Tinkering his way to success

Born in the city of Oshawa, an automobile manufacturing hub in Canada, Ronald Ball has always been exposed to all things engineering.

The fact that his father ran an automobile repair shop also meant that his childhood was spent tinkering with tools and running around with a wrench in search of things to fix.

Like many of the residents within his community, Ball worked at the General Motors plant in the city after graduating from high school. He left after a year to pursue higher education in mechanical engineering at Ryerson University before working as a maintenance foreman at a manufacturing plant that made steel springs for cars and trains.

But it was his subsequent stint at the renowned tire and rubber company Goodyear that proved to be his springboard to success.

"The Goodyear facility I worked at produced industrial rubber products instead of tires. One day, a company approached us to buy raw materials so that they could make escalator handrails. That was when I got the opportunity to learn the manufacturing process for such a unique product," said Ball.

"When I left Goodyear in 1976, I studied the market and was convinced that I could make a business out of selling handrails. That company I used to service has since became my competitor."

A year later, Ball founded the Escalator Handrail Company (EHC). Over the past four decades, EHC has grown to become a leading supplier of handrails as well as a host of other rubber and plastic components for lifts and escalators. It counts major companies such as Schindler and Otis as its clients, and has branches in 21 countries including China, Germany, Japan, Spain and the United States.

The company's foray into China started in 1996 when Ball established the EHC Shanghai company. The move to have a presence in China, said Ball, was one of necessity, as most of the world's manufacturers of escalators and elevators had already set up facilities in the country.

"It was a simple decision. We simply followed our customers to where they went so that we could continue to be their major supplier. Today, everyone who makes escalators and elevators have a base here, and these China-based plants account for about 75 percent of the global supply of escalators and elevators," he said.

Having lived in Shanghai for the past 22 years, Ball has witnessed the rapid development of not just the city but the nation's manufacturing industry. The change, he said, has been nothing short of phenomenal.

"No country has ever developed as quickly and to the degree of prosperity that we now have in China. There are so many things that China is now excelling at and they could soon become leaders in automation and artificial intelligence," he said.

But it was not just his expertise in this niche product that Ball brought along with him to China — the Canadian is also well-known in business circles for being a passionate facilitator of economic, trade and investment exchange.

Some of his roles outside the company include being a board member of the manufacturers' business council within the American Chamber of Commerce, a consultant to the China-Canada Trade Council, and the vice chairman of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce's Industrial Association. Ball also plays an integral role in the strengthening of technological and cultural exchanges between his hometown of Oshawa and Jiading district in Shanghai.

Last year, Ball was awarded the prestigious Governor General's Medallion by the Canadian government in recognition of his efforts in promoting relations between China and Canada.

The latest addition to his trophy cabinet came on Sept 12 when Ball was conferred the Magnolia Silver Award, one of the highest honors a foreigner can receive in Shanghai.

Ball's eagerness to help others extends beyond the commercial realm, too. The Canadian is a fervent supporter of blood donation and has constantly been encouraging his employees to do so. He has also been an ardent supporter of the Shanghai government's Love Under the Blue Sky charity project.

"I'm delighted to have won the Magnolia Award. I think it's wonderful that Shanghai can reach out and recognize that there are foreigners out there who have performed to the benefit of the city. I am very proud of the fact that I have managed to make a small contribution to the progress of the city," he said.

"We just want to make the world a better place. If we can help other people, companies, China or Canada, we're willing to do so. We don't mind going out of our way to help promote multiculturalism, trade and commercialism around the world. To me, this is an obligation. We need to reach out and look beyond our own needs and help the world."