Made-in-China Recognized by World's Best Universities SANY Became First in Industry to Attract Harvard Interns

“The speed of development of Chinese enterprises has gone beyond my imagination,” said the Harvard intern. For Douglas Muhlestein, everything he saw in China was new, including SANY Group, where he had his internship. Its products such as long-armed concrete pumps, asphalt pavers, and reach stackers are all “new gadgets” in his eyes.

Douglas Muhlestein is one of the Harvard students who did their internship in SANY Group this year. In addition to Harvard, MIT of the US and a number of the best universities of France, Hong Kong and Taiwan have all had students doing their internship or visiting SANY. SANY is the first company in the Hunan Province to host a Harvard student to do their internship and the only company in China’s construction machinery industry to have attracted the attention of so many famous universities in the world.

SANY in the Eyes of a Harvard Student: New and Interesting

According to Douglas Muhlestein, it could be difficult for students from Harvard to obtain an opportunity to do their internship overseas, though Harvard is one of the best universities in the world. “Opportunities are limited and we all want to go to a different part of the world to have a look.”

23-year old Douglas Muhlestein is from Los Angeles and speaks fluent Chinese. He said that after this summer vocation he would be in the third grade. He felt lucky to have come to SANY Group as everything he learned was totally new and challenging. And he enjoyed the challenges. Over 30 students from Harvard have come to China for their two-month long internships and they have been spread in Changsha, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong.

Douglas Muhlestein is a student of computer science and applied mathematics at Harvard and this is his first time to come to China’s mainland. He worked as a volunteer in Taiwan three years ago.

“Serving as a volunteer is quite different from doing my internship in a large company,” said Douglas Muhlestein who is now assigned to the IT department. He has now understood that efficiency and the correct way of doing things are important. He has learned how to use the SAP software within two weeks.

Anna Zhong is another student from Harvard who opted to do her internship in the international sales department of SANY’s concrete pump technology department. When the journalist met her, she was assessing a contract guided by her tutor Madame Tao Chen. The Chinese contract appeared to be a bit too difficult for her.

The tutors were arranged and assigned to them before they started their internships. These tutors are the most senior members of their department, who can offer guidance to the students in their work and life here.

Anna Zhong said that SANY Group was an interesting place. Many colleagues liked to help her understanding contents of her work. She also saw some high school students doing their “social practice” here, which made her think the company “impressive.”

In addition to communicating with their tutors and colleagues, they have many opportunities to travel and feel the Chinese culture. The HR department has arranged for them to visit the famous scenic spot Zhangjiajie, where part of Avatar’s beautiful scenes was shot. Before that they have visited the Yuelu Mountain which houses one of the earliest schools in the world, and Shaoshan, Chairman Mao’s birth place.

The First Company in Industry to Attract the Attention of Best Universities

The group of Harvard students has been here for about 4 weeks. Larry Wong, deputy chief of staff of the Chairman’s Office attached a lot of importance to them. “This has been the second group of Harvard students doing their internships here in SANY. The first group was here last summer. This year there have been two Harvard professors and two MIT professors who came to give lectures here in SANY.”

According to Larry Wong, not only US universities like Harvard and MIT are interested in SANY’s development, many other top universities around the world are also interested in SANY. A number of best universities from France, Hong Kong, and Taiwan have had their students doing their internships here in SANY.

On January 11, Professor Elisabeth Koll from Harvard Business School paid a visit to SANY along with 45 of her MBA students. At the time, the Harvard Business School compiled a case study on SANY and has included the case study in their bank of cases.

In the SANY case study, SANY’s development from a Chinese company into a global company was given detailed description. The case study also included the company’s acquisition of German company Putzmeister, to which both Chinese and foreign media have given positive comments. President Wenbo Xiang of SANY Heavy Industry said that Harvard University attaches great importance to SANY and he himself talked to two groups of professors on its development.

This June, Harvard professor Jeffrey Williams pointed out after a visit to SANY’s Lingang Industrial Park in Shanghai, that SANY was different from many SOEs in that SANY experienced a long time of painful striving and won the competition in the Chinese market because it was capable of down-to-earth work.

In 2011, Professor James P. Womack of MIT and author on “lean thinking” visited SANY in 2011. After the company tour and a lecture which he gave to the company’s management, he said, “Being pragmatic is the impression SANY has left in me. I admire your spirit and the vigorous and diligent employees. As a lean thinking scholar, I am pleased to work for you. I am impressed by your courage.”

Chairman Wengen Liang had a face to face meeting with Professor Womack on how a global enterprise should be managed and Professor Womack answered him from the angles of modern management, lean management, vertical and horizontal management. Professor Womack said, “Employees must fully understand all the procedures and processes. That’s my suggestion to SANY. You have developed extremely fast in China and that is unprecedented. I think your success will make the world more beautiful.”