Pan Yejiang of Huadi: Raise the sails for overseas expansion with “Chinese Intelligent Manufacturing,” and be a dependable partner who truly understands users

Ask AI · How can Vatti’s intelligent manufacturing go global to enhance international competitiveness?

【Global Network Technology Report Journalist Zhang Yang】 Currently, the kitchen appliance industry is entering a slow growth cycle, with increasing competition. After the 2026 Vatti Brand Launch Conference, Chairman and President Pan Yejian gave an exclusive interview, sharing his in-depth thoughts on user insights, industrial upgrading, and corporate globalization.

Going Global: Bader exports to over 120 countries, overseas revenue grows over 20%

Against the backdrop of declining domestic real estate dividends and market saturation, going abroad has become a necessary choice for home appliance companies. Vatti’s overseas expansion started quite early. Pan Yejian explained that its “Bader” brand has adhered to the core positioning of “global quality” for many years, continuously optimizing product R&D, manufacturing standards, and brand expression. Currently, Bader products are exported to more than 120 countries and regions worldwide.

Data confirms the correctness of this direction. Vatti’s 2024 financial report shows that Bader’s overseas business revenue reached 760 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.29%. Pan Yejian believes this is not just simple product export, but going out with Chinese brand quality standards and service capabilities. “Vatti’s overseas expansion is a combination of ‘brand going global’ and ‘intelligent manufacturing going global.’”

Supporting this strategy is the hard strength of manufacturing. Vatti has invested over 1 billion yuan to build a digital intelligent industrial park, which has officially started operation. This industrial park benchmarks against world-class lighthouse factories, integrating intelligent manufacturing, smart logistics, and smart campuses, driving over 200 upstream and downstream enterprises to upgrade collaboratively, transforming the industry chain from “following” to “leading.” Pan Yejian emphasizes that this new quality of productive power is the confidence behind Vatti’s global expansion.

In the future, the Bader brand will continue to deepen existing markets while expanding into emerging regions. Pan Yejian specifically mentioned that Vatti will adhere to the “advanced manufacturing and modern service industry” synergy, not only exporting products but also providing comprehensive kitchen scene solutions, bringing Eastern lifestyle aesthetics and Chinese culinary culture to the international stage. Previously, Vatti has introduced elements like the Silk Road, Feng Shui, and Chinese cooking into London and Paris, and this pace will continue.

User: From “selling products” to “managing users,” surpassing expectations with craftsmanship

In Pan Yejian’s view, the greatest opportunity for private enterprises is to focus on their main business, adapt to industry changes, and strengthen their products and core operations. The two keywords he repeatedly emphasizes are “users” and “responsibility.”

At the 2026 Vatti Brand Launch, the debut of the “Porcelain Talk” series left a deep impression. Vatti partnered with Ye Xiaochun, inheritor of Longquan celadon intangible cultural heritage, to integrate traditional culture into modern kitchen appliances. Pan Yejian stated that private enterprises should shoulder the responsibility of promoting traditional culture, deeply embedding it into their development, so that both companies and industries can draw powerful growth momentum. Vatti’s differentiation path is built around “easy to use, good-looking, easy to clean,” transforming the kitchen into a showcase, playground, and healing space, meeting users’ demands for “national潮” (Chao style) and cultural confidence.

Pan Yejian believes that young consumers have a unique aesthetic confidence, can perceive trend directions, and good kitchen appliance brands should understand their pursuit of poetry and distant horizons. Food culture and life aesthetics are also key research areas for Vatti, aiming to provide users with a new Chinese-style fashionable and healthy lifestyle.

Industrial upgrading:坚持“第三种思考”，AI赋能保持定力

Pan Yejian summarizes Vatti’s strategic path as “two transformations”: from “selling products” to “managing users,” and from traditional manufacturing to service-oriented manufacturing. This concept, known in the industry as “the third way of thinking,” has begun to take shape.

In AI technology application, Vatti maintains a clear focus. As one of the first companies in the industry to launch an intelligent strategy, Vatti’s AI integration always centers on the user perspective. Pan Yejian divides the AI strategy into “explicit” and “implicit” dimensions: “explicit” involves empowering products like range hoods and stoves with AI to achieve proactive sensing and seamless intelligent control, reducing the complexity of life; “implicit” involves building an internal AI capability platform to promote the intelligent transformation of the entire business chain, advancing with a “three-step” strategy.

In terms of high-end products, Pan Yejian’s “clean kitchen” concept is the industry’s first systematic solution addressing the pain point of “easy to clean.” Market feedback is positive: in 2025, Vatti ranked first in sales across all channels for self-cleaning range hoods with steam cleaning and high-temperature dissolving functions; first in offline sales of stainless steel gas water heaters; first in total sales of energy-efficient gas stoves. Pan Yejian summarized that kitchen appliance products need to reshape the value chain, elevating from functional satisfaction to emotional value, becoming carriers and enhancers of quality life.

Original intention: Focus on depth, excellence, and thoroughness

In the interview, Pan Yejian repeatedly emphasized “focusing on deepening, refining, and perfecting kitchen appliances.” He believes that enterprise management is about tackling challenges rather than resting on laurels; staying in the comfort zone for too long makes it difficult for companies to grow big and strong. From 4,939 national patents to 543 “easy to clean” patents, from a 1 billion digital industrial park to 760 million yuan in overseas revenue, every step Vatti takes is a practice of “doing difficult but right things.”

“Private enterprises that do well in products and strengthen their main business seize the greatest opportunity,” Pan Yejian said.