Stefan Fritsche: Being Well Prepared for the Future Is the Key to Business Success

In the dynamic world of die-casting manufacturing, leaders who bring together expertise and innovation are crucial for driving industry advancements. One such notable figure is Stefan Fritsche. As Chief Strategy Officer of YIZUMI Die Casting and Metal Molding, Stefan Fritsche has been with the YIZUMI team for more than four years now. He holds a pivotal role in shaping the company's strategic direction and driving innovation in the field of die-casting.

In this exclusive feature, we delve into the remarkable journey of Stefan Fritsche in YIZUMI, exploring his contributions and his relentless pursuit of excellence in die-casting manufacturing. We uncover his strategic initiatives, the corporate plan for the future development, and his unwavering dedication to advancing the field of die-casting.

To rank top-3 globally in the die casting industry is one of YIZUMI's primary objectives

YIZUMI's development over the past two decades is certainly remarkable. During the Second Advanced Molding Technology Conference (YIZUMI CONNECT 2023), held in April, Stefan expressed his optimism, "We celebrated our 20th anniversary in 2022. And now at YIZUMI CONNECT 2023, a great customer networking event, we are excited to showcase our key technologies and products, which represent the strength and capability of YIZUMI."

This also indicates Stefan's ambition for the globalization of YIZUMI Die Casting. Despite the fact that global uncertainties have been increasing over the last few years, he still sees huge opportunities and growth potential for our company. As he frequently mentions, "To rank among the top-3 globally in the die casting industry is one of YIZUMI’s primary objectives. At present, the annual throughput of die casting machines is over 1,200 sets, which is likely to be further expanded in the future, especially in the area of large structural castings. The production of the large and ultra-large die-casting machines, in the foreseeable future, is an essential battlefield for the industry. Whoever possesses more advanced technologies will have a greater voice in the market. This is reflected not just in revenue, but it is also a strong indicator of the company's overall competitiveness."

For YIZUMI, the objective of "Top-3" is not solely understood in revenue terms, YIZUMI is committed to becoming a top -3 turnkey solution provider worldwide with its advanced technologies and highly competitive manufacturing solutions.

Based on a detailed understanding of "our customer's processes", we are able to develop ever better die casting machines which are easy to use and provide our customers with effective solutions so that they can be competitive in their markets. YIZUMI strives to be more than just a product supplier for the die casting market, we are interested in establishing valuable partnerships with our customers providing them with leading technologies and services in order to generate growth together.

Making full use of our own advantages, and aspire to make YIZUMI a world-class brand

Focusing only on the domestic market in China would certainly constrain our pace of becoming a world-class enterprise. According to YIZUMI’s 2022 annual report, its overseas revenue significantly rose 8.63% year on year in 2022 to 911 million Yuan (about 128 million U.S. dollars). However, the revenue ratio only accounts for 24.76% of the total.

Driven by the rapid development of automotive, telecom and electronics industries, the manufacturing industry is highly globalized and has, due to cost pressures, undergone significant consolidation over the past 20 years.

In this regard, Stefan said that making full use of our own, unique advantages is an important measure for YIZUMI to further expand into global markets. "With the goal of becoming a world-class brand, it is essential to provide professional and competent support for global customers. While our business is growing healthily in the domestic market, we are investing great effort into better positioning ourselves in the international market and increasingly become a valid and attractive alternative compared to other international brands. Our best-cost supply chain and excellent manufacturing capabilities provide us with a highly competitive overall cost structure."

Driven by YIZUMI's globalization strategy, the expansion of overseas factories is proceeding according to plan. In October 2022, YIZUMI's new India Gujarat Factory with a total investment of 100 million Yuan (about 13.8 million U.S. dollars) was officially inaugurated and successfully started operation. It has an annual output capacity of 2,000 units of injection molding machines with maximum clamping forces of 4,000T. This extension of our modern manufacturing base ensures faster machine delivery times for our Indian customers.

YIZUMI's India Gujarat Factory is not only an important international production base and customer service platform, but also an important step of YIZUMI's Glocalization.

Localized operation based on global thinking. YIZUMI extends its production base close to the front line of key markets to establish intimate ties with local customers in order to provide ever better-quality products and services. We believe that this improves our overall competitiveness in local markets and creates crucial new patterns of close collaboration between our overseas subsidiaries and the headquarters in China.

The expansion of YIZUMI's U.S. Ohio Factory has also been on the agenda. In addition, YIZUMI's R&D platform and technical centers in Germany, and technical centers in Vietnam have been established in short succession, signifying YIZUMI's commitment to develop a strong international presence for our customers.

Talent fostering and technology development are the strong driving forces of YIZUMI

Talent fostering and technology development are two critical elements of how we want to develop our business. Providing our customers with leading technology solutions supported by competent customer care services will establish YIZUMI as a global brand and increase our future reach.

YIZUMI has established its R&D center in Germany as early as 2017. In addition, a team of sales engineers and technical customer service experts are based in YIZUMI Germany to cover the European key markets. In terms of research and development, the proximity to the renowned RWTH Aachen University with its leading Institute for Plastics Processing (IKV) has been supporting our efforts in pre-developments of special plastics processing.

The YIZUMI Aachen R&D Center connects and fosters talent in order to execute important technology developments and serves as a platform integrating international and domestic technologies. It is engaged in multi-material light weight applications as well as Mg-Thixomolding processing and is also home to our additive manufacturing team. With this R&D platform, YIZUMI learns and extends technical know-how on manufacturing processes from Europe and advanced European market requirements.

YIZUMI has also established its Global Innovation Center in China. For this, Stefan further expounded on the relationship between customer needs and competent technical services, "Customer needs represent the heart of our development and long-term focus. This is the key to making YIZUMI a global brand. We understand our machines and cell solutions are the 'tools' that our customers use to compete in their markets. It is necessary to accumulate knowledge of customer needs and requirements during the processes of serving customers. With technology platforms like the Global Innovation Center and the Aachen R&D Center, YIZUMI can bring together leading international technology resources and realize the integration of scientific research to drive technology- and industrial innovation. Think Tech Forward and bringing international talent together ensures a better understanding of our customer needs and allows us to provide our customers with better services and technologies."

All these initiatives are based on fostering talents within our organization. YIZUMI strongly focuses on employee development to build a strong network of experienced international experts to ensure continued development. The network provides advice, support, and guidance needed to provide beneficial solutions to our customers. More specialists and cross-functional experts are being cultivated forming the required talent pool to ensure the growth of YIZUMI and our customers.

YIZUMI proudly looks back to very successful 20 years marked by strong growth. Stefan enjoyed being part of the dynamic YIZUMI team over the last four years and is excited and proud to support YIZUMI to continue building up competitive capabilities and grow together with our customers internationally.