Siemens – Where quality is non-negotiable

By Paula Tayler (JIN Magazine)
Updated: 2012-11-13

Joachim Heussmann, General Manager of Siemens Mechanical Drive Systems (Tianjin) Co Ltd. [Photos provided to China Daily]

One can scarcely mention the word "German" without mentioning the words "efficiency" and "quality" in the same breath. It seems that everything German made is of excellent workmanship. Seeing as efficiency is a German ethic and is probably written into their Constitution, I wondered how German companies would fare in China, where, shall we say, the rules are a little more elastic. What better person to ask than Joachim Heussmann, General Manager of Siemens Mechanical Drive Systems (Tianjin) Co Ltd.

Mr. Heussmann has been in China for nearly six years – 2½ of them in Tianjin. His story is quite interesting. His former company did some business with Siemens factory at that time. He says "I was very familiar with this factory. Then Siemens in Germany asked me to work for them. After a while, on Thursday at 6pm they suddenly asked me if I would go to China. I asked my wife on Friday what she thought. She said 'If you want to go to China you must go alone, I want to develop my business'. On the following Monday I told the company I would go. They were a little worried about me and thought that if I was here and my wife was in Germany our family life would be destroyed, but we usually only saw each other at weekends anyway. I also assured them that my personal life was entirely separate from my working life. My wife and I now see each other maybe 5 or 6 times per year and we go on wonderful holidays, which we thoroughly enjoy. We spend quality time together and the Spring Festival is like our golden week. This arrangement works very well for us and has meant that my wife has been able to follow her dreams and expand her business, she is a physiotherapist".

I thought that Siemens must have offered him a job as they recognised he was performing well for his previous company, but he is very modest and self-deprecating and just said "It seems that they liked my work". Does working for an internationally renowned company like Siemens bring any pressures? He told me "Because of our reputation we always have to conduct ourselves in a good manner in the public eye, we cannot do anything that would present our company in a bad light".

This is not the first time in China for Mr. Heussmann, he first came here in 1997 and was not particularly impressed with Tianjin, he felt that the city did not have anything special to offer. However now, with Tianjin fast achieving international city status and becoming more and more beautiful, he has changed his mind and thinks that it is a great city in which to live. His life is very comfortable and he is able to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, like riding around the city on his bike.

Mr. Heussmann with a worker [Photos provided to China Daily]

I wanted to know how working here differed from working in Germany, he told me "What I have discovered is that Chinese people are quite humble and willing to learn. They are very flexible and are able to follow direction. Whereas in Germany we go home at home time, Chinese people go home when the job is done. This is a major attribute and as a result we are able to get things done much faster here than back home. In Germany we do a lot of talking about how to do things, but in China they get on with doing the job. If they trust their Managers they will follow their lead. When Germans come here to work they are very confused for the first three months as they are not used to the work ethic, it is very easy here. We are running a lot of projects here and there are a lot of difficult cultures within the company, so there are sometimes misunderstandings.

One day he will leave here and go home, I wondered how his working experience here will help him with his career in the future. He said "I have never managed such a big factory before, there are around 1,000 workers here, I am learning and increasing my knowledge all the time so I will go back to Germany with more experience. I have also learned a lot from a fellow German colleague, the commercial manager, we make a good team.

Since our company expands its investment and workshop several times in recent years, our employees are very happy and confident with our company. This will be recognised within the organisation, they want to know what the secret of our success is. Here it really is like one big family and we often socialise together. If there is a wedding everyone is invited, that simply doesn't happen in Germany. Also as the hierarchy is different here, I get to meet a lot of people that I wouldn't be exposed to back home so a lot of people know my name. I am more relaxed so the way I solve problems is also different.

The family atmosphere is very enjoyable and we organise company outings including an annual three day trip which is funded by the company. In Germany the company concentrates on saving money but it is not part of the company culture here".

Apart from the language barrier there must be other culture clash problems. He said "The discipline is a little looser here and the basic knowledge is not so high. I feel that they do not double check their work by themselves before they submit it and me having to check their work for mistakes is time consuming, consequently it takes me more time to get my work done. Also in Germany people would meet by the coffee machine and exchange information, but because of language difficulties I can't do that so I miss out on a lot of unofficial information. This also means I have to expend more time gathering information. The Karaoke culture is another big problem, I don't really like it but my colleagues do. Also before I would drive everywhere but the traffic situation in Tianjin is such that I do not want to drive".

I asked him what he would like to achieve during his time in China. He said "Two things, when I finish here I hope that my German colleagues will want to come here and see what we have done. Secondly I want my staff to say that I was a good boss, that I respected everybody, that I was tough but fair. I want them to say that I supported them".

Having seen the staff at work, I can confirm that they are indeed a contented group and extremely willing to give the best to Mr. Heussmann, who goes about issuing instructions in a firm, but very smiley manner. Indeed one the staff told me "We smile everyday here, it is a good place to work". Seeing Mr. Heussmann’s infectious smile, it is easy to believe them. The German efficiency of a machine combined with a compassionate and caring boss is a marriage made in heaven, commercially speaking.