The story of Jonah and Tengye.
How magnets found their way into one engineer's life — and how a small partnership in Hangzhou grew into the magnet partner engineers rely on.
Fresh Out of College: Achieving $1M Sales at Innuovo Magnetics
The magnet of opportunity seemed to pull me in a certain direction. Just before my graduation, I applied for an international sales position at a company called Innuovo. The intriguing part was that I wasn’t aware of the exact products I would be dealing with until my first day on the job. I worked there for a year and a half immediately after my college graduation. It was a well-known company in the industry, offering a robust platform.
During my time there, I acquired knowledge and experience in business development, sales negotiations, supplier management, project management, and, notably, magnet expertise.
I managed to achieve a sales figure of one million US dollars in my first year, most of which came from the business I developed on my own.
The Reason I Left Innuovo: Looking Beyond Just Price
However, I realized soon that a significant part of my work revolved around competing on price. This situation didn’t align with my career goals.
I had a stronger inclination towards exploring different applications of magnets and applying my technical expertise to address design challenges for tech companies that integrated magnets into their products.
So, in 2021, I made the tough decision to leave Innuovo, even though I had promising career prospects there.
Starting Tengye with Mr. Lu: Two Minds, One Goal
Starting my own company from scratch was a bold move, especially since small companies often struggle to gain the trust of tech companies and magnet distributors. In the magnet industry, trading companies lacking their own manufacturing facilities face challenges. This awareness prompted me to establish a collaboration with Mr. Lu, the forward-thinking founder and proprietor of an NdFeB magnet factory.
At that time, Mr. Lu’s OEM factory mainly served PM motor manufacturers and magnet export companies in China. We both agreed on the idea of providing raw magnets and magnet assemblies to customers abroad with a focus on delivering solutions and exceptional customer service to global tech companies and magnet distributors.
Our value in the market extends beyond price competition. Our emphasis is on magnet solutions driven by technical expertise and exceptional customer experiences rooted in dedicated service.
Mr. Lu’s manufacturing facilities, certified with ISO 9001 and IATF 16949, gave us a solid edge. He also valued my past achievements and insights into the magnet industry and its market. In addition, I was merely 24 years old when we connected, and he saw a great deal of potential in me. This led to our partnership under the name “Tengye”, which translates to “helping customers succeed”.
