Shanghai, China – State-owned Liming Research & Design Institute of Chemical Industry, which dvelops t develops its own technology, is losing talent at the rate that could hurt its business, the company told UTECH-polyurethane.com in an exclusive interview at the UTECH Asia/PU China exhibition held 3-5 September 2014 in Shanghai.
“About 60% of our 800 employees are technicians. We know they are underpaid with us but the state ownership ties up our hands,” said Zhao Xiuwen, manager and engineer of the institute’s subsidiary PU Developing Company. “A lot of them would leave in a few years for better paying jobs, and in a way take our technologies with them.”
“Stock incentive would be a good way to solve this problem. I think private ownership is what we should look to in the end,” he said.
In 2013 Liming had RMB750m ($122m) total revenue, while the profit margin for automotive interior materials was only 5% and an even lower 2% margin for rigid foams. “Vicious competition from smaller factories is a major reason for such low margins,” said Zhao.
XE Currency Conversion: 3 September, 2014
