Chinese megaliths fill gap in fibreglass industry in Egypt

Chinese megaliths fill gap in fibreglass industry in Egypt
Article Source: International Business Daily

Reporter: Li Ning

The in-depth promotion of the "the belt and road initiative" construction has strongly promoted the industrial cooperation between China and Egypt. The Egyptian capital Cairo is more than 120 kilometers east. On the shore of the Red Sea is the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone. The Jushi Egyptian Fiberglass Co., Ltd. established by China Jushi in Egypt in January 2012 is located here.

"The company's project has filled the gap in the glass fiber industry in Egypt and even Africa. In particular, in August 2018, our production base with an annual output of 200000 tons of glass fiber was fully completed, making Egypt the fifth largest glass fiber producer in the world. At present, Jushi Egypt is a leading enterprise in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. Its products are mainly exported. It generates 0.2 billion US dollars in foreign exchange income for Egypt every year and pays 4 million US dollars in taxes. It is a veritable local taxpayer." Wu Ping, head of Jushi Egypt, who was sent to work in Egypt in 2013 and grew up with the company's development, told reporters from the International Business Daily that the enterprise had integrated into the local area and contributed a lot to the local area.

Jushi Egypt is engaged in glass fiber production, and the vigorous development of enterprises has effectively promoted the development and agglomeration of the local upstream and downstream industrial chain, formed a stable industrial chain in Egypt, and made positive contributions to the local economy, industry and employment.

Wu Ping introduced that looking upstream, the project has effectively promoted the development of the local mineral resources development industry and the packaging material processing industry. Egypt is rich in mineral resources such as kaolin, limestone and quartz sand. Most of the raw and auxiliary materials needed for the company's production are purchased locally. A large amount of demand has driven raw material suppliers to increase development efforts to increase production and improve quality. The output of raw material suppliers has doubled due to the arrival of boulders. Looking downstream, the project has driven the development of local glass fiber weaving industry, pipelines, sanitary ware, transportation, wind power and other glass fiber deep processing industries, it has promoted the development of local downstream glass fiber users. Previously, these enterprises relied on imports of glass fiber, but now they purchase from boulders, reducing the procurement, transportation and inventory costs of glass fiber.

"We have also successfully led Chinese-funded enterprises to invest in the glass fiber deep processing industry in Egypt, such as the production and sales of glass fiber weaving and glass fiber fabrics for wind power." Wu Ping said proudly.

Egypt is rich in labor resources, but the unemployment rate is also high, and it is not easy for young people to find jobs. As a labor-intensive and technology-intensive manufacturing enterprise, Jushi Egypt adheres to the road of talent localization and is welcomed by local residents.

Wu Ping told reporters that the current localization rate of enterprises is close to 98%, directly providing nearly 1800 local jobs and indirectly driving 3000 jobs. The annual salary of employees will be increased by a certain margin every year. "Under the impact of the new coronary pneumonia epidemic, even though many local companies in Egypt laid off workers and cut salaries, our company did not lay off workers and kept employee compensation stable, ensuring the stability of production and operations." Wu Ping said.

Not only to create jobs, Jushi Egypt has always paid attention to the cultivation of local talents in the development of enterprises, which provides Egyptian employees with room for personal career development. At present, a large number of technical and management personnel in Egypt's boulder are local employees, including two Egyptian executives and more than 40 Egyptian middle-level management cadres.

Most of the Egyptian employees are young people. They work stably in Jushi and their income is also stable. Many young people get married and have children and start a family while working in Jushi. What touched Wu Ping deeply was that when he first arrived here in 2013, many Egyptian employees used touch-tone feature phones, and now they all use branded smartphones.

Egypt is located at the meeting point of Europe, Asia and Africa. It is a Muslim country. Its cultural customs, behavior habits, diet and daily life are very different from those in China. Wu Ping said bluntly that cultural differences and the integration of corporate culture are the biggest challenges facing enterprises in the process of development, and the difference between the production efficiency of the manufacturing industry and China is another challenge.

Wu Ping said that in July 2013, he was sent to Egypt to work, the initial position is the manufacturing workshop manager. Thanks to the continuous development of the company, he has accumulated rich experience in his work, improved his management ability, and gradually became the person in charge of the company from manager, assistant general manager and deputy general manager. Working in the local area, Wu Ping has more tolerance for personnel management, more empathy, and a more comprehensive view of things. In addition, his English has made great progress. "My family has been with me in Egypt for 6 years, understanding and adapting to the local lifestyle and habits, and learning to communicate with others in English."

In addition, China Jushi (600176.SH) recently announced that Jushi Egypt, the holding subsidiary of Jushi Group Co., Ltd., the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, plans to make full use of the company's existing intelligent manufacturing advantages and experience and the existing land and factory buildings in Egypt's TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone to invest US $59.943 million through self-financing and bank loans to carry out cold repair and renovation of the first 80000-ton glass fiber tank kiln drawing production line in Jushi Egypt base. After the completion of the technical transformation, the production capacity of the production line will be increased to 120000 tons.