Every year, The British Chamber of Commerce Shanghai (BritCham Shanghai), sponsors the Business Entrepreneur of the Year award, which goes to the individual who has shown the most extraordinary spirit, perseverance and independent thought to overcome adversity and obstacles.
Against stiff competition, the 2020 award was made to Malcolm Staff, Group MD of Halifax Fan and congratulations have been pouring in over the web from business leaders far and wide.
Since setting up its first Chinese operation in Shenzhen in 2006, Halifax Fan has grown Chinese business turnover exponentially leading last year to the establishment of a second much larger factory in Nantong, China. Halifax’s significant presence in China and SE Asia has pulled through millions of pounds of work for the UK headquarters.
Crucial to that success has been that every aspect of quality and reliability of the products built in China meets the exacting standards historically set by the UK headquarters. As Malcolm put it “It was only by the consistent teamwork and dedication of all our FAN:gineers across the entire company globally that has made this remarkable win possible.”
Malcolm’s entry for the award was supported by Associate Professor of Leeds University Business School, Giles Blackburn. “In those early days, (2006) Malcolm visited China alone and ploughed a furrow for Halifax Fan through sheer tenacity and hard work. Since then Malcolm has always been willing to share his experiences with other UK companies, encouraging and inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders, through talks and presentations, to consider the possibilities that China can offer.”
