CEO Insights Magazine

The Energy industry sector comprises a wide range of services as well as products. Dony Zhang through his experience and active participation in entrepreneur associations led to the foundation of WH Steel in 2011. WH is a professional supplier of pipe fittings in the energy field that has a long expertise in the trade enterprise. Dony Zhang works towards maintaining carbon neutrality and global standards of the company by being an active member of various political associations and conducting international visits. He believes in keeping the customers' needs first and maintaining international marketing standards for the successful establishment of WH Steel as a pipeline enterprise overseas.

Give a brief description of your professional background and experience. What is the characterization of WH and its position in the market?

I majored in Business English and advanced my studies at the School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, China. I have been engaged in business management since my graduation and co-founded the WH-STEEL group in 2011. The company is committed to the research & development, production, sales, quality inspection, packaging, and transportation of pipeline equipment products, mainly in the foreign trade service business. WH has been working to drive the progress of the enterprise and the industry through technology research and development. We expect that through our efforts, we will contribute to the internationalization of Chinese steel brands and also to China's national strategy of reaching a carbon peak, carbon neutrality, and rejuvenating the country through science & technology. WH is a professional supplier of pipe fittings in the energy field that has a long expertise in the trade enterprise. It has always focused and matched with international standards and enormously cultivated in the pipeline equipment industry. In the process, it has consistently followed the strategic layout of the Chinese government, centered around the country's ‘going out’ and ‘One Belt, One Road’ strategy.

Tell us about your flagship products and what added value customers can expect from your products & services. Can you tell us the main factors considered when recommending products to customers?

WH Steel’s flagship products are pipe fittings, flanges, pipe fabrication, and painting. Our customers can purchase high-quality fittings and pipe products from us, as well as enjoy on-time delivery and competitively priced products & services. In addition, we also provide customers with professional product packaging services and one-stop procurement in China. The company has a first-class sales staff and technical team, who speaks several languages, provides barrier-free communication, and accurately grasp the necessities of customers. We have collaborated with many large companies and hold customers' word of mouth as a guarantee.

The service tenet of the firm is to be customer-centric and the main factor we consider in recommending products is to maximize the satisfaction as per the customers' needs. We can customize production plans and product packaging plans for customers. Our product quality is guaranteed, through WH Steel’s accumulated years of professional experience and qualifications holdings. The product technology, production, and acceptance are according to international standards and in line with the standards of central companies. There are also professional engineers to interpret technical information to assist customers throughout the process.

So far, what are the main projects you have undertaken? How did you overcome the challenges associated with them? What did you learn from them?

Until now, we have undertaken projects from more than 60 countries globally, covering natural gas, petroleum, chemical, electric power, waste treatment, water treatment, shipbuilding, and other fields. We have provided more than 200 million US dollars of one-stop product supply services, including pipes, pipe fittings, flanges, bolts, nuts, gaskets, and more, to the Rumaila Oilfield project in Iraq, since the cooperation in 2018. There is still a $100 million contract for this project that has to be completed by next year. Well it has brought us immense challenges too. We have comprehensively evaluated our control capabilities in various aspects, such as layout, logistics, quality inspection & supply capabilities, procurement standards, and capital operations. Based on the concept of ‘W’ in ‘WH’ – ‘WIN’, we have achieved mutually beneficial cooperation and winwin with customers and supply chains.

Tell us about your approach to leadership. Based on your professional experience, what advice do you have for budding industry leaders?

Being the CEO of the company, I portray myself as a 'team player' and follow a principle and two guidelines. The principle I diligently follow is that the customer is always the first priority provided that it does not compromise our team’s needs. My principles are also majorly applied in the management of enterprises. My vision of selecting candidates focuses on the future value of personnel, while the employee training should be of assistant style. I suggest budding leaders to succeed in the marketing industry and set the benchmark of a potent leader. The first suggestion is to ascertain how high and wide the vision of the leader is so that the enterprise can grow along with continuous learning. The second is to learn to focus and refocus as it is easy to add to the business but difficult to subtract.

Dony Zhang, Chief Executive Officer, WH Steel Co. Ltd.

With a major in Business English from the School of Economics and Management of Tsinghua University, he has served as the chairman of WH Steel since 2011. He partook in many volunteer activities and internal meetings of volunteer unions like the Beijing Volunteer Union and the Affairs Committee of the Beijing Volunteer Alliance.