A Frontline "Veteran" Overseas, Focused on Training and Promotion

Pei Xinliang

Joined CNBM in 2019

The Workshop Director of the gypsum board plant of BNBM Building Materials Industry (Tanzania) Limited

Pei Xinliang, with nearly 20 years of experience in paper-faced gypsum board production, possesses extensive production and management expertise, making him an unquestionable specialist at the front line. He joined BNBM Tanzania in May 2019 and has since actively participated in upgrading and transforming existing production lines, as well as establishing new ones, contributing significantly to the development of a highly skilled technical team and production line construction in BNBM Tanzania.

Local employees in Tanzania generally have lower levels of cultural literacy, limited operational abilities, and lack safety awareness and risk identification skills. As the workshop director, Pei Xinliang, upon understanding these issues, actively explored and implemented practical solutions with the production team. By designing tailored training programs for different positions, they developed a unique "OneGuidance and Two-Training" employee management mode, which effectively enhanced the skills of the local workforce. "One Guidance" represents the guidance of a mentor for apprentices, while "Two Trainings" refer to basic skills training (including employee codes of conduct and three-level safety education) and professional and job-specific skills training.

Utilizing his language advantage and extensive production experience, Pei Xinliang actively participated in the training of local employees in Tanzania, focusing on improving their skill levels to meet the job requirements of the new production line. In the training to improve employee capability, Pei continuously introduced new forms of training, such as bringing the classroom into the workshop. Chinese employees utilized maintenance time in the workshop for on-site teaching, carefully explaining operational skills for each position. This approach consistently elevated the practical skills of the local employees and cultivated their multiple skills needed in work, leading to a significant improvement in work efficiency. When faced with various unexpected situations during the production at later stages, he helped local employees improve their capability to handle emergencies by giving instructions and examples, thereby making a significant contribution to downsizing the staff and improving the labor efficiency.

During the initial outbreak of the pandemic, Africa faced a shortage of medical supplies and flight disruptions, and Tanzania had no specific measures for epidemic prevention and control, imposing unprecedented challenges to BNBM Tanzania's production and operation, as well as to new product line construction. On one hand, there was the taskof epidemic prevention and control, while on the other hand, the existing old production line needed to operate normally, and the construction of the new production line had to progress steadily. In front of all these challenges, Pei Xinliang followed the company's arrangements, steadfastly held his position and did not return home for vacation for two and a half years, dedicating himself entirely to the construction of BNBM Tanzania. Due to objective reasons, all the equipment for the new line, weighing nearly 2,000 tons loaded in 84 containers, was imported from China. Pei Xinliang, together with 10 Chinese employees and 6 local employees who stayed behind, climbed onto the containers to secure, inspect, and unload the goods every day, disregarding the weather. They unloaded more than 100 tons per day while ensuring that all containers were promptly unloaded and returned. With their passion and superb skills, BNBM Tanzania never incurred any demurrage.

Finally, in January 2022, BNBM Tanzania's production line with an annual output of 15 million square meters of gypsum board was successfully put into operation. The production energy consumption decreased by 36%, and the level of automation and product quality significantly improved, which met the standards of European and American countries, making it one of the largest and most advanced gypsum board production lines in East Africa. The operation of this line also allowed the localized BNBM Tanzania brand to comprehensively surpass other local and imported brands in terms of product quality and performance, achieving complete substitution of imported products through localized production.

Through the deployment of advanced production capacity, BNBM has firmly rooted itself in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. The achievements it has made are a testament to the efforts of a group of overseas builders, represented by Pei Xinliang, who have actively contributed to improving local gypsum board industry and standardizing local gypsum board products

Personal Insights

Since joining the company in 2019, I have experienced the production of the old line, the construction of the new line, the trial production, and the normal operation, and have witnessed the gradual optimization of various work in the company. I have reaped a lot in the past five years, and I am proud to have played a part in the development of BNBM Tanzania. The future of BNBM Tanzania will be even more brilliant with our concerted efforts.

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Prosper Ernest Haule: An Overseas Dream Maker at BNBM

Prosper Ernest Haule

Joined CNBM in 2018

The Regional Manager of the Marketing Department of of BNBM Building Materials Industry (Tanzania) Limited

"In the past five years, my dreams have come true.With a respectable job, a good income, I have built a happy family. It all started when I joined BNBM Tanzania." Prosper Ernest Haule reflects on his past, describing it as a dream-like experience.

In 2018, Prosper joined BNBM Tanzania at the stage of establishment, becoming one of the first foreign employees of BNBM. He witnessed the development of the company and experienced its expansion to the world stage. Throughout this process, he transformed from an ordinary salesperson to a capable regional manager, becoming an outstanding representative of the Tanzanian employees at BNBM.

Prosper is eager to take on challenging tasks. With an undergraduate education from a prestigious university in Tanzania, he is not only fluent in his mother tongue Swahili, but also proficient in written and spoken English. Leveraging this language advantage, he continuously explores export markets. As a result, the export sales from countries such as Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo account for nearly 5% of BNBM Tanzania's overall sales, contributing greatly to the promotion of BNBM Tanzania's products and the enhancement of its brand influence in the target markets. Prosper consistently maintains passion and willingly takes on major tasks. He not only rapidly grew into a backbone employee in the sales department but also showcased his diverse skills by voluntarily taking on various tasks throughout the establishment, project construction, and daily operation phases of BNBM Tanzania.

In early 2020, Tanzania introduced a new work visa system, which has stricter requirements for non- Tanzanian employees, resulting in a rejection rate of 20% to 30% for many Chinese-invested companies in Tanzania. Confronting this situation, Prosper took the initiative to handle work visa applications for non-Tanzanian employees. He downloaded and studied the new labor and immigration regulations meticulously, visited the Tanzania Investment Centre to understand the application process. He would also personally address unreasonable visa rejections by submitting appeals to the Minister of Labor in Dodoma, the Tanzanian capital. Through numerous attempts, applications and efforts, non-Tanzanian employees of BNBM Tanzania, especially technical experts, successfully obtained their work visas. This achievement effectively stabilized the production and operation team of BNBM Tanzania, providing strong support for the company's production and operation, and for the construction of new lines.

Prosper's unwavering determination, courage, and willingness to take on challenges vividly exemplify the spirit and strength of BNBM, leaving a deep impression on the local Tanzanian government authorities.

Prosper genuinely identifies with BNBM's corporate culture and takes great pride in working at BNBM Tanzania. He often enthusiastically introduces BNBM Tanzania and BNBM to his relatives and friends.

He says, "My friends around me admire that I can work in such a large and wellestablished Chinese-invested company, because they have witnessed my transformation. I have grown from an ordinary salesperson to a regional manager, with a steady increase in income. I have also successfully built a family and achieved my short-term life goals."

"In Tanzania, we have a saying that goes, 'Alone, you may travel fast, but together, you'll journey far'. Only when we are united and make joint efforts can our company go further and become better! I am willing to walk together and work hard with everyone." Prosper earnestly states.

Personal  Insights

BNBM Tanzania is a great company with a robust and thorough framework, a well-established quality control system, a good salary and welfare system, and a fair promotion mechanism. I cherish my work and feel grateful to my leaders and colleagues. I believe, with our concerted efforts, the company will continue to thrive!