There is no straight road to the top. Climbers snake up the mountain, looking for a foothold among the rocks and cliffs. Recently, Li Weiguo, Chairman of Oriental Yuhong, published a signed article "Try it first, iterate quickly", reviewing the underlying logic of the company's development over more than 30 years: do not wait for a perfect solution, do not stick to the existing path, open up boundaries with the courage to try and venture into, continue to evolve with the ability of agile iteration, start from a single waterproof track, grow into a global construction and building materials system service provider, and embark on an innovative development path for industrial enterprises.
Dare to venture, dare to try, open up a track where there is no one, and anchor the original intention of the industry
In 1995, Dongfang Yuhong set out in Hunan. At that time, few people predicted that this start-up team would grow into a building materials service provider that ranks among China's top 500 companies and covers more than 150 countries and regions around the world. After more than thirty years of ups and downs, the development history of Dongfang Yuhong is itself a history of exploration of “first try”. In the 1990s, the domestic waterproofing industry was fragmented and highly homogeneous. In an environment where the industry generally competed for low prices, Li Weiguo anchored a basic judgment: waterproofing is the "invisible backbone" of buildings, directly related to building safety and long-term life, based on "serving the country, serving society, and serving customers" With the original intention of "customers, employees and shareholders", Oriental Yuhong jumped out of the inertia of low-level competition in the industry and took the lead in focusing on high-standard waterproofing requirements for infrastructure and major projects. It took a key step towards the start of professionalism by undertaking national key projects such as the maintenance of the Great Hall of the People and the National Grain and Cotton Depository.
From taking the lead in establishing a standardized construction system and promoting the "materials + construction + maintenance" integrated service model, to deploying R&D centers and self-built production bases; from entering the capital market in 2008 to open up capital channels, to taking the lead in developing new tracks such as civil construction retail, building repairs, coatings, sand powder, and pipe industries, there is no ready-made template to follow for every step of expansion. Li Weiguo mentioned in the article that the market will never have a standard answer, and if you cannot wait for a perfect strategy, if you have to count on winning before taking action, you will only watch others reach the top. To be the first to try is not to rush forward blindly, but to respect the market rules, face the real needs, use actions to find out the way forward, turn the "Four Thousand Spirit" into the action force to break the situation, accumulate experience through trial and error, and consolidate the foundation of the main business through exploration.
Agile iteration, reshape capabilities amidst changes, and build system advantages
Try to open up traffic roads first, and quickly iterate to build a solid foundation. If trying first is the courage to break out of the circle, rapid iteration is the ability to evolve inward. With the advancement of national strategies such as new urbanization, dual-carbon strategy, and urban renewal, the needs of the construction industry continue to change. Oriental Yuhong has not stayed in the comfort zone of its main waterproofing business, and has established a closed-loop iteration mechanism of "market feedback, R&D, implementation verification, and optimization and upgrading."
At the technical level, we continue to iterate the product system around the directions of green, low-carbon, durable and safe, and smart construction, and develop system solutions that adapt to diverse scenarios such as extreme climates, underground pipe corridors, sponge cities, and old renovations; at the industrial level, we iteratively upgrade from a single waterproof material supplier It is a building materials system service provider covering multiple categories such as waterproofing, insulation, coatings, repairs, special films, and pipe industries. At the operational level, it promotes the upgrading of intelligent production, the construction of a digital middle platform, and the continuous optimization of the partnership mechanism to open up the entire chain of research, production, supply, sales, and service. Li Weiguo pointed out that trying without speed is in vain, and making mistakes without correcting is in vain. All of Oriental Yuhong's competitive advantages come from trial and error, and all winning trends are developed through iteration. Only through continuous self-innovation can we overcome cycles and hedge against uncertainty.
Go far in the long term, go global with iterative thinking, and anchor the world-class goal
Try first and focus on breaking the current situation; iterate quickly and point to long-term value. Facing the vision of "Oriental Yuhong of the World", Oriental Yuhong has copied this methodology to its global layout, insisting on one strategy for one location, trial and error in small steps, and localized iterations. The trial production of the Malaysian base verified the high-humidity climate formula and channel model in Southeast Asia; the nonwoven production line in Saudi Arabia was put into operation to supplement the self-sufficiency of base materials in the Middle East; the trial production of the Brazilian base was completed, and the merger and acquisition of the admixture track was simultaneously completed; the Houston, Mexico, and Canadian bases were constructed in an orderly manner. At the same time, through the acquisition of local companies such as Construmart in Chile and Novakem in Brazil, it quickly penetrated the local retail ecology and realized the triple overseas expansion of products, capital, and brands.
Operating data confirms the results of the iteration: overseas revenue in 2025 will be 1.421 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 62.13%; overseas revenue in the first half of 2026 will be 1.772 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 207.55%. The overseas retail sector has exploded in growth, and it is steadily moving towards the world's first-class construction and building materials company.
If you keep walking, you can reach a thousand miles; if you keep searching, you can climb to the top. For more than thirty years, Oriental Yuhong's growth is not only the persistence of long-termism, but also the practice of climbing innovation.
There is no foolproof business plan, and there is no paved path to the top. The story of Oriental Yuhong over the past thirty years proves that if an entity enterprise wants to transcend cycles and go global, it must not only have the strategic determination to draw a blueprint to the end, but also have the growth wisdom to dare to try, make improvements, and make good use of failures.
