Product quality is the lifeblood of a business.

Many businesses use various astonishing methods to promote their products, such as door-to-door sales, holding ordering meetings, and leveraging celebrity endorsements, spending significant amounts on media advertising.

Many businesses use various unimaginable means to promote their products, such as door-to-door sales, holding ordering meetings, and leveraging celebrity endorsements, spending significant funds on media advertising. However, after many years, what truly withstands the test of the market is the word of mouth from users—that is the quality of the product.

Product quality sounds simple to discuss, but making a good product, turning it into an excellent product, and establishing a brand that stands out in the market requires countless efforts from the company's managers and employees.

An article in "Business World" tells a story that is quite thought-provoking: a domestic beer company was on the brink of bankruptcy, and a manager suggested to the boss to learn the production process of a well-known Japanese beer brand. The boss was troubled: the Japanese company had very strict confidentiality requirements for its employees, making it impossible to learn from them. Later, when the boss of the Japanese company was out, this manager pretended to be involved in an accident and, at the cost of one leg, became a security guard for the beer company. After overcoming various difficulties, he finally stole the beer production process, and the domestic company then became a listed brand! This story makes one reflect deeply: how admirable! This manager! It shows a dedication to the company as if it were life itself, treating the company's products as his own eyes! However, one must wonder, how many more peaks are there to climb in life? From another perspective, sacrificing a leg brought a new chapter for the company's employees, a long-lasting vitality for the company, and a position of invincibility in fierce market competition—that is product quality! The beer-making process improved, the quality of the beer increased, the market recognized it, and the company became a brand, a perennial tree in the industry!

Of course, we cannot endorse the act of stealing others' technology in the above story, but the dedication to quality is beneficial for us at Aikomei. The development of Aikomei has not been smooth sailing; our company must grow, and with growth comes challenges. We cannot deny ourselves because of these challenges, nor can we become discouraged due to these hardships, thinking that we cannot run this company or produce quality products. Foreigners ask, why do your Aikomei products have fingerprints? It's simple; we have overlooked some details, thinking that as long as it looks good, it's fine, but that's not acceptable! What we want is product quality! A good product should be flawless! We need to correct our shortcomings; when packaging and shipping, we should wear clean gloves, handle products gently, avoid using soiled gloves, and ensure that ungloved hands do not touch the products. The meticulousness in packaging should be such that no grain of sand can be tolerated! We need to have a spirit of dedication! Polished materials must be polished, and there should not be a single defect on them! If there is a black spot on the material, or if a processed product deviates slightly from the blueprint, we might think: perhaps it's okay? But that's not acceptable; what we want is product quality. We want the product to be satisfactory when it reaches the merchant, and when the customer smiles, we can smile too. We cannot limit ourselves to just passing one process; we need to be responsible for the entire process. If the customer has food to eat, then we can eat too!

Product quality is based on the market, but it cannot rely solely on the market. At certain times, we may pass the market's standards, but the market is not constant. We must be brave in innovating quality and have better products appear in the market—that is to surpass ourselves. Liu Xiang would not keep adding weight to his iron shoes if he could not surpass himself!

The market expects Aikomei employees to continuously surpass themselves. Aikomei employees must be pragmatic, dedicated, and innovative, so that the refractory metal industry can form its own evergreen brand—AKM!