Sound of money from a music box

Zhu Yunde, in a crumpled white shirt and dark blue vest, looks like a typical worn-out factory worker in Ningbo, a port city in Zhejiang province, East China.

But Zhu, with his oversized steel-rimmed glasses, is anything but typical. With 50 patents to his credit, Zhu, 58, is the master inventor of Ningbo Yunsheng Co, which manufactures a wide range of goods from music boxes to compact spinning devices.

When he is not busy in research work at the company's laboratory, he presides over its board meetings as founder and chairman.

And he is regarded as the company's hardest worker, seen in the laboratory or his office most days from 8 am to late in the evening.

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Zhu says Yunsheng is the only company in China that owns the equipment to produce Sintered NdFeB, a crucial element in the production of permanent magnet materials.

In a two-hour interview, Zhu talks mainly about his dedication to his family, his workers and his personal sense of value.

"I am not doing it to make money," he says of his job. "All I care about is to add value to my life and the lives of those who share my commitment."

After graduating from Zhejiang University with an engineering degree, Zhu, like many other young men of his time, was assigned to work at a State-owned enterprise where his budding talent in research was recognized and appreciated.

In 1994, his employers offered to promote him to factory director but he turned it down because he did not feel comfortable with accepting what he considered to be a "favor" from his then superiors.

A year later, a friend - who was assembling music boxes for European buyers - complained that his profit margins were being squeezed the Japanese supplier of a core component.

Zhu was inspired to try to develop his version of the music box component and borrowed 340,000 yuan (38,800 euros) for the venture. It failed initially.

"That was the darkest time in my life," Zhu says. He was so depressed that he more than once contemplated suicide.

But he persevered and in a couple of months, found the solution and patented the device. This allowed Zhu to start producing music boxes from Yunsheng. He was then 43.

Since then, Yunsheng has grown from a little workshop to a major enterprise with annual sales of more than 1 billion yuan. It has more than 20 subsidiaries employing about 10,000 workers.

Since then, Zhu's inventive mind has been focusing on his specialty: The development of permanent magnet materials for electro-mechanical applications.

Progress in research into this primary product has spawned a range of businesses, including electric motors, compact spinning devices, optical fibers, windmills and robots for automotive factories.

"Technologies involving in manufacturing our range of products are all interlinked," Zhu says. "The technology we developed for one is applicable to the others with minor modifications."

But not all Zhu's undertakings were successful. His company lost 10 million yuan in an attempt to develop electric bicycles. "Our engineers spent two years on the project but failed to come up with a product that could satisfy me," Zhu says. His instruction was simple: Build a product safe enough for his grandchildren to ride on.

"We must ensure the safety of our end users," Zhu says. The engineers failed and he cancelled the project. "I have no regret for my decision, despite the loss of time and money."

Zhu's biggest dream now is to find a breakthrough in research of soft magnetic materials that can be applied to a wide range of machinery to help save up to 15 percent in energy consumption.

"I will retire after the problem is solved," Zhu says. "That will be the crowning achievement of my life."

Unlike many self-made businessmen who want to pass their empires to children, Zhu says he is looking for the most capable person to succeed him.

"Whoever can do it will get the top job," he says. "The future of the company is more important to me than passing it onto my son."

Zhu says that he does not keep count of his net worth. In fact, he treats money with a rare, indifferent attitude. Unlike many newly tycoons in his hometown, Zhu does not ride in fancy cars, own or fly an aircraft or play golf.

He says he does not have much of a social life and almost religiously sticks to the routine of having every dinner with his wife.

"As a man, I have to play my role in the family, that is also my responsibility."