Building A Billion-Dollar Solar Company: Canadian Solar CEO Shawn Qu (Part 3)

Sramana: Where did you set up your factory and manufacturing operations?

Shawn Qu: I set that up in China. When I received the purchase order, I looked at several locations, including Canada and the United States. I elected to use China.

Sramana: What was involved in finding a good manufacturing location? Did you own the factory?

Shawn Qu: I rented a building and I got the local industry park to do some renovations. They charged me a favorable rental rate, and I had my own team put in the equipment. We ran and operated our own manufacturing process. I was essentially my own factory.

Sramana: Did you have the knowledge to do all of that? It’s obvious where your solar knowledge came from. Where did you get your manufacturing know-how?

Shawn Qu: Nobody can claim that they have the full knowledge of everything of everything. By 2001 I had four years of working experience. I had worked in research divisions so I had done a lot of design of solar devices. I then moved on to another solar company where I gained a couple of years of manufacturing line experience.

I knew how the manufacturing line should operate and what basic equipment was required. I also knew how to develop the procedure document the procedural and equipment portions of the manufacturing process. After that, it is a matter of training the operator to follow specific procedures.

I received good support from my former employers. They made contributions, and I later converted their contributions into a share of my own company. I essentially had a business plan that I put together based on my high-level ideas. I approached people I knew in this space and asked them for their support. Fortunately, I had a good track record and they were excited to support me. All three of my suppliers gave me three-month payment terms from day one. That is not normal.

Sramana: That helps a lot when it comes to cash flow management. What did they base those terms on?

Shawn Qu: First of all, at that time solar was still a small industry. Among the customers and suppliers, everybody knew each other. I had several years’ experience and a track record with all of those people. They knew that I was not just a dreamer. They realized I was a solid engineer.

Sramana: Did you have to show them your Volkswagen contract to convince them to give you those terms?

Shawn Qu: I showed the Volkswagen contract to my former employers, who were essentially my investors. I told them that with that purchase order I could use their solar cell products. I also used that to convince them to send me their old machines to help me set up my factory. It became a sales channel for them as well.

This segment is part 3 in the series : Building A Billion-Dollar Solar Company: Canadian Solar CEO Shawn Qu
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