Jeff Liu, president and CEO of Fuyao Glass America, said in an interview with Xinhua that "next year will be tough" as U.S. auto sales are expected to drop to 16.7 million units. Several experts as well as senior executives at Toyota Motor North America are expecting 2019 to finish at about 17 million units.
The dour forecast by Liu comes in contrast to the company's strong 2019 results. Liu expects to double 2018's 24-million dollar profit, which was an increase of 30 percent compared with that in the previous year.
Liu spoke to Xinhua at the company's U.S. headquarters in Plymouth, Michigan, on the sidelines of a lean manufacturing seminar and roundtable sponsored by HAND Enterprise Solutions USA on Friday. He stressed that the company knows how to handle difficult situations.
He said the company's appearance in the Netflix documentary "American Factory" chronicled how it has dealt with tough situations, relying on the company culture to forge through problems to find answers and success.
Fuyao Glass America lost money in its first year in the United States. Now the leadership is working not only to attract high-level new employees, but also retain their already successful work force.
"People are very important," Liu said, adding "that's the challenge for everybody. How do we attract talented people and get them to stay with you - that's important."
"We have the best Chinese restaurant right around the corner," he said. He added that when they have large company functions, they can give the company's a familial feel, in part, through simple gestures like providing home-style meals.
Liu appears to have the recipe for success as the company has grown since purchasing a closed General Motors plant in Moraine, Ohio, in 2014, and added two facilities in Michigan, including its headquarters in Plymouth since then.
Liu and his company got some negative attention from "American Factory", where Liu and a senior official from the parent company were accused of saying they would shut the plant down in Moraine if a UAW effort to unionize were successful. In addition, the parent company also warned if its U.S. subsidiary were not profitable quickly, that could jeopardize its future.
Liu dismissed the claims, and pushed ahead to make the plant profitable in just the second year. The company now has more than 2,400 employees.
"We've had some very tough times," he said. "There was a cultural difference and we had gone through and earned their trust."
Latest comments