What's inspiring to me and to us as an organization
is how Johnson Health Tech started out as a company.
It was founded by our chairman Mr. Peter Lo.
I was born in 1941 in Taiwan.
Peter's parents could only afford
to send Peter to school
because Peter is the oldest son.
At that time,
Peter noticed that American companies
were looking for overseas manufacturing services.
But I didn't know how to do business,
so I got the Yellow Pages from the USA,
and I wrote all of the people by hand.
Six months later I got a letter.
There was a drawing in the letter to me.
"You say you can do anything.
Can you make this?"
I said, "Yes, I can!"
But I didn't know what a barbell was!
He produced the final plates in a small foundry
and sent them to a happy customer.
That's how Johnson was born.
There's that heritage about Johnson,
with the way that Peter started the business.
It’s a long-term approach that says,
"Ok, we're going to build a terrific company,
but not just for today,
but for generations to come."
What makes Johnson unique, I think,
is that we have over 40 wholly owned
subsidiaries around the globe
and nearly 10,000 employees
working across six continents.
All of these regions may have specific needs
but we try to weave all those needs
into a global product portfolio
that really serves the world.
And that's where collaboration
really helps us provide an
outstanding global platform
but also a superior customer experience.
What I can say I enjoy the most
about working at Johnson is
being able to work with colleagues
in different countries,
understanding their culture,
and different customer needs, in different markets,
and working together very hard
to move forward towards the same goal,
to become the best.
What that really means
is that we're able to deliver
a great product at a global level,
but really understand and deliver
product at a local level.
We understand the needs of the local people.
There's no other company
in the industry that can do that.
Being the most vertically integrated manufacturer
in the fitness equipment industry
allows us to control the quality process
throughout our manufacturing.
We have perhaps the most advanced tools in the industry,
whether it be robotics,
automation,
real time data
that allows us to be an industry leading supplier.
My customers are often surprised
when they see that we make the components
that go in the products,
that we deliver,
that we install,
and that we then service.
It's one thing about designing,
manufacturing, and shipping the product,
but it's also that we want to be able to control
that experience when the customer comes into the shop,
so they really understand
what's behind our company,
they understand the passion,
why they would engage in our products,
and why our products are better.
There aren't too many challenges that are insurmountable,
because we can look back
at how our founder, and our chairman today,
Mr. Peter Lo
started this company--
with very humble beginnings
and with very little resources.
I speak a different language
but we have the same ideas.
If I can continue
learning and improving,
nothing is impossible.
If you work at Johnson,
it's just like working in a very big family.
Our people take care of each other.
Because family is long term, our commitment
to them is long term.
I'm most proud about
not just the company and its product portfolio
but the people behind it.
There's a real passion
for wanting to make a difference
and deliver innovative products
to the market.
What inspires me,
and what inspires people at our company
is that we want to create products
that drive a healthy lifestyle.
Our belief is getting people to engage with products
and to get fitter.
Gosh, there's no better calling than that.