[New Times reporter: Du Lin] Ji Defa, a 1986 graduate student of the School of Control, Shanda University, chairman of the Shanghai Alumni Entrepreneur Club of Shanda University, the invisible champion of global elevator control systems, and the founder of STEP, a leading enterprise in China's intelligent manufacturing.

Jinan and Shanda are the places where Gidefa will never forget and feel grateful. Gidefa often said that it was the education during the university that opened his eyes. After leaving Jinan for many years, Gidefa alumni still never forget their learning experience in Jinan—in the STEP expert building, there is a clear spring surging, which is the Baotu Spring that Gidefa misses with all his heart; in the STEP staff team, there are more than 50 alumni of Shanda University Seeing Gidefa, the alumni called him brother...

After receiving the activity notification of Shandong University alumni Jinan trip, Ji Defa was very excited, "Jinan was the place where he received higher education. He left Jinan for many years, but he always paid attention to the development of Jinan and Shandong. In recent years, Shandong has continued to pursue high-quality development. Jinan's development momentum is also very good. As a graduate of Shandong University, it is a kind of responsibility and responsibility to drink water and serve the alma mater. STEP will actively respond to the alma mater's strategy of serving Shandong, and contribute a part of STEP to improve the level of intelligent manufacturing in Jinan and Shandong. power."

Since its establishment in 1995, Gidefa has attached great importance to technology research and development, and adhered to the strategy of "matching imports and surpassing imports", so that STEP, which is on the road of import substitution, has always been at the forefront of technology and the high end of the market. At the beginning of its business, STEP chose to develop in the field of elevator control systems. Gidefa consciously introduced the still advanced CAN bus communication, which was only used in the automotive industry at that time, and creatively solved the problem of difficult and long-term debugging of elevator control systems, and quickly obtained It has been recognized by the "four major players" in the global elevator industry - ThyssenKrupp, Otis, Schindler and KONE, and is used worldwide. With leading technology and proper management, coupled with the rapid development of China's real estate market, STEP's performance has improved by leaps and bounds, and it became a listed company in 2010.

Today, STEP is already the invisible champion of the global elevator control system. After listing in 2010, Gidefa clearly realized that it is difficult for a single-industry development enterprise to become bigger and stronger, and began to initiate a strategic transformation. The direction of transformation is the field of robotics and intelligent manufacturing that is closely related to the elevator control system. In fact, five years earlier than the central government put forward the "Made in China 2025" national strategy in 2015, STEP once again took the lead in the market. From establishing an independent research and development team to capital mergers and acquisitions, Gidefa always adheres to the high standard of technology first. After ten years of hard work, now, STEP stands out in the field of robotics and intelligent manufacturing—it ranks tenth in China's robot market share and the first in domestic production; in the field of SCARA robots, it ranks third in the world and first in domestic production.

To serve the kindness of his alma mater and Quancheng, Gidefa supported the development of Shandong University and Shandong with practical actions. Gidefa has donated to Shandong University many times, selflessly supporting the development of his alma mater's control discipline and the construction of the Qingdao campus. In 2019, Gidefa once again donated 10 million yuan to Shanda for the 120th anniversary celebration of Shanda University. President Fan Liming commented that Gidefa alumnus is not only an entrepreneur full of humanistic feelings and innovative spirit, but also an outstanding representative of 600,000 Shanda people. The feelings of the country and the world".

STEP has contributed its own strength to serve the development of Shandong. In Qingdao Jianqiu, Yantai Linglong, Qingdao Haier, Jinan Meide, Binzhou Yuyang and other enterprises, there are STEP elevator control systems, frequency converters, servos, robots and other full-range products. Among them, at Qingdao Haier Jiaozhou Factory known as the "Industry 4.0 Lighthouse Factory", the intelligent manufacturing line of air-conditioning floor delivered by STEP robot this year is Haier's first domestic robot production line, and the STEP robot brand has been recognized.

Facing the future, Shandong, which pursues high-quality development, continues to expand its demand for smart manufacturing. The aging population and labor shortage will push smart manufacturing into the deep water area. More and more manufacturing companies are facing the transition from manual work to Automation, from the sporadic use of robots to the realization of intelligent manufacturing, requires the cross-border integration of technologies and the collaboration of multiple industries. Gidefa said that STEP will contribute to the intelligent manufacturing of Jinan and even Shandong, and he is full of expectations for the development of Jinan. (Editor: Han Luying)