Citywide Rural Commercial Banks: Building a Financial "Heart-to-Heart Bridge"

Starting a business after resigning from a senior executive position, over six years, Xin Guofa, head of Reybo Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd, has experienced the anxiety of lacking orders and the joy of having products recognized by customers. "People need dreams, find the right track, work steadily, and maybe the dream will come true." Talking about his entrepreneurial journey, Xin Guofa said that choosing the direction of entrepreneurship is very important. Difficulties are inevitable in entrepreneurship, but fortunately, the entrepreneurial environment and policy support in Weifang are quite good. Especially the common funding difficulties faced by entrepreneurs, financial institutions in Weifang can provide timely help, solving their urgent problems. This year, with the help of Weifang Rural Commercial Bank, he has set up new production and testing lines for new products, bringing new directions for the company's positive development.

Resigning to start a business amid widespread opposition
When meeting Xin Guofa, he had just returned from the agricultural machinery promotion conference in Ili Kekedala City, Xinjiang, and was sharing the gains from the conference with his team members. "Our 3-meter seeding harrow integrated machine and 4-meter power-driven harrow are very popular locally. Besides orders, we also received a research and development invitation. If the R&D project is implemented, it will bring thousands of orders to the company." Xin Guofa's words ignited the team's enthusiasm.
Born in 1975, Xin Guofa told the staff that after graduating from graduate school in 1999, he joined a local company in Weifang, working in various positions such as production, procurement, and sales. In his 19th year at the company, he had become the marketing director. In the eyes of relatives and friends, both his income and social status were quite good, but as he grew older, his desire to work independently became stronger.
The year Xin Guofa resigned to prepare for entrepreneurship, he was 43 years old, with elderly parents and young children. No one understood him, and no family member supported him. "To be honest, I was no longer young at that time. Starting a business was not a rash decision but made after years of work experience and careful consideration. Dreams are personal, and only you can realize them." So, amid widespread opposition, Xin Guofa bravely took the first step.

Finding the right product direction and working meticulously
In the early days of entrepreneurship, Xin Guofa's team had only a dozen people. Everyone divided tasks and cooperated steadily, starting with small orders and gradually accumulating their customer base, step by step expanding the market. From initially making electronic components to now having main products such as power-driven harrows, compound precision seeders, and silage cutters, Xin Guofa said the main reason he has persisted until today is that he found the niche track of power harrows early on.
"For large agricultural machinery companies, power harrows are not a major business and naturally not within their scope. But for small and medium-sized enterprises, the R&D of power harrows has certain technical thresholds. Without sufficient R&D support, success is impossible." With a clear direction and a research team, Xin Guofa began to strive forward on this less "eye-catching" track.
Starting from the first order of 14 power-driven harrows, Xin Guofa and his team’s agricultural machinery products gradually gained a foothold in the agricultural machinery circle. Customers expanded from domestic to overseas. At the 2023 China International Agricultural Machinery Exhibition, the company signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Italy's CMR company on high-end power harrow gearbox business to jointly enter the high-end intelligent equipment market. Currently, the company has nearly 100 dealership networks in more than a dozen provinces including Northeast, Northwest, and Central China. The sales of power harrows are industry-leading, with 5 related patents.

Financial support opens new development directions
For a company to go far, it must use technological innovation to maintain continuous "vitality." Since positioning its products as high-end agricultural machinery, Xin Guofa has never stopped leading his team in R&D. The "task" brought back from the Xinjiang promotion conference has once again put the team into a new round of development and testing. "They only gave us less than half a year. The time is tight and the task heavy, but we are confident." Xin Guofa has always been full of confidence in the team's R&D capabilities.
While doing well in the R&D and production of power harrows and other products, Xin Guofa also expanded the company's product range according to national agricultural machinery policies. He focused on tractors, but adding new production and testing lines became a funding problem. When Xin Guofa was worried, the appearance of Weifang Rural Commercial Bank rekindled his hope.
"At the end of September this year, Weifang Rural Commercial Bank came to our factory for coordination. When I mentioned my idea of setting up a new production line, the bank staff said the company's situation met the bank's 'Equipment Renewal Loan' requirements. After their inspection, the approval procedures were completed during the National Day holiday, and the loan was successfully disbursed a few days after the holiday." In the production workshop, Xin Guofa pointed to the production line already in use and said the amount and interest rate of the 'Equipment Renewal Loan' were very favorable. Moreover, the thoughtful and meticulous service of Weifang Rural Commercial Bank made him feel the bank's sincerity in helping enterprises solve difficulties. This was also his first loan since starting his business.
"Entrepreneurship is not like 'Shenbi Maliang' where everything appears with a stroke of a brush. You can't just be a dreamer; you must work hard and practice. Seizing development opportunities is the only way to make entrepreneurial dreams come true," said Xin Guofa. Since starting his business, he has felt Weifang's tolerance and support for entrepreneurs. From entrepreneurial policies to financial support, they have become bright lights on his entrepreneurial path, helping him go further. (Dou Yuanna, Wang Fei)