A Letter from Ron Collins: "I am A Nanjinger!"

点击链接阅读中文版：《一封老朋友的来信："我是南京人！" by Ron Collins》

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Ford China and the 20th anniversary of the Ford Nanjing Engineering Research Center. When I asked several long-serving employees in Nanjing who had the biggest impact on them at Ford, almost everyone mentioned one name: Ron Collins.

Ron Collins

Before his retirement, he served as Ford Motor Company's Global Chassis and Exterior Engineering Director and Chief Engineer.

Although I never had the opportunity to work with Ron, his name was not at all unfamiliar to me; I had heard many people talk about him before... It's like the saying, "The legend lives on, even if the man isn't in the arena anymore."

My connection with him, however, is that we became mutual friends on Facebook, even though we don't know each other personally. Occasionally, when I post a photo or two of Nanjing or REC/NTC, I receive comments from him.

So, I took a chance and left him a message on Facebook... Soon after, I received a photo of him in front of his prized possession. He had even specially put on his old REC work uniform from back in the day, telling me that the company's name was prominently displayed on the back of the shirt, and there was also a letter he had written for everyone.

Dear Ford China and Nanjing REC team,

It is an extreme honor for me to extend well wishes to a great team on the 30^th anniversary of Ford China and the 20^th anniversary of Nanjing REC. It has been a long road building the business and capability in China. All who have played a part should be extremely proud of their contribution to this accomplishment.

I first became involved with Ford China in February 2005. I came to Nanjing to set up an engineering center, to be known as Nanjing Research and Engineering Center (REC). We started from scratch…we had no building and no employees.

When I went to China in 2005, my assignment was to build an engineering team and a facility in China, But no one was sure what that team or facility should be, or if perhaps it would be better to put that engineering center in another Asia Pacific country. Remember, in 2005 the Chinese auto market was very small and no one knew if it would grow as fast as other Asia Pacific countries. There was also a question of whether the R&D center should be 100% Ford or part of a JV with Chinese partners. So there was a vision, but it was a very blurry vision! We first had to provide clarity so that both Ford China leadership in Shanghai and Ford Motor Company leadership in Dearborn could see that investing in Nanjing REC was the best choice for Ford in China and globally.

employee group photo back in 2005

We targeted to hire the best young engineers and buyers we could find from China’s best universities.

And we did hire many young people to join our team…and now, those young people are the leaders of REC, providing direction, experience and guidance at every level. I am very proud of all we accomplished in REC, but I am most proud all the people who grew and developed into a fully capable team. Well done, everyone!

The China market began growing rapidly, both overall and for Ford. It was growing faster than other Asian countries' markets. It would make sense to build your R&D center in a country with a rapidly growing market.

We established a temporary office in the Kingsley Mansion in downtown Nanjing…The early Nanjing REC team embraced the challenge of demonstrating their capabilities to be part of a global Ford engineering team.

Our first assignment was to source parts to Chinese suppliers for export to North America. We sourced over 1500 part numbers, developed the supply base to build these parts, and managed the supply lines so that parts arrived at the NA plants as needed. These parts were about 20% lower cost, had HIGHER quality than the parts they replaced, and never once caused any assembly plant issues with on-time delivery. The daily focus and leadership of the Nanjing REC team (PD, Purchasing, STA, etc) proved the doubters wrong about Chinese suppliers but also proved the immense capability of the Chinese engineers. We proved that an R&D center in Nanjing could be filled with competent professionals that would be integral parts of the global Ford team.

As the market exploded, our JVs struggled to keep up with the demands of ever increasing production. They spent all their time on vehicles localized to be built in their plants. The REC team could focus not only on the local Chinese market, but also on being part of the global Ford team.

So, as the China auto market exploded in size, the employees of REC demonstrated their capability as competent engineers who could communicate easily with Ford's global operations and focus 100% of their time on assignments as part of global Ford. It became very clear, by the time REC was approved to be built in the JNDZ in 2007, that the best outcome would be a 100% Ford owned facility in Nanjing to serve the growing Chinese market and Ford global markets.

In 2006, Ford did confront an unprecedented crisis in North America and was close to bankruptcy, we were in regular communication with Dearborn and fully understood the situation. But China was part of the solution to that problem, because we were sourcing high quality, lower cost parts for use in North American vehicles, which improved margins and quality. We were also preparing to increase our participation in the growing, lucrative China market. We were very fortunate to have a CEO at the time, Alan Mulally, that understood the importance and opportunity for Ford in China (which he had learned when he was a senior leader at Boeing!) The support for everything we were doing at the time in China started with Alan.

Ford Nanjing Test Center inaugurated in 2017

In 2007, we developed and received approval to build our permanent home at the site on Jiangjun Boulevard. We moved into REC in October 2007, and much expansion has occurred to the site since then as Ford’s Chinese footprint grew.

Many parts for global export were sourced to Chinese suppliers by the early Nanjing REC team…and proudly, the quality and cost were best in Ford. In the process, we developed the design and release skills, as well as the purchasing skills, to enable bigger things.

We also build engineering and Ford process skills, as well as a local Chinese supply base, by sourcing global designs to Chinese suppliers and serving as the local Ford representatives for those parts

All REC staff photo taken on April 1, 2008

Lincoln Nautilus - 2025 SUV of the Year granted by MotorTrend

Ford REC has become a fully capable automative engineering center, transitioning from simple part sourcing twenty years ago, to designing world-class vehicles like the Lincoln Nautilus that has been well received in both China and North America. Again, well done REC team!

From very humble beginnings in 2005, REC has emerged as a great engineering center, thanks to all the hard work of the engineers, buyers, and everyone that has contributed to and supported REC over the last two decades. Thank you for your heard work, dedication, and tenacity. Without each of you, this success would be impossible. Well done!!!

I also want to thank everyone for the kindness that was extended to me personally as a foreigner in Nanjing. I could not have survived six years without your patience, understanding, and help. It is hard for a foreigner to live in any new country, especially when one doesn’t read, write or speak the language! But each of you helped me to learn and adapt, and I will be forever in your debt for that. Nanjing became my home for six years, and Nanjing will always be home to me, Wo Shi Nanjing Ren!! The people of REC were once my children…now you are grown, so I think of you now as my brothers and sisters. Thank you for that gift.

Again, it is with great honor, pleasure and pride that I wish you happy anniversary! Now, do another thirty years with even greater success! Make me (more) proud!

Zhu Ni Hao Yun, Sheng Ri Kuai Le!

Ron Collins

Some additional stories from Ron's Letter:

1、I started my career as an engineer in 1988 at an aircraft company called McDonnell Douglas, which has since become part of Boeing aircraft company. I stayed three years, then moved to Ford in 1990. I wasn't sure I wanted to leave Boeing to go to Ford, so I flipped a coin. The coin said stay at Boeing, so I notified Ford that I REJECTED their offer. Later that same day, Boeing announced they had lost a large contract for airplanes, and they would be laying off many people. I rushed home and called Ford back (no cell phones at that time) and told them I ACCEPTED their offer! The HR person said it wasn't too late! So I always tell people, life can take big turns when you don't even realize, so be careful in your decisions. Don't flip a coin, it could be wrong!

I worked at Ford as a Chassis engineer for 15 years before coming to China. I was manager of the suspension department for SUVs prior to the move to Nanjing. My first trip ever to China was in February 2005 after I accepted the job as REC Director.

2、In early 2005, the SUV Engineering Director in Dearborn called me to his office one day and said there was a promotion opportunity in China, but he knew I didn't want to move to China, but he had to offer it to me anyway so I could formally reject it. I immediately replied that I would take it. He was very surprised, and asked me if I shouldn't ask my wife first? I confidently said no, she would support my decision. I don't think he believed I would be interested, and was not planning on me accepting. :)

Despite my confident and immediate acceptance of the job offer, I was TERRIFIED to move to China. In 2005, China was very different from today. It was a small automotive market; Ford had no facilities in China, The infrastructure was just starting to be built: the HuNing expressway was under construction, there was no Nanjing subway system, the train took FIVE hours from Shanghai to Nanjing. General Road in front of REC was dirt! I did not read, write or speak Chinese. I had three young sons at the time, and I was worried about their education and well being. There wasn't any one big challenge....EVERYTHING was a challenge! Communication, culture, food. Everything was different. I used to tell people that the small things were the hardest...where to buy groceries, how to ask for eggs or pork, how to get minor medical supplies. It had to be the hardest for my wife...I had a support network at ford, my kids had a support network at Nanjing International School....my wife had to find her own way on the streets of Nanjing each day. It seemed like a crazy decision to move to China at the time, but looking back, it was the most important and best decision of my life. And the thing that made it all possible, that helped us to acclimate and adjust to this new environment, was the kindness of the Nanjing people, both inside Ford and on the street in everyday life.

3、In 2005, Nanjing was very different from today. I mentioned no HuNing Expressway, no subway, no high speed trains, and the location for REC in the JNDZ had no streets or infrastructure. Many other things taken for granted today did not exist yet in 2005 Nanjing. The railway station is a good example. On my second trip to Nanjing, in April of 2005, I arrived at the old north station. It was being renovated, and the platform had been removed. So when the train stopped (after a FIVE HOUR trip from Shanghai), the doors opened and the passengers had to jump down to the ground. I was alone on the train, and not sure what to expect when I arrived at the train station. But I should not have been worried, because when the doors opened two employees, Jackie Xu (who has since left Ford) and Lisa Lv (I think Lisa is still at REC) were waiting for me beside the train and made sure I made it to my hotel. Remember what I said about kindness? It was this sort of kindness that allowed me as a foreigner to survive and thrive in Nanjing. BTW, it was VERY dusty when I arrived that day....

Now think of Nanjing's massive train station. with high speed trains reaching Shanghai in one hour ..much has changed in twenty years!

4、With regard to the language barrier...it was never an issue at work because the REC employees worked so hard to learn English, per above. On the streets...we just learned. I learned most of my essential Mandarin from Angel Ding, and I picked up a lot from taxi drivers and Ford drivers. I felt very comfortable being able to take care of myself on the street in a short time, but business was always conducted in English. This limited my Chinese language growth. However, my wife was much better than me because she spent time on the streets each day and interacted with the Nanjing people in normal life. My three sons were best however...all three were fluent reading, writing and speaking when we left. The two older ones have largely lost it, but my youngest son studied at New York University and spent three years at the Shanghai campus near to the Ford China office on Century Boulevard. He still uses his Chinese language skills in his job regularly.

What I miss most about Nanjing? Well, you can't live anywhere for six years unless that place becomes your home. If it is not your home, you will be miserable. So Nanjing became my home...the people, the food, the culture, good and bad, all of it. I had many friends in Nanjing, both Chinese and Gweilau, and I'm happy to still keep those friends. I have one Chinese friend that we started wishing each other to have a nice weekend in 2008...she taught me to say "Zhou mo yu kuai". We have not missed wishing each other a nice weekend in 18 years, first face-to-face and then by wechat when I left. Every weekend for 18 years. There are many other relationships that I maintain from my time in Nanjing. We accomplished so much together, and I'm proud of it. I'm proud to be among Nanjing people. Wo Shi Nanjing Ren!!!

5、My time in China changed my life, in a huge way, and in a better way. I grew up on a farm in rural USA...I could not imagine as a child ever traveling to ANY foreign country, let alone China, Without my China experience, I would have a limited, myopic view of the world. I was able to see the foreign world upclose, and able to see my home country from a distance outside. It changed my perspective, for the better, My time in China helped me to understand and appreciate different people, cultures, food, customs, etc etc etc. It was the greatest experience of my life. It also changed the trajectory of the lives of my children...they are much better citizens of the world because of their time growing up in China. I tell people often that if I had chosen to reject the opportunity to come to Nanjing in 2005, it would have been the worst decision of my life, and I would never have realized my bad decision. Thank goodness I chose wisely and accepted the job...even though my Director didn't think I would !