I. Going abroad · Shining on the global stage
In April 1998, Chairman Xue Xirong traveled to Hannover, Germany, for the first time as part of a delegation to attend a professional lighting exhibition. The booths of international giants, cutting-edge technologies, and stringent standards left him both awestruck and with a renewed sense of reality. Upon returning to China, he made up his mind: Kangrong must obtain European and American certifications in order to truly expand into international markets.
By the end of that same year, Kangrong had obtained China’s first VDE and UL certifications for the GU10 lamp base, filling a gap in the domestic market. Subsequently, he traveled to Japan on multiple occasions to learn from century-old ceramics companies, visited Cree in the United States, and met with senior executives at Philips in Europe to deepen cooperation. In 2000, the G9 lamp base took Europe and the United States by storm, and in 2007, the company returned to the International Lighting Exhibition in Poland. Today, Kangrong’s products are exported to more than 20 countries and regions worldwide, serving world-class clients such as Philips, IKEA, Osram, GE, Panasonic, USHIO, and NVC.
II. Sincerity as Deep as the Divine · Effort That Rivals Anyone’s
Chairman Xue Xirong deeply understands the importance of integrity and responsibility. In 1999, due to a delay in an order, the general manager of a Japanese client personally visited the factory to follow up on the order but found no one there, and left in a huff. At the time, he had been stuck on the highway for two hours; upon returning to the factory, he worked through the night until 1:00 a.m., then went to the client’s door carrying a stick to humbly apologize. This sincerity resolved the misunderstanding and earned the client’s lifelong trust.
It is precisely this dedication—working “as hard as anyone else”—along with a strong determination and a will as unyielding as rock, that has driven Kangrong to continuously break new ground.
III. Intentional Attention, Breaking Through with Innovation
After thinking about it day and night, the idea of “one device, multiple modes” was born.
In 1999, to meet the daily demand of 100,000 units from U.S. customers, Chairman Xue Xirong racked his brains day and night and came up with the idea of “one machine, multiple modes,” which quadrupled production efficiency and achieved the miracle of a product that recouped its investment in the same year it was launched. Subsequently, he led his team to become the first in China to develop LED ceramic heat sinks and composite ceramic heat dissipation materials, and successfully cracked the core technological challenges of 5G ceramic filters. It is precisely this keen “intentional attention” and the bold vision of “capabilities yet to come” that have enabled Kangrong to expand from lighting components into cutting-edge fields such as new energy and 5G communications, turning the impossible into reality time and time again.
With Intentional Attention, Pioneering the G9 Era
Chairman Xue Xirong firmly believes in Kazuo Inamori’s concept of “deliberate attention”—that by staying focused on the smallest details, inspiration will never run dry. In 2000, he faced difficulties installing halogen lamp sockets imported from abroad; he pondered the problem day and night but could not find a solution. One evening, a light bulb at home failed to light up, and his wife asked him to replace it. The moment he unscrewed the screw-in bulb, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him: by adding external threads to the ceramic lamp base, the bulb could be secured directly. He immediately sketched a rough design, and his team worked through the night to produce a prototype. As soon as the G9 lamp holder was launched, it was widely embraced by customers. The product obtained certifications in Europe and the United States, as well as multiple patents. After debuting at a European trade show, the “Kangrong” brand became a household name among lighting companies in Europe and the United States.
IV. Continuous Self-Improvement, Embracing Chinese Classics
In 2007, Chairman Xue Xirong immersed himself in a class on traditional Chinese culture. After devoting himself to studying the *Tao Te Ching*, the *Analects*, and *The Art of War*, he had a sudden epiphany: Inamori’s philosophy and Chinese culture share a common heritage. Upon rereading the “Twelve Principles of Management” at that moment, the philosophical seeds buried deep within his heart were fully awakened.
