If you told the 24-year-old version of me—that quiet engineer who joined Schneider Electric’s Shanghai factory in 2006—that one day I’d help build a Lighthouse Factory, race a global pandemic with mask production, and design flexible manufacturing systems inspired by honeycomb and…(Let’s save a surprise for later). Well, he probably would’ve said, “Are you sure you’re talking about me?” But that’s the magic of an 18-year journey: I don’t see the dots until much later. And when I finally connect them, everything suddenly makes sense.
I want to share three stories in my career—three challenges that pushed me, changed me, and revealed three qualities I didn’t even know were part of me: objectivity, resilience, and innovation.
Truth in action: The 4-month race to see a Lighthouse Factory
In 2014, I made a big move—from coastal Shanghai to inland Wuhan—to help build a brand-new Schneider factory. We were upgrading manual lines to advanced automation, transforming process after process, and pushing the limits every day. After three years of nonstop effort, the factory was becoming one of the most automated plants in China. Then came the real test.
In 2017, Schneider’s overseas investors scheduled a visit—just four months away. To show who we were and what we had built, we needed more than impressive equipment. We needed clarity, transparency, and truth. Our team made a bold decision: deploy the full EcoStructure system and multiple brand-new automated equipment before the visit. That meant redesigning workflows, integrating equipment data, cleaning processes, and building a digital backbone under extreme pressure. During those four months, every day felt like a balancing act: reality vs. expectation, data vs. assumptions, facts vs. guesswork.
And that’s when I realized something essential about myself: my strength wasn’t just technical execution; it was objectivity of truth. I learned to face uncomfortable truths quickly, to pinpoint the root causes behind a delay or defect, and to communicate them with honesty, even when it meant extra work for the team or tough decisions for leadership. The investors didn’t need perfection; they needed to trust what they were seeing. When they finally walked through the factory, watching real-time dashboards and automated equipment integrated with numerous advanced technologies in action, I could see their confidence growing. A few months later, the Wuhan plant was recognized by the Davos Forum as a “Developing Lighthouse Factory.” That recognition wasn’t about shiny machines. It was about truth: the discipline of seeing things as they are. That’s what made the factory credible, and that’s what made our transformation real.
Resilience redefined: Building mask machines in 30 days amid the pandemic
2020 arrived, and with it came a crisis no one expected. Factories couldn’t buy masks, supply chains broke down, and uncertainty filled every conversation. Soon, our China team decided to develop mask machines. It sounded impossible, but we decided to try. From day one, there were no standard procedures, no reference models, and no time. I decided to learn mask machine mechanics, material standards, testing protocols, and regulatory requirements—fast. Every step required decisions that normally took months compressed into hours.
There were moments when uncertainty felt overwhelming—when a component didn’t fit, a test failed, or a shipment was delayed. But in that chaos, I discovered something unexpected about myself: resilience isn’t loud; it’s quiet, steady, and persistent. It’s the ability to keep moving when nothing is certain, to make decisions with incomplete information, and to trust your team even when the outcome is unknown.
Just after thirty days, the equipment was shipped. A week later, the first batch of masks reached teams across China, Europe, and North America. When I held that first finished mask in my hands, I felt something I had never felt before: the profound power of a team that refuses to give up. We weren’t just solving a technical problem; we were protecting people. And that made every obstacle worth it.
Innovation unlocked everywhere: Honeycomb, neighborhood gate, and MC12
As Schneider’s China region grew, so did the complexity of its products. High-mix, low-volume production put traditional automation under pressure: too much variety, too many changeovers, too many manual steps. We needed a new idea. Something flexible, something modular, something… different. That spark came one day in Wuxi, as I stared at the layout of a new production line and thought about the strength and simplicity of a honeycomb. We tried an unusual approach: the hexagonal concept for production line design. Each hexagonal device could connect with others, allowing quick changes in production processes to achieve multi-product manufacturing. Once the machines began rotating, connecting, and shifting seamlessly, the value was undeniable: flexibility, speed, high mix, low waste.
Innovation doesn’t only come from factories. One evening, while walking home, I watched the magnetic gate at my neighborhood entrance close automatically behind someone—no motors, no cables, just a clean magnetic pull. Then an idea popped into my mind, “If a gate can close itself with a magnet… why can’t our production modules connect the same way?” Magnets instead of tools. Snap-fit interfaces instead of complex adjustments. Simple, intuitive, universal. That tiny moment of inspiration led us to rethink how equipment could connect across flexible manufacturing lines, making assembly faster, cleaner, and far more adaptable. The innovative 5G flexible production line, incorporating these technologies, helped Schneider’s Wuxi Factory secure the “Lighthouse Factory” title.
Around the same time, Schneider introduced the MC12—a modular, robot-friendly system ideal for flexible feeding and assembly. When we combined MC12 technology with Schneider’s servo systems, and industrial robots, something clicked: flexible manufacturing doesn’t have to compromise between speed and adaptability. You can have both. Ultimately, the next-generation MC12 flexible production line was selected for the Gartner Power of the Profession Supply Chain Awards and has been promoted globally. And that’s when I understood something essential about innovation: it isn’t a talent; it’s a habit. It comes from paying attention—to machines, to people, to everyday life. Sometimes, even to an apartment gate.
Connecting the dots and passing the spark forward
As I step into my role as a L2 Senior Electrifier in the domain of Industrialization and Technology, my purpose feels clearer than ever—not just to build systems, but to help others connect their own dots. Everything I am today: the engineer who seeks truth, the teammate who keeps going under pressure, the creator who finds ideas in ordinary moments—comes from threads I only understood years later.
That truth can be modeled, resilience can be learned, and innovation can be sparked in the smallest moments. When you reach the end of this blog, you’ll see a photo of me with my kid. Many may see just a family snapshot, but to me it represents something deeper. And maybe one day, when he walks his own path, he’ll smile and say, “Now I finally see how the dots connect.”
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About the author
Zhaolei Liu, GSC China Process Advanced Manufacturing Director
Zhaolei is based in Shanghai, China and has over 20 years’ experience in Manufacturing & Industrialization. He leads manufacturing engineering teams for Global Supply Chain in China.
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