“In 2013, I was deployed to work in Qatar in the Middle East. Before I came, someone told me natural environment in Qatar is very tough. The average temperature in the country remains above 40 degrees and the highest land surface temperature approaches 60 degrees. Each year, some people would die from the hot weather. I didn’t imagine that I would stay here for five years”, said XCMG Excavator Overseas Service Manager Xu Zhiming.

Located in the Middle East, Qatar has most of its regions covered by deserts. It is not only the major juncture along the Belt & Road, but also the place where the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be held. In recent years, Qatar is busy building infrastructures and sport venues. The golden XCMG machines can be seen in almost all construction sites. To make sure the XCMG machines can work continuously and efficiently, Xu Zhiming visited all construction sites in the last five years in Qatar, just to provide the best services for clients.

Persistence Brings Miracles

In August 2015, civil construction was commenced in main venues of Qatar FIFA World Cup. To ensure the construction progress, local government purchased 15 units of XCMG 70t hydraulic excavators. The client raised very strict requirements for the delivery time: the 15 excavators must be assembled and delivered in eight days.

In the hot weather and taking the torque wrench weighing more than 50kg, Xu Zhiming had to work 15 hours a day. “Assembling 15 excavators in eight days in China is not difficult at all. But in Qatar, it is not an easy task”. Xu Zhiming recalled, “Normally, it takes about one day to assemble one unit. However, in Qatar, two local workers and I found it really difficult to do the job in the hot weather approaching 50 degrees. Our skins were peeled off for a few layers by the sun. Though it was difficult, I knew we can make it.

The dedication of XCMG staff has been proved”.

They lived on the construction site day and night, with their clothes dirty all the time. In the end, they spent eight days assembling and debugging all the machines. And the eight hardworking days also touched Qatar clients and local staff. Whenever talking about Xu Zhiming, they would say Xu has made a miracle. “It is not a miracle at all. We are just more hardworking than others”, Xu Zhiming said shyly with his eyes seeing the machines operating efficiently on the construction site.

Make troubleshooting to prevent breakdowns

Behind all honors is the hard work. On one morning in 2016, Xu Zhiming received a phone call from a client for repairs. A 21t excavator broke down suddenly. Without having breakfast, Xu Zhiming rushed to the construction site.

After making tests, he didn’t find any problem in the machine. Experience told him the problem might be caused by the bad contact of power cables in the engine. He opened the electric box to check the power cables. The crushing process caused plug in the fuse holder to get loose, thus leading to the power off. After solving the problem quickly, Xu Zhiming, instead of going back to his dormitory, drove to dozens of construction sites to troubleshoot the over 50 machines. “Since I have found this potential fault, I have to eliminate the problem thoroughly so as not to postpone the construction progress of clients.” When he finished his job, it was already 8 p.m.

When returning from the construction site to the dormitory, the vehicle driven by Xu Zhiming triggered the high-temperature alarm due to the leakage of coolant, breaking down in the desert. The drinking water was drunk in the whole-day work. But it was 70km away from the nearest garage.

It was nearly 9 p.m. He overcame fatigue and sleepiness to beg water from the passing vehicles. In the desert at night, only a few vehicles passed by and most of them were driven by construction workers. “In desert, water is life. I was lucky to get some water sufficient for me before reaching the garage.”, said Xu Zhiming. “For me, it was a risky story in the desert.” When recalling the experience, I still feel scared. But I believe all difficulties can be overcome if we can keep working hard for one more minute.”

In the eyes of clients, Xu Zhiming is a hardworking and reliable engineer. In the eyes of colleagues, Xu is a dedicated partner. He said, “Maybe many people think it is tiring and difficult to work in the Middle East. But I really love the job. As an XCMG service engineer, it is my duty and driving force to be dedicated to the client and products. Each day here is the valuable wealth for my life.”