bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

quizIds

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Winsome Lane

Michael Jacobs is struggling with the forces of globalisation from the shop floor of his Shenzhen factory.

Surrounded by a workforce of 100,  many drawn from remote peasant villages, he must try to communicate how the products they create are used by customers.

It is not  rocket science.  The factory is low-tech,  producing furniture for a variety of fast-food restaurants and hotels. But try explaining that to workers who have never experienced the type of routine consumption rituals taken for granted in the west

His solution? Let them experience it for themselves. As part of their paid time,  many employees experience their first hamburger at  McDonalds,  a java at  Starbucks Coffee  and even a whirl through the lobby of the five-star Marriott Hotel - all prime customers of the products produced at the factory.

'Many of the workers had never seen a McDonalds before - the factory is a learning process for them,' Mr Jacobs says 'They are energetic and dedicated workers, not averse to working long hours'.

The company specialises in what's known as hospitality furniture and restaurant furniture, producing wooden and chrome chairs and tables for a variety of global brands.

The Shenzhen factory produced furniture kit-outs for 800 McDonalds restaurants in China, and  produces 35,000 pieces of furniture each year for  Starbucks' global operations.

Falcon China  is a subsidiary of the world's largest producer of hospitality furniture, Falcon Furniture, owned by Mr Jacob's father.

A Shanghai sales office and the Shenzhen factory make up the bulk of the assets of Falcon China.

The story of how the Shenzhen factory became an outsourcing supplier to its parent, and a big player in the rapid growth of the restaurant brands in China, is largely due to the ambition of the young Mr Jacobs, who latched on to a vision of southern China as an export hub during a visit in 1993.

At the time he was a marketing executive for  US Falcon Companies, charged with developing new markets.

'I was fascinated by the culture and the market potential of the mainland,' he says.

Initially his father was sceptical, but decided to back him with US$100,000.

'A lot of companies set up factories in China only to export, but our company and factory was set up to produce for the China market,' he says. 'A few years later we also gained an export licence, so now we export through a trading company.'

His factory not only builds the furniture but installs it, doing the interior decor of the seating area of the restaurants. 'In the Shenzhen factory we built the first 500 McDonalds in China. The McDonalds contract started us off in the mainland.

'The American company is the largest maker of hospitality and restaurant furniture in the US, and one of the largest for health-care and university furniture.' he said.  'Now the Starbucks furniture for the whole Asia-Pacific region is made at the factory in China.'

Mr Jacobs first came to Hong Kong in 1993, to represent the group at a hotel exhibition in the mainland. Then in his twenties, he was sales manager for the Falcon Companies group.

'When I first began negotiations to open the China factory I was not taken very seriously,' he said, 'People thought I was too young to have any real authority but once I had made up my mind, my father backed me all the way.'

From the beginning he pursued a policy of having an entirely Chinese work force, taking on some experienced mainland engineers to install the machinery, then hiring workers from remote areas for training.

'I was very lucky that I found some Hong Kong Chinese who had managerial experience and spoke Mandarin, who were able to take over. They are still with me,' he said.

Mr Jacobs says his new ambition is to set up a design company to foster original design in the Chinese furniture industry.

'I want to show that there are young Chinese designers who can contribute something new,' he says.



Learning globalisation on the job