Gas turbines are another energy area Shanghai Electric is trying to internationalize, and the company reached a milestone last year when it bought a 40-percent stake in Italian engineering firm Ansaldo Energia for 400 million euros ($437 million).
Key to the deal was the establishment of two joint ventures in China for gas turbine manufacturing and service for the Asian markets, and also a research and development center in Shanghai focusing on gas turbine technology.
The acquisition is also designed to give Shanghai Electric access to key technology in gas turbines while helping Ansaldo Energia boost sales in Asia, which accounts for half of the global gas turbine market.
"Our R&D center will be used to make breakthroughs in many challenges facing the gas turbine market, so that we can have the best technology," Zhou said.
"In the area of wind energy," he said, "we have opportunities to develop good technology, as China's landscape is varied, with high mountains and large seas, so we can build wind energy generation facilities in different types of environments."
In thermal power, he said, Shanghai Electric's growth has benefited greatly from the Chinese government's increasingly strict emissions standards because its equipment already exceeds the standards.
"The higher the standards, the more profitable we will be," he said. "For many years our customers have demanded high environmental standard products from us, which prompted us to develop equipment with minimal emissions. Top-quality technology is not achieved over a short time. In fact, we have been working toward energy efficiency since the 1950s."
As brand manager, Zhou said he has had the opportunity to travel internationally to meet customers and see how the companies' products are used.
Visiting high-growth countries such as India has left a deep impression, and he recalls being surprised by the high demand such markets have for Shanghai Electric's equipment.
"India is a fast-growing country, but some of its regions are short of power supplies," he said. "With the help of our partners in India, some thermal power plants are being completed there as fast as they are in China."
After speaking to local clients, Zhou said, he realized Shanghai Electric was not just seen as a provider of equipment, but a key enabler in energy generation, which is crucial to the lives of Indians.
More importantly, many customers told him Shanghai Electric's entry into local markets provided more choices, as previously imported equipment had been much more expensive.
"When we enter bids in markets such as Vietnam, our brand image is regarded as highly as Western companies such as Siemens," Zhou said. "This is not the same as a decade ago when we first started to supply the market and people were not so familiar with our quality."
Shanghai Electric is taking part in the Milan Expo this year, exhibiting its equipment models inside the China Corporate United Pavilion.
The pavilion, jointly hosted by several Chinese enterprises, has three levels. The basement focuses on industrial and infrastructure companies, and the second floor looks at brands related to aircraft, railways, textiles, wine, construction, and Chinese medicine. The top floor is a small cinema.
The Shanghai Electric stand, in the basement, has large boards explaining the company's history, strength and overseas activities.
