The former refrigerator giant rises from the ashes – what lessons can instrument manufacturers learn from this?

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　　“After 24 years of wandering outside, (Xinfei) is once again a **company; this brand (the Xinfei brand) can be saved now. ”A former Newfei executive said through tears in a phone interview. Once, television ads proclaimed that \"Newfei does a good job with advertising, but its refrigerators are even better,\" yet today this established manufacturer is ignored by everyone, left far behind by its former competitors. However, after two instances of bankruptcy reorganization, Xinfei finally saw Konka Group take over it. Its decline and rebirth quickly became a hot topic of discussion, offering insights for instrument and meter manufacturers. http://www.jiweimeter.com/uploads/image/20180823/1535005131.jpg Newfly is back! 　　How do established manufacturers remain competitive? 　　Dare to change, stay true to the original intent. Hearing that the former refrigerator giant is set to make a comeback, many people born in the 1980s showed off their Newfly refrigerators at home. Although it looks a bit old and its design is outdated from the photos, netizens have been full of praise for its quality. Some people say that the Newfly refrigerator their family bought has been in use for 14 years without ever breaking down, and it’s still in good condition. Some people also praised Newfly’s after-sales service, noting that it is efficient, the staff are polite, and the fees are not high. I heard that back in the day, having a Newfly refrigerator at home was something to be proud of, and working for Newfly was a dream for many people. 　　Perhaps this is the charm of the older generation of domestic manufacturers; in the instrumentation industry as well, there are a number of established brands that enjoy the support and trust of users. Established in 1953, Shanghai Optical Instrument Factory is the earliest large-scale comprehensive optical instrument manufacturer in China. It is renowned throughout the country for its products such as microscopes and other optical instruments. Following subsequent restructuring, it is now divided into several companies that continue to be active in the domestic instrumentation industry. Similar to Shanghai Optical Instrument Factory, Beijing Analysis Instrument Factory, established in 1959, merged with Beijing Second Optical Instrument Factory to form today’s Beijing Beifen Rayleigh Analysis Instrument Company, which has also remained at the forefront of the domestic market. Although the fates of Shanghai Optical Instrument Factory and Beijing Analytical Instrument Factory were intertwined, the reason they were able to remain standing for so long lies ultimately in their willingness to embrace change and their commitment to their original goals. 　　If SFY isn’t “new,” how can it soar? 　　Instrument and meter manufacturers cannot cling to their secure positions. A major reason for Newfly’s decline was the failure to carry out organizational reforms as well as the lack of innovative products, which led to its elimination from the market. If one renews oneself daily, one will continue to renew oneself day after day. The novelty of Xinxiang lies in its constant renewal. Newfei, whose name and location both contain the character for “new,” has not truly lived up to that concept of being “new.” Although Newfly refrigerators indeed have excellent quality, as times change, consumers’ needs have also changed. Compared to its competitors with more diversified business offerings, Newfly, which relies solely on refrigerators, will find it difficult to remain competitive in the home appliance market. Therefore, with Xinfei being reborn today, it is inevitable that new businesses and products will be involved. This also explains why Newfly announced its entry into the smart home appliance market upon its return, as it had fallen far behind its competitors. 　　Similarly, instrumentation companies cannot rely on just one or two flagship products to compete in the market. The chromatograph introduced today may be the most advanced in the industry, but it could become homogenized or even phased out by tomorrow. Moreover, many users these days have the habit of purchasing items as a set; after getting everything they need from another supplier, there is no need to come to you specifically to buy just one instrument. Operating in industries with high technical barriers, instrument manufacturers should recognize that the essence of market competition today is a competition in innovation. In a market so highly competitive, clinging to a secure job is undoubtedly like rowing against the current – if you don’t move forward, you will fall back. 　　Unqualified managers mean a company like New Fly cannot thrive. Poor management can destroy an enterprise. In the eyes of industry experts, another factor that nearly destroyed New Fly was the management problems arising from changes in the company’s organizational structure. As mentioned earlier, both the Shanghai Optical Instrument Factory and the Beijing Analytical Instrument Factory have managed to survive to this day through restructuring; then why has Newfly failed to maintain its past glory? An old employee of Newfly once lamented that since Fenglong took charge, the management no longer welcomed employees back to work after the Spring Festival with the same enthusiasm as before. “The \"air-dropped\" professional managers also have a philosophy that is incompatible with Newfei’s existing system. Not to mention issues such as delayed wage increases for employees, reduced investment in research and development, and a shortage of innovative talent – all of these are the managers’ responsibility. 　　Modern manufacturing places a greater emphasis on enterprise management than in the past. With Newfly as a precedent, instrument and meter manufacturers cannot overlook the importance of corporate management. Everything from corporate mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, listings, and changes in management to employee salaries and corporate activities is related to the overall development of a company. To motivate their employees, many instrument companies adopt internal promotion systems, trying to avoid appointing managers from outside the company. Even after being acquired by PerkinElmer, Shanghai Spectro still managed to retain its original brand and organizational structure, and this was done to ensure its sustained and stable development. In contrast, Fenglong, which took over Newfly, ruined what had once been a strong position, forcing countless former Newfly employees to watch as years of hard work spent over two or three decades were destroyed in an instant. 　　Times change, and circumstances evolve. The once-unremarkable newcomer has now risen to become an industry leader, while the competitors who used to pose a threat have disappeared. After waking from the nightmare, there aren’t many opportunities left for Xinfei. Whether it can be revived in the future depends on whether its new owner can bring it back to life. Instrument manufacturers in the manufacturing sector, especially companies like KAIWEI Automation, should learn from Newfei’s story as to how to establish a solid foundation for their own operations; by reflecting more deeply, they can avoid repeating the mistakes made by those who came before them.