SEPPES Door Industry: The Globalization Journey of a Hidden Champion

The foreign trade landscape in 2025 can be summed up in one word: “change.” Frequent tariff policy adjustments, exchange rate fluctuations, and volatility in raw material and logistics costs—coupled with shifts in global demand structures—mean foreign trade can no longer rely solely on experience and inertia to move forward. Simultaneously, digital tools like AI are rapidly permeating frontline foreign trade operations, reshaping industry efficiency and growth logic from customer development to operational management.

On December 22, the Alibaba.com Digital Trade Excellence Awards ceremony took place in Hangzhou. Yang Yuanjia, Chairman and General Manager of SEPPES Door Industry, was invited as a guest speaker to share his company’s practical experience in global expansion. Over five years, he demonstrated that even with limited starting conditions, Chinese smart manufacturing can still reach the world stage.

Alongside change lies opportunity.

As a representative city of China’s manufacturing sector, Suzhou offers enterprises comprehensive industrial support and mature supply chains. From soldier to journalist to entrepreneur, Yang Yuanjia’s decisions have always centered on market demand.

Industrial doors became his entrepreneurial entry point—an indispensable factory infrastructure where safety, efficiency, and stability are paramount considerations for both new construction and retrofits. With the rise of smart manufacturing, industrial doors have expanded beyond building access points to become critical components for production line isolation, robotic workcell protection, and automated material handling corridors.

Yang Yuanjia believes that industrial doors measuring three to four meters in height can become production bottlenecks if their opening and closing processes take too long. However, through intelligent upgrades, these doors can now open and close in just two to three seconds, effectively supporting modern high-efficiency factories.

Technology and Customization: SEPPESDoor Industry’s Core Competitive Edge

Since its inception, SEPPES Door Industry has steadfastly built its own brand, specializing in high-quality industrial doors. The company integrates automatic sensing technologies such as radar, photoelectric sensors, and ground magnetic sensors into its products, enabling seamless coordination with production line equipment and robotic systems.

Suzhou’s mature component supply chain and abundant talent pool enable the company to continuously enhance R&D investment and customization capabilities, establishing a complete design, development, production, and delivery chain. With over 50 patented technologies, SEPPES Door Industry has rapidly established itself as a true “hidden champion” within the industry.

Overseas Export: From Local to Global

Despite the domestic market’s gradual maturation, SEPPES Doors initially harbored reservations about foreign trade. By late 2019, the company team observed a growing trend of domestic clients directly exporting products overseas after purchase, demonstrating the products’ potential in international markets.

Leveraging the Alibaba.com platform, the company rapidly built its foreign trade capabilities. The first overseas order originated from a simple inquiry. Through in-depth discussions on application scenarios, safety standards, and customization requirements, the order was successfully fulfilled. The client gradually evolved into a stable partner, expanding operations to over 70 countries worldwide. This multi-market strategy effectively diversified risks.

Alibaba.com’s certification system provides customers with reliable background verification, reducing communication costs and enhancing trust. This has enabled SEPPES Door Industry’s export business to grow rapidly and establish a replicable global operating model.

AI Boosts Foreign Trade Efficiency

Facing complex orders spanning multiple time zones, industries, and factories, SEPPESDoor Industry leverages Alibaba.com’s AI tools to automate inquiry responses, information organization, product generation, and data analysis. Sales representatives can maintain high conversion rates without needing to be online 24/7.

A seasoned sales representative once relied on experience to handle customer feedback during negotiations for large orders. By leveraging optimization suggestions provided by AI tools, she successfully overcame communication bottlenecks and secured the order. Here, AI’s value lies in enhancing judgment and efficiency—not replacing human effort—making international trade operations more sustainable.

Long-Termism and a Global Perspective

SEPPES Door Industry’s growth exemplifies the globalization trajectory of Chinese manufacturing: rebuilding capabilities amid uncertainty and countering short-term volatility with long-termism. Exporting represents not only market expansion but also a deepening understanding of global user needs and a reshaping of its own capabilities.

Through technological R&D, customized services, and digital tools, SEPPESDoor Industry has evolved from a domestic manufacturer into a global player, emerging as a “hidden champion” in the industrial door and logistics equipment sector.

Summary

The story of SEPPES Door Industry exemplifies:

How industrial doors have evolved from infrastructure components to critical elements of smart production systems

How global export strategies mitigate risks and expand markets

How AI and digital tools enhance foreign trade efficiency and sustainability

With a global outlook, SEPPES Door Industry showcases the strength of China’s intelligent manufacturing through its technological prowess, service excellence, and innovative capabilities.

Originally published in: Yilang Business, China Economic News, Economic Daily, China Finance News Network, NetEase, Sohu, Sina, East Money, China Daily Online, Phoenix New Media Author: Li Yan, Editor: Yang Yu