“My hometown of Taizhou is by the sea, and my entrepreneurial journey started in Shanghai, which is also by the sea. Entrepreneurship is like setting sail, so I named the company ‘Qifan’ to reflect that spirit. The logo is a sailing ship on the open sea,” said Zhou Guihua, Founder and Chairman of Qifan Cable, in an exclusive interview with Shanghai Securities News.
Adhering to simple principles and riding the winds of market opportunities, Zhou Guihua led Qifan Cable from a small workshop with fewer than 10 employees to an industry leader with an annual output value exceeding 30 billion RMB after 30 years of growth. This story of integrity and innovation continues to unfold.
Building a Demand-Driven Industry
Zhou Guihua has dedicated half of his life to building and growing Qifan Cable. Looking back, he recalls how he left behind a stable job as an accountant in a food factory in his hometown to venture into the cable industry, guided by simple principles. Just like his deep affection for local specialties such as Huangyan mandarin oranges and garlic bean noodles, Zhou values the substance behind things over outward appearances.
“Wires and cables are essential to power transmission, information delivery, and the manufacturing of various electrical equipment, instruments, and meters. They play a foundational role in our electrified, information-driven, and intelligent society. They are one of the most important industries supporting the national economy,” Zhou shared. With significant market demand and his entrepreneurial efforts, various factors have contributed to the success of Qifan Cable.
“The technical barrier to traditional cable manufacturing isn’t high, and the industry is fragmented. To stand out, a company needs to keep pace with the times, respond to market needs in a timely manner, and even lead the way,” he explained. Today, Qifan Cable is at the forefront of both cost efficiency in mass markets and product quality and technology performance in niche markets.
Currently, Qifan Cable produces over 30 series of products, including submarine cables, photovoltaic cables, elevator cables, fire-resistant cables, cross-linked irradiated cables, automotive bundled conductors, nuclear power plant cables, and robotics cables, serving a wide range of industries. In 2023, Qifan Cable reported a revenue of 23.348 billion RMB, a 13.1% year-on-year increase, with a net profit of 423 million RMB, up 15.42%.
With these achievements, Qifan Cable was ranked 8th among China’s Top 100 Cable Enterprises, 8th among Shanghai’s Top 100 Private Manufacturing Enterprises, and 21st among Shanghai’s Top 100 Manufacturing Enterprises in 2023.
Thriving by the Water, Connecting to the Sea
“Water can carry a boat; it is the source of its prosperity,” Zhou Guihua believes. Over 30 years ago, he moved from Zhejiang’s southern coast to Shanghai, located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, to begin his entrepreneurial journey. Since then, Qifan Cable has established bases in Chizhou (Anhui), Yichang (Hubei), Shanghai Minhang, and Pingtan (Fujian) with access to rivers and seas.
Zhou sees geographical advantages as crucial to the company’s development. The Yangtze River Delta is one of the most vibrant economic regions in China, rich in specialized talent and management expertise, fostering the growth of enterprises. Furthermore, the well-established industrial clusters in the region’s raw material production and logistics infrastructure have supported Qifan Cable’s growth and solidified its reputation in Shanghai and the East China region.
Zhou also highlighted the importance of logistics in the cable industry, where the large size and weight of products lead to high transportation costs. The company has made substantial investments in its logistics infrastructure to ensure smooth operations.
Qifan Cable’s key products, particularly its submarine cables, have a deep connection to water. Zhou expressed excitement about the company’s new Pingtan base, which integrates into the offshore wind power industry chain.
“With the development of offshore wind power projects in various provinces, the demand for submarine cables will continue to grow. As the market for offshore wind power moves further into deep sea, the scale of the submarine cable market will expand,” Zhou remarked. The technical barriers in submarine cables favor companies with core technologies and advanced production processes.
Striving Toward “300 Billion Qifan, 100-Year Qifan”
According to the company’s financial report, Qifan Cable has achieved a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.85% in revenue over the past three years, with stable revenues surpassing 20 billion RMB. Looking ahead, Qifan Cable has set an ambitious target: “300 billion Qifan, 100-year Qifan” — to surpass 30 billion RMB in revenue and establish itself as a century-old enterprise.
To reach this goal, Zhou Guihua believes that innovation and a commitment to “science and technology-driven enterprise” are key. In 2023, the company spent over 100 million RMB on R&D, an 8.54% increase from the previous year. By the end of 2023, Qifan Cable had 166 patents. Its R&D department, in collaboration with top research institutes such as Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Harbin University of Science and Technology, and the Shanghai Cable Research Institute, focuses on cutting-edge technologies and product development in areas like city grid construction, photovoltaic power generation, offshore wind power, rail transportation, and special cables.
“Looking ahead, we will focus on large-scale, refined production of cables, improve information management and control during production, and drive technological innovation in quality, functionality, cost reduction, and environmental protection. We will strengthen our research into high-end special cables, increase product structure upgrades, and improve our core competitiveness, ensuring Qifan Cable remains a leader in the industry,” Zhou concluded.
