In Longgang Pingdi, Shenzhen, the factory of White Automation is alive with the constant roar of machines. However, if you step into the office building, you'll find it quite different from a traditional factory—meeting rooms adorned with hand-drawn technical cartoons by engineers, slogans like “How many good questions did you ask today?” in the break room, and 90s-born technicians gathered around a whiteboard debating a tool holder parameter, while nearby, a freshly graduated intern studies equipment blueprints on a tablet.
This atmosphere was not built in a day. It stems from the deliberate design of founder Shen Zhenqi and the efforts of his son, Shen Yachen, a new generation manager at White.
Shen Zhenqi: “Young people shouldn’t waste their passion in a dull factory.”
Having been an entrepreneur for nearly 20 years, Shen Zhenqi has seen too many factories treat young people as “cogs”—engaged in repetitive tasks, with rigid hierarchies and little room for expression. He dislikes this approach.
“Young people have ideas and drive; they are not here to ‘work’ but to ‘make things happen.’” Shen Zhenqi states. He has implemented several seemingly “unorthodox” policies at White:
Any engineer who identifies a production pain point can initiate a project directly, without layers of approval.
Every Friday afternoon is “free discussion time,” allowing employees to set aside their current tasks to discuss technology and improvements across departments.
The office has no private cubicles; including himself, everyone works in an open space.
“I don’t want an atmosphere where silence falls when a leader enters. What I want is debate, collision of ideas, and young people daring to bang the table and say, ‘This plan is wrong.’” Shen Zhenqi expresses.
Gradually, White's engineering culture has developed its own identity: daring to think, dare to try, dare to make mistakes. A 26-year-old mechanical engineer says, “Here, if my proposal is rejected, I don’t feel embarrassed; instead, I collaborate with electrical colleagues to find a better solution. This feeling of being trusted is exhilarating.”
Shen Yachen: Making “a love for life” the other side of work
Shen Yachen, the son of Shen Zhenqi and a millennial, joined White after studying abroad. He chose not to sit in the “successor” position but started from grassroots sales, visiting client sites in Vietnam, South Korea, and India.
The biggest change he brought to White is not a specific product but a recognition that“work and life can coexist harmoniously.”
“My dad’s generation was used to pouring all their time into the factory. But today’s young people are different; they need a sense of achievement and also the joy of life.” Shen Yachen remarks.
He has promoted a series of changes at White:
Flexible working hours: No clocking in; as long as tasks are completed and meetings are well conducted, engineers can arrange their own schedules.
Interest groups: Basketball, badminton, weekend cycling, with company funding support.
“Complaints Conference”: An anonymous feedback session once a month, where any suggestions regarding management, processes, or benefits will be seriously discussed and improvement plans made public.
Learning fund: Employees attending industry training, purchasing technical books, or even enrolling in English classes can have half of their expenses reimbursed by the company.
“We don’t want to turn the factory into an amusement park; we want young people to feel that working here has a future and that life is something to be loved.” Shen Yachen states.
Consensus between two generations: The right people lead to the right equipment
Shen Zhenqi and Shen Yachen have differing views on many matters—such as management styles, market strategies, and even equipment color schemes. However, they are highly aligned on one thing:
Only when employees love their work and life can they create equipment that customers will love.
This philosophy is being validated by White's young team. Last year, a project team of five engineers born in the 90s took the initiative to tackle the stability issues of the “automatic labeling system” during their spare time. They received no directive; they simply noticed workers at the client site struggling with sore hands from labeling.
Three months later, they presented an optimization plan that reduced the labeling failure rate by 60%. When Shen Zhenqi learned of this, he said nothing and directly awarded them double the year-end bonus.
White-style youth: No limits, no compromises
Today, among White's technical team of over 150 people, more than half are under 35. Some come from large companies, some are fresh graduates, and others have worked their way up from the workshop. Many of them say they chose White not for the highest salary but because the atmosphere here “feels like a team.”
Shen Yachen often says internally: “We are not just helping our father maintain the business; we are creating a company that young people can be proud of together.”
As for Shen Zhenqi, watching this group of young people, he occasionally reflects: “When I started my business, I only wanted to make good equipment. Now I realize that bringing a group of people together and making them genuinely love their work is harder and more meaningful than producing a great piece of equipment.”
White is not just a manufacturer of equipment; it is a place where young people pour their passion and love. If you also want to be like them—daring to think, daring to try, and loving technology and life—White welcomes you.