Returning to his hometown Ningbo for the "Ningbo Entrepreneurs Hometown Tour" and the Cixi Entrepreneurs Conference, Li Jianli was constantly on the move. This entrepreneur, who came from Nanyuan Village in Fuhai Town, Cixi, is now president of the Shenzhen Ningbo Chamber of Commerce and chairman of Kedali.
Thirty years ago, he took 20,000 yuan in savings and headed south to Shenzhen, starting his business in a small 15-square-meter factory with six employees. Thirty years later, Kedali has grown into a hidden champion in global lithium battery structural components, with revenue reaching 15 billion yuan by the end of 2025, a global market share of over 35%, and business covering leading battery companies in more than ten countries.
In 2017, Kedali listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and currently has a total market value of about 40 billion yuan. Standing on the land of his hometown and looking back on his journey from worker to industrial leader, Li Jianli said: "All achievements come from the pragmatism and focus engraved in the bones of Ningbo entrepreneurs."
Amid the rapidly changing new energy wave, he has kept to the essence of industry, broken into overseas markets, and opened a second growth curve in embodied intelligent robots, writing the story of a new generation of Ningbo entrepreneurs riding the tide.
Li Jianli (photo by reporter Wang Jing)
Rejecting the lure of capital, turning one meter of width into ten thousand meters of depth
The new energy track is full of turbulence, and capital tides rise and fall. In the hot era when "lithium ruled the world," cross-industry players rushed in, and many companies chased trends to make quick money, but Li Jianli always rooted himself in the narrow track of precision structural components.
"I often say that we turn a one-meter-wide track into ten thousand meters deep and make a very small industry the world's number one. That is more important than blindly doing many industries," Li Jianli said, carrying the calm unique to Ningbo entrepreneurs.
The temptation has existed for a long time. Looking back to Shenzhen around 2000, finance and real estate offered rich returns, and many friends around him switched industries to seek gold. Kedali also faced opportunities to make quick money. But Li Jianli chose to hold the industrial position.
"If we had been distracted and gone into other industries at that time, the company might not exist today, or it might be larger, but it would never be as professional and steady as it is now," Li Jianli said.
This persistence is rooted in the spiritual foundation given by his homeland. "Doing industry steadily and treating upstream and downstream partners with integrity are ideas engraved in the bones of us Ningbo people." From first conquering lithium battery structural components and replacing high-priced Japanese imports, to 2007, when orders for mobile phone batteries kept flowing in, Li Jianli resolutely bet most of the profits on the then still blank power battery track. Every step was a test of resolve.
Kedali intelligent production line.
Industry technology iterates rapidly, and reshuffling never stops. When talking about the core secret of the company standing firm in the industry, Li Jianli summarized three points: "First, continuous technological innovation, increasing R&D investment every year; second, being customer-oriented and matching customers' capacity and technical needs; third, following customers' footsteps and going international with technology and capital."
Not wavering for short-term capital dividends and calmly polishing technology and products has allowed Kedali to pass through round after round of industry cycles.
Keeping pace with the times and opening a second growth curve
To venture into the world, one must also stand at the forefront of the tide. Today's Kedali is no longer limited to the domestic market. In 2020, Kedali took the lead in building factories in Europe, and three overseas bases in Hungary, Germany, and Sweden were established one after another, going overseas together with China's lithium battery industry chain and serving leading overseas new energy customers.
In Li Jianli's view, true globalization is not simply selling products overseas or opening factories abroad, but having sufficiently strong technical strength, products adapted to local market demand, and participating in global competition with mature technology and sufficient funds. Only then can risks be avoided and a firm foothold be gained.
With continuous innovation and a steady, pragmatic corporate character, Kedali has won recognition from overseas customers and also let the world see the power of Chinese manufacturing founded by a Ningbo entrepreneur.
Company production workshop.
The tide of the times rolls forward, AI technology iterates rapidly, and the half-life of technology is getting shorter and shorter. "Today's very advanced technology may become outdated overnight." Li Jianli keenly sensed the change. While consolidating its global leading position in lithium battery structural components, two years ago he decisively laid out the embodied intelligent robot track and started the company's "second growth curve."
Innovation landed on real technological breakthroughs. The team changed the core component of the harmonic reducer to the new PEEK material, greatly reducing the weight of robot parts while improving operating efficiency. "Robots are generally too heavy now. Through material innovation, we both reduce weight and increase operating speed. This is a research achievement we are proud of," Li Jianli introduced.
In his eyes, embodied intelligent robots are a track with extremely strong future certainty. "In the future, perhaps everyone can own a robot. The industry starts from zero, and the future market space is huge."
After 30 years of entrepreneurship, the company still maintains rapid growth. "Although the company was founded 30 years ago, we are still full of excitement every day." While holding the basic market and investing in R&D and innovation in new tracks, Li Jianli always maintains the passion of an entrepreneur.
"Whenever our hometown needs us, we are always here"
No matter how far he goes, his roots are always in Ningbo Cixi. Although he has spent years rooted in Shenzhen striving for success, Li Jianli has never cut the bond with his hometown. The soil of his hometown gave him his first business enlightenment. The small home appliance workshops all over Cixi made the young Li Jianli deeply interested in mechanical molds; after going south to Shenzhen, the city's business atmosphere that advocates innovation and puts customers first completed his important business training.
"Shenzhen taught me to be customer-oriented. Wherever there is demand, you must cultivate deeply there." The fusion of the two regional traits shaped his business thinking.
Now, as president of the Shenzhen Ningbo Chamber of Commerce and also appointed as a Ningbo entrepreneurs innovation and entrepreneurship mentor, Li Jianli often compares the similarities and differences between old and new Ningbo entrepreneurs. "Most of the older generation started from scratch, just like me, starting with 20,000 yuan, six people, and a 15-square-meter factory, accumulating little by little from the bottom; the new generation of entrepreneurs is better educated and has better platforms, but also faces greater competitive pressure."
The market environment has changed dramatically, technology iteration has accelerated, and the difficulty of entrepreneurship for the new generation far exceeds that of the past. But one core has never changed: "No matter how the times change, sticking to industry, deepening one's own business, and persisting in innovation are the unchanging foundations of entrepreneurship."
Kedali company products.
Rich and remembering the source, giving back to his hometown. In his hometown Nanyuan Village, Li Jianli and his younger brother donated a cultural hall and send New Year goods to the village's elderly every year; he also built resource bridges and established an equity investment fund to help the development of Cixi's advanced manufacturing and emerging industries. His younger brother Li Jianju even serves as the "first secretary" of the Nanyuan Village Party General Branch.
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