How Andy Found His Path in the Plastic Mold Industry
In June 1999, after graduating from high school, Andy moved to Dongguan, Guangdong. This marked the beginning of his working career. His first job was as an incoming material inspector at an electronics factory.
After working in this role for six months, Andy’s older brother advised him that while the job was easy, it didn’t offer much of a future. He suggested that Andy explore the mold industry, which seemed to have better prospects at the time. Taking his brother’s advice, Andy was introduced to a Hong Kong-funded mold manufacturing company at the end of the year, where he started working as a mold apprentice.
Andy Zhao met his current wife five months after entering the mold industry. The photo on the left was taken in 2000 while he was working at a Hong Kong-funded mold manufacturing company in Chang’an, Dongguan.
Various interesting anecdotes from his first year as an injection mold apprentice
Andy was fortunate to have a great mentor who patiently and selflessly taught him everything about mold making. At the same time, Andy was very diligent and eager to learn.
On one occasion, Andy couldn’t understand a mold drawing. Unable to visualize the shape of the mold components, he went next door and knocked on his mentor’s door in the company-provided dormitory, waking him up to ask for help.
It was almost midnight, but Andy was so absorbed in the problem that he didn’t realize the time. Fortunately, his mentor was not angry or annoyed. Instead, he patiently and thoroughly explained the drawing to Andy on the spot.
Due to Andy’s diligence and eagerness to learn, his mold-making skills grew rapidly. After three months in the industry, he could independently process mold components and assemble molds. By the sixth month, his mentor entrusted him with his first complete mold project, marking a significant milestone in his career.
Although Andy was determined to excel in his first independent project, things did not go smoothly. The mold included a “slider” mechanism, which he had never encountered before. Despite his mentor’s explanation, Andy still felt uncertain due to his lack of hands-on experience. Moreover, his colleagues were reluctant to share their technical knowledge.
Determined to learn, Andy secretly asked his colleagues which of the completed molds had a slider mechanism. Once he identified a target, he waited until everyone had left for the day and then sneaked in to disassemble one of the molds with a slider mechanism.
When he opened the mold, he was thrilled to finally understand how the slider mechanism worked. Unfortunately, he didn’t know how to reassemble the mold. The next morning, with the help of his colleagues, he managed to put the mold back together. Although his actions were discovered, he gained invaluable mold-making knowledge from the experience.
After Andy completed his first mold project, he began to take on more independent mold-making tasks. By the eighth month, the company hired a new mold apprentice, and for the first time, Andy took on the role of a mentor.
The new apprentice was a retired soldier with a rather proud temperament. Upon seeing Andy for the first time, he was dissatisfied and immediately approached the company’s management to request a different mentor. His reason was that Andy’s job title on his work ID still listed him as an “apprentice.” He complained to the management, asking why he was assigned an apprentice to teach him. The management responded, “Work with him for a month. If you’re still not satisfied, we will assign you a different mentor.”
Reluctantly, the retired soldier accepted the management’s suggestion. Time passed quickly, and during the month he spent with Andy, the new apprentice began to recognize Andy’s capabilities through his thorough and unreserved guidance.
16 years later, the former soldier now owns his own mold company in Shenzhen and continues to stay in touch with Andy. They still have business interactions to this day.
Career as an On-Site Mold Fitter (Assembler)
Two years later, Andy left his first mold company. Over the next seven years, he worked at several renowned mold companies, such as Dongguan Universe Plastic and TK Mold. During this time, he progressed from a role as an on-site assembly fitter to a site manager in mold manufacturing.
In 2009, through a fortuitous opportunity and a recommendation from a friend in the industry, Andy transitioned to the role of a mold engineer. During this period, he taught himself mold design and was responsible for reviewing and confirming all mold design evaluations from the company’s suppliers.
Thanks to Andy’s dedicated work, all the mold projects developed by the company were highly successful. The company began providing an increasing number of products to major clients like Ford, Chrysler, General Motors, and the BMW Group.
