“We may not have enough workers, but we have the machines to replace them!” 57-year-old Cai Zhihao speaks briskly, pointing at his automated equipment. “It is not improvisation, it is promotion, progress and innovation!” He turns around and stresses the point to the reporter.

Cai Zhihao is the chairman of Wuzhu Electronic Technology in Dongguan. The factory labor force declines by 10 percent annually, while the output value increases by 10 percent. “Thanks to machine substitution.” He nods with satisfaction.

Cai bought the factory that builds smartphone circuit boards from a Taiwanese in 2010, established Wuzhu Electronic Technology in Dongguan, and moved the headquarters of the company here. “After a year or two, recruitment became more and more difficult. I had to mobilize my workers to introduce their fellows and relatives here - 600 yuan reward for one person introduced in. After a month I basically had enough workers,” Cai recalls.

Automated transformation was the base for addressing both symptoms and root causes. To replace manual labor with machines was imperative. Cai spent 500,000 yuan to buy an automatic drilling point grinding machine on trial in February, 2013. Now one person can do what used to be the work of sixteen. “Two thirds of the workforce will be reduced, with one third left,” Cai says confidently.

“Nowadays the government spends a lot of money each year to help us to replace manual labor with machines," Cai tells the reporter. "I have also applied for a project. Replacing manual labor with machines makes fundamental changes to the way of running a factory - the future goal is to promote technological upgrading and product innovation, and to mine technological dividends with more advanced and sophisticated machines. In addition to the visible benefit of reducing manual labor, the invisible benefit which replacing manual labor with machines brings is incalculable,” Cai says with passion.

This article was edited and translated from 《蔡老板“招工”记》, source: People's Daily, author: He Linping.