From Material Planner to Plant Director – Meet Rain Li from Valmet in China
We interviewed Rain Li, the Director of Valmet’s flow control factory in Jiaxing in China, about her career and what she thinks of Valmet’s culture. Personal growth and career development are at the core of Valmet’s employer philosophy. Let Rain tell you more about her journey.
What has your career path been like and can you tell us about your educational background?
“I joined the Flow Control team in 2008 as a Material Planner and was later promoted to Planning Supervisor. After that, I served as a Supply Chain Manager, leading the Purchasing, Planning, Logistics and Facility teams. On August this year, I became the Plant Director of the Jiaxing factory.
Prior to joining Valmet, I worked as a Production Supervisor and Lean Manager at Electron Industry Company.
I earned my bachelor’s degree from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, majoring in Management and Administration.”
What does the job as a Plant Director entail?
“As the Plant Director, my role is to direct all production activities and further develop operational capabilities at the Flow Control manufacturing location in Jiaxing, China.”
What challenge were you particularly pleased with improving or solving at Valmet?
“In 2014, I had an opportunity to implement the Kanban process with some local suppliers for our Shanghai operation. This was the first factory to pilot these processes in Flow Control operations, maximizing our customer delivery capabilities. It also provided a solid foundation for the establishment of a global operations hub in Jiaxing last year. The global hub supplies valves and actuators to other Flow Control manufacturing sites.
Kanban is a project management methodology that allows teams to visualize their work while limiting work in progress (WIP) and maximizing efficiency.”
Do you have a nice memory or experience about working at Valmet that you would like to share?
“Back in 2012, I joined the Global Business Implementation project as an Operation Role-in-Leader. Together with colleagues globally, we designed ERP system parameters and implemented functionalities related to production and manufacturing engineering, planning, purchasing, warehousing, and logistics. Based on the implementation, our team standardized and visualized processes and responsibilities throughout the Shanghai Plant, laying the foundation for improving business and service levels.
Personally, I gained a better understanding of cultural differences. This experience helped me cooperate more efficiently with people from different cultural backgrounds in a global environment.”
What’s Valmet’s culture like?
“I think my colleagues are very supportive and willing to help others succeed. Valmet’s culture allows employees to make mistakes and encourages diversity, equity, inclusivity, and innovation. Working in this environment, where employees trust, help and unite with each other, is valuable.”
What do you most like about working at Valmet?
“In my journey working at Valmet, I have proposed various ideas and opinions, which my managers have been willing to adopt to optimize work processes. As the business has grown, I have also gained new skills and experience.
I’m proud of building this win-win cycle between Valmet and myself. This is also the essence of my work at Valmet!”
Services for valves and pumps
Reliability is at the core of every successful process plant’s operations. It leads to higher availability, safety – and profitability. By taking a proactive approach, you can stay ahead and gain deeper understanding of your plant and equipment. Valmet helps to transform plant data into valuable information. These insights enable you making the best decisions on which valve or pump to monitor, what to repair, and what to replace.
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