Sept 1 marked the 30th anniversary of Bluestar’s establishment. Ren Jianxin, general manager of ChemChina and chairman of Bluestar, attended a celebration along with employees at Bluestar headquarters to witness the historical moment.
Display boards featuring the milestones in Bluestar’s development were put on the first floor of the company’s building. Bluestar was established in 1984, moved to Beijing and got listed in 1996, completed its first overseas M&A in 2006, and introduced the US-based Blackstone Foundation in 2008.
Ren looked back on the pioneering and development history of Bluestar over the past 30 years. Ren established Bluestar, China’s first professional chemical cleaning company, in Lanzhou city 30 years ago with seven employees and a part-time accountant, a patented clean technology, a workshop and a 10,000-yuan ($1,629) loan. The company has been giving priority to revitalizing China’s industry over the years. It regrouped a large group of State-owned enterprises, such as Nantong Xingchen and Xinghuo Organic Silicone Plant, which were in financial trouble and helped them get back on their feet.
It was a difficult process, which helped Bluestar transform itself into a new chemical material company from a cleaning service provider and evolve into a leader in China’s new chemical materials industry. Bluestar was one of the first that implemented the Go Global strategy. It has continued its M&A project abroad since it acquired the France-based Adisseo. The company has improved industrial integration and domestic and foreign business coordination, and has become a leader in international operations. The company developed 60 plants and 25 scientific research institutes around the world by the end of 2013, with business covering 150 countries and regions. It owns five foreign companies whose assets value reaches nearly 100 billion yuan.
“Since the founding of Bluestar, my biggest concerns were human problems, from new employee orientation to grassroots-level training,” said Ren. “I’ll make time to talk to my colleagues, listen to their opinions and share various corporate values.”
Ren said that the speeding technical, social and industrial development and fierce company competition has changed the previous linear company development, which requires companies to have a large number of management and technical personnel to survive the competitive environment featuring increasing uncertainties. Ren urged all parties to strengthen team building, introduce professional managers and learn global best practices.
Ren encouraged employees to work harder, professional managers to blend in with the Bluestar family, and new employees to work at the grassroots level. He hopes they can join hands to build a brighter future over the next three decades.
Ren took group pictures with employees before the display boards after the celebration and visited the calligraphy and painting exhibition focusing on Bluestar’s 30th anniversary.
