Henan Nile Machinery Equipment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Nile) was registered and established in 2016. The Nile, known as the mother river of Africa, is like a long lifeline running through 11 East African countries. Its name means "tears of the moon" in Indian. Company General ManagerLi Huali found this name romantic and resilient. She believed that to run a successful enterprise and expand from Henan to the world, one must possess such courage, perseverance, resilience, and the ability to accumulate strength for future success.
"The past 10 years has been a period of rapid development for the company," Li Huali told the reporter. Ten years ago, the proportion of the company's products exported was less than 10%, and they were sold indirectly through trading companies. Ten years later, exports account for 90% of its total product sales. In Africa, the mining machinery produced by Nile has achieved a high market share.
The "code" to unlocking the African market lies in the strategic layout of the talent chain, product chain, and even the industrial chain.
First comes the overseas warehouses. "In 2020, we launched the African Overseas Warehouse Strategic Project. Currently, we have built 30,000-square-meter intelligent warehousing centers in countries such as Sudan, Kenya, and Tanzania, constructing a one-stop 'front exhibition and back warehouse' service system that shortens the delivery cycle for African customers by 60%," Li Huali introduced. In addition, the company has established a vertical B2B e-commerce platform in the machinery field, collaborating with multiple machinery manufacturing enterprises in Henan to "go global together" and helping more "Henan-made" and "Henan-intelligent" products deeply integrate into the African industrial chain.
Next comes the R&D Center. In 2024, Nile established an overseas experimental center in Tanzania, conducting localized adaptability tests and technological upgrades for equipment tailored to the African market environment to solve customers' "last-mile" delivery and usage pain points. Relying on the intelligent overseas warehouse network and digital platform, it has formed a full-chain service system covering "R&D, production, warehousing, and after-sales service," facilitating the efficient integration of Chinese machinery products into the global market.
Then comes the processing center. At present, Nile's production bases are located in Gongyi, Yuzhou, and other places in Henan. Next, the company plans to "move" some production lines, such as infrastructure and casting, to Africa, which will greatly enhance efficiency. "We are conducting surveys and plan to start constructing a processing center in Kenya or Zambia by the end of this year," Li Huali said. Once the processing center is put into operation, Nile will truly become an enterprise that sets up factories right at the "doorstep" of local people.
To date, Nile's cumulative overseas investment has reached 600 million yuan, with business covering more than 130 countries and regions worldwide. In 2024, the company's revenue was approximately 1.8 billion yuan.
"Integrity is the 'passport' to the world," Li Huali stated. From the first step of "going global," she and her team have adhered to the principle of "Customer First, Quality First, and Integrity First." "It's not just about selling products and being done with them; it's about truly helping customers solve problems."
"Mining machinery consists of 'big pieces', and the cost of overseas returns, exchanges, or product recalls is very high. However, we dare to promise that any product with quality issues can be returned or exchanged," Li Huali noted. Once, the technical team found that the sand holes in the castings sent to a customer were slightly larger, which would affect the recovery efficiency of gold ore during use. Although the client said there was no problem in use, the company still took the initiative to recall the 100-plus-ton castings, suffering losses of over 1 million RMB including costs, freight, and tariffs. Li Huali held that this was a "cost-effective" decision. The company sacrificed some profits but gained a sense of responsibility, a good reputation, and a larger market.
"Facing the international market, we represent not only a company, but also the image of Henan enterprises and even of Chinese enterprises," Li Huali stressed. This profound sense of responsibility drives them to keep moving forward. (Chinese source: Henan Daily Reporter: Duan Weiduo Translator: Hong Jianyuan)
