW, PLC, SCADA, and software development. These skills apply far beyond testing labs. Over the decade, we've taken on automation projects in natural gas, coal, renewable energy, water treatment, chemical processing, transportation, and power. Today, industry automation engineering is an organic part of Weisi's business — and it's our window into leveraging modern IoT technology to transform traditional industries.

Our other experiment was production automation. Testing can exist as a standalone phase or as part of the manufacturing process. Initially, following the design institute tradition, we focused on standalone testing labs and inspection agencies. It wasn't until our work with ABB that we started paying serious attention to in-line testing during production. Since then, we've pushed to expand from testing equipment into complete automated production lines that integrate assembly and testing. Through projects with Changzheng Electric and the Fourth Academy of Aerospace, we now have the capability to deliver full production automation systems.

Working across different industries with automation technology, I've had several important realizations:

(1) Compared to internet technology, industrial automation — from hardware to communications to software — still has enormous room for improvement. In an era where the internet has entered 5G, massive amounts of industrial equipment still communicate via traditional serial ports. There's a 10-to-30-year technology gap.

(2) In mature traditional industries, despite plenty of established solutions, persistent pain points remain. Some require breakthroughs in fundamental science. Others can be solved and improved with modern information technology right now.

(3) Communications, IoT, and big data are the driving forces of Industry 4.0. The impact of these new technologies on traditional industries is still in a land-grab phase — but the window of opportunity may close fast.

Based on these observations, for roughly half of Weisi's first decade, we've been exploring and experimenting in the industrial internet space.

4. Industrial Internet

Weisi's traditional business was industrial automation, not industrial internet. My thinking about the industrial internet began in 2015, when Premier Li Keqiang spoke about using "Internet+" to create new engines for economic transformation. He said: "We've often said that in information technology, especially the internet, developing countries and developed countries stand on the same starting line. Now, we may truly be on that starting line. And in some areas, we may even have a greater advantage than developed countries."

That hit me hard. Information technology and the internet don't just give developing countries a fair shot — they may offer the same to small and micro enterprises. In traditional industry, small companies can barely compete head-on with giants. But in the industrial internet, everyone starts from roughly the same place. Back then, even Siemens and ABB, despite recognizing IT's importance to industry, were still fumbling through implementation. This convinced me that for Weisi to break through, we needed a distinctive edge beyond traditional testing — and given our capabilities, the industrial internet was the obvious choice.

Exploring the industrial internet route meant figuring out the tech stack, target industries, and product value. For the tech stack, I considered .NET, Java, and Python, but ultimately landed on JavaScript/TypeScript full-stack development. VSCode and DingTalk proved the viability of the approach, and JS/TS is the only language that covers everything from frontend to backend. If we wanted to keep the team lean while building real products, it was practically the only option.

For target industries, we stayed close to what we know — electrical equipment and energy. Energy made sense both because of our partnerships in the space and because electrical apparatus is a core component of the energy industry. Since 2016, we've been experimenting in the industrial IoT space. So far, we've completed demonstration projects in distributed solar power, smart heating, and key enterprise energy monitoring. We're currently refining and integrating our earlier systems and redesigning our IoT gateway products. "Ten years sharpening one sword, the frost-edge yet untested" — I hope our industrial internet products and systems can enter formal commercialization starting in the second half of 2022, achieving large-scale deployment and real returns.

The practical value industrial internet technology brings to industrial users, as I see it, spans management improvement, safety upgrades, cost reduction, and energy conservation. Through low-cost, high-performance sensor deployment combined with data visualization, users can access detailed information about their production systems, effectively raising their management capabilities — this is the most basic level of value, and something nearly all systems already provide. Safety improvement and cost reduction require combining the industrial internet with big data and AI — spectral analysis, machine learning, predictive analytics — mining deeper value from data. This may well become the dividing line between industrial internet companies in the future, and it's something we need to keep learning and improving.

The development of industrial internet technology is both a critical strategy for Weisi and a microcosm of where the world is heading. On our tenth anniversary, we should also look up and take stock of the world around us — only then can we see our own trajectory more clearly.

5. A Message for the Decade

In the opening of Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, he wrote: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way." These words fit our current moment just as perfectly.

Most people in this world drift along, taking things one day at a time, neither paying attention to the world nor trying to change it. Most of the time, that's fine. But I believe that in today's environment, everyone should have at least a slightly clearer view of the world they live in. It matters.

If I had to sum up my view of the current world in a few points:

(1) The development of information technology has made the world both more fair and more unfair. Take learning: if someone wants to, they can easily buy courses from Yale or Stanford on Taobao or online platforms. That was unimaginable before — IT gave everyone an equal opportunity. Yet for someone who's good at leveraging information versus someone who isn't, the gap grows enormous over time. One person uses the internet to get everything they need to grow. The other drowns in an endless ocean of information garbage.

(2) The information age demands constant adaptation. Survival of the fittest is becoming ever more critical. For thousands of years, a blacksmith or carpenter could live comfortably on a single trade their entire life. But in today's information explosion, nobody can be sure which professions will vanish tomorrow. We can see species going extinct because they can't adapt to climate change driven by human activity. The same applies to us. AI is making most simple labor unnecessary. Machines replacing humans in the Industry 4.0 revolution is no empty threat. If you can't keep improving, you may face obsolescence.

(3) Finance, energy, pandemics, and war bring tremendous uncertainty to the world's future. That uncertainty is both challenge and opportunity. How to swim upstream and grow through it — that's a question worth deep thought, whether for individuals or for companies. Uncertainty is gradually reshaping how we live and work. As far as we can see, information technology remains the tool and driving force for changing how we live.

Based on these facts and observations, the current landscape poses many tests and challenges — for individuals and for organizations like ours. On today's occasion, I'd like to share some hopes and expectations. I hope we can face these challenges not just as individuals, but as organic members of an organization, growing together:

(1) Team spirit — we rise and fall together. Each of you represents the team externally. Every word and action reflects the team's interests. When facing problems, think first of the organization's interests, not just personal gains. When dealing with clients and partners, never forget you represent not just yourself but the company. Only when the team grows strong can individuals thrive.

(2) Do not do unto others what you would not have done unto yourself. Never be self-centered or just go through the motions. When completing work, ask yourself a few more "whys." Stand in the customer's shoes. "Why am I being asked to do this?" "If I were on the other side, what result would I want?" Just that small shift in perspective can double your effectiveness.

(3) Pursue excellence relentlessly. Good enough is never good enough. A "close enough" attitude only plants landmines for the future. One bolt not fully tightened can shut down an entire production line. One piece of code that "sort of works" can crash an entire system. Excellence demands not just strong professional ethics but continuous technical improvement. Only by constantly raising your own bar can you deliver better work.

(4) First give, then receive. In his inaugural address, President Kennedy said: "Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country." The same applies within an organization. Everyone plays a different role, but each should bring unique value. Cooperate, and the organization grows stronger. When the organization thrives, individual value naturally gets rewarded. That's the virtuous cycle we're after.

6. Looking Ahead

"A cup of wine under spring blossoms with old friends — ten years of lanterns in the rain on rivers far from home." Ten years may not be short for an individual, but for an organization, it may be just a blink. Today, looking back on the past decade, it feels like we've been through a lot. Yet when Weisi becomes a century-old company, everyone sitting here today will be just a brief moment in its history.

Looking back and looking forward, the company still stands at the intersection and watershed between industrial automation and the industrial internet. Our most precious asset remains the people sitting here. The first decade of Weisi's history was blessed by your support and contribution. Its future depends even more on your effort and dedication. As the company continues to grow, we'll use equity incentives and other measures to bring each of you closer into the team, making you an indispensable part. I hope that at Weisi's twentieth and thirtieth anniversary celebrations, I'll still see your faces.

Finally, with our collective effort and hard work, may the company keep thriving and growing. "There will come a time to ride the wind and cleave the waves — then set the cloudy sail straight and bridge the deep, deep sea."