Zhang Qingping was born in 1958 and joined the Communist Party of China in 1992. She is now Party chief of the No.1 workshop of Taiyuan Mining Machinery Hydraulic & Lubrication.

She has managed to beat her production target every month for the past 27 years. Over the last five years alone, she was responsible for output figures that looked more like 22 years worth of production, and for introducing 62 technological innovations.

1998 was a tough year that meant difficult times for the company group. Orders fell dramatically. Zhang had only three people actively employed in her team. A further 12 team-members were just waiting to be assigned work. Zhang tried everything to find temporary jobs for her colleagues. Even under such difficult circumstances Zhang and her much reduced team of three managed to fulfill the production target for the full-strength team. This meant that every one of the 12 could get 150 yuan (about US$20) to cover living expenses.

In March of this year, Zhang started her term as the Director of the No.1 Workshop. While still exceeding her production targets, she has moved quickly to bring in reforms. In just three months, the monthly value of her workshop production was up from some 300,000 yuan (about US$40,000) to over 500,000 yuan (about US$66,000).

Zhang says her ultimate goal is not just to increase output. She has changed the wording on the packing cases. They now carry a new message: Our goal is to satisfy our customers.