Female leaders make a mark in Chinese industry

For years, China’s print and packaging industry has been
defined by rapid technological advancement, fierce competition and relentless innovation. While leadership roles have traditionally been dominated by men, a growing number of women are helping shape the sector’s future, from driving transformation to leading business growth. Their perspectives are influencing not only how companies innovate, but also how they attract talent, build teams and respond to an evolving marketplace.

In this article, Labels & Labeling highlights two women whose careers reflect the changing face of China’s print industry. They share the experiences that have shaped their professional journeys, the challenges they have overcome and the opportunities ahead.

Zhang Min, general manager of Tianrui

Zhang Min, general manager of Tianrui Packaging, was originally a physics teacher. After her family fell ill and she faced financial pressures, she moved into the printing industry. Now, with over two decades of experience, she looks back on how she transformed a small workshop of just a few dozen sqm into a label-printing company with an annual output value of 30m RMB (4.4m USD).

Reflecting on how she entered the industry, Min recalls that she initially took a temporary position at a book and periodical printing factory in Qingdao, which she thinks is somewhat related to her previous job as a teacher. After returning to Jinan to care for her family, she worked in pharmaceutical packaging sales at a local packaging and printing company.

Despite her outstanding work performance, the company was on the verge of collapse due to poor management decisions. At that point, having already become well-versed in the printing sector, she made the bold decision to start her own business, focusing exclusively on label printing.

‘I settled on label printing for several key reasons,’ Min recalls,
‘Firstly, it aligns with my prior experience in the printing sector. Secondly, there’s no overlap with my former employer’s business lines. Thirdly, compared with conventional packaging printing, label printing requires lower investment, making it ideal for a startup. Most importantly, I saw massive growth potential in the label market. As industries are moving toward standardized packaging operations, demand for labels is bound to surge.’

Tianrui Packaging was officially founded in August 2014. ‘We
started out in a tiny workshop in central Jinan with only seven
employees, one Weigang offset press and several die-cutting
machines,’ Min shares. As the founder, she handled multiple roles, including sales, client negotiations and deliveries and took care of all company affairs.

In the startup’s early stages, orders were sparse, and the firm
barely broke even in the first year. ‘But we guaranteed quality
products and attentive service for every client, however tiny the order,’ Min adds. The company’s dedication paid off. Tianrui turned profitable the following year, kicking off stable growth after that.

As the business expanded, the old workshop couldn’t comply
with national environmental regulations or meet higher output
demands. In 2016, Min purchased a new factory and moved to a new site at Jinan Xinmao Industrial Park in 2017. ‘Our output quadrupled the year after relocation, greatly lifting team morale,’ she continues.

“Over the years, I don’t just love this industry; I carry a profound sense of responsibility for it”

Tianrui Packaging has since undergone steady upgrades. The
company kept expanding its equipment lineup: the initial single offset press grew to three, followed by a 10-color flexographic press purchased in 2021, plus a 12-color flexographic press and a 7-color digital press installed in 2023, forming a complete production equipment system. Today, the firm employs a team of over 50 people.

Fierce cut-throat competition now pervades the label industry.
Min shares: ‘In this saturated market, converters should focus on building their internal capabilities.’

For team development, the company launched an all-staff
communications program in which employees hold daily
group-sharing sessions and monthly company-wide exchanges to foster personal growth. It also rolled out a 100-day sprint campaign with clear departmental targets to rally collective efforts. While not all goals were fully met, the output still rose by 20 percent year-on-year, strengthening team cohesion.

Tianrui also stays agile amid industrial shifts and adjusts
its strategies promptly. Post-pandemic, growth slowed, and
national centralized drug procurement policies drastically altered pharmaceutical labeling requirements. Min made a decisive pivot: alongside its existing business, the company expanded into beverage labels, diversifying its product portfolio to hedge market risks.

This validated her early insight that the label sector demands
diversified development.

Min believes women hold unique strengths in the technically and physically demanding label printing industry. ‘Women are more meticulous, focused and persistent. As well as physically
taxing roles like printing and die-cutting machine operators, they excel in sales, order scheduling, pre-press file processing, inspection and warehousing,’ she explains.

As an experienced female industry practitioner and entrepreneur, Min prefers hiring female staff. ‘Female employees tend to be more stable, dedicated and attentive, with smoother communication.’ Today, female staff account for half of the workforce at Tianrui Packaging and are a core driving force behind the growth.

As a female manager, Min has a deep understanding of the struggles female employees face in balancing work and family, and she offers ample care and support enabling them to fulfill their personal potential. She also leads by example. Amid her heavy workload, she sticks to regular workouts to relieve stress and stay sharp, and maps out clear long-term strategies for the company.

Recalling hardships along her entrepreneurial journey, Min is filled with emotion. ‘One memory stands out above all. During summer vacation, I brought my son to client meetings. When I finished the visit, I found him asleep at the gatehouse.’ Yet these hardships never made her back down. ‘Over the years, I don’t just love this industry; I carry a profound sense of responsibility for it. When I worked as an employee, I was accountable to clients. After starting my own business, I also
took on responsibility for all my staff. This industry is ingrained in me; I have never considered switching careers.’

Rao Xuemei, vice general manager of Colink

Rao Xuemei, vice general manager of Colink, has been engaged in the label printing industry for 22 years. Growing
from a rookie to a core management leader, she has witnessed the industry’s continuous development. With persistent dedication, she advocates for the irreplaceable value of females in this sector.

Over the years, she has focused on two core businesses: customer management and production. She accurately identifies customers’ pain points, aligns demands and coordinates resources to maintain long-term customer trust. Meanwhile, she oversees the entire production process, optimizes work procedures, and manages product quality and delivery schedules. She strikes a balance between service quality and production efficiency, sticking to her original aspiration with professionalism and responsibility.

After 22 years spent gaining deep knowledge of all aspects of the industry, what brings her the greatest sense of achievement is not technological breakthroughs but the joint efforts required to meet customers’ needs, along with the
solid teamwork in fulfilling commitments side by side with her colleagues.

The company once faced a sudden surge of orders and huge delivery pressure. Xuemei and her team worked round the
clock for nearly a month, resting only a few hours per day and napping briefly on office chairs when exhausted.

“May we embrace life with tenderness, forge ahead bravely in the printing industry and live up to our times and ourselves ”

She often returned to the company at 10 or 11 pm, after putting her children to bed, taking over machine operators’ shifts to keep production lines running 24 hours a day.

What touches her most is not only her own perseverance but also the team’s joint efforts to get through difficult times. Countless late-night discussions and mutual encouragement have bonded the team tightly together. Timely product delivery and sincere customer recognition make her feel fulfilled. The team spirit of delivering on missions and the trust gained from meeting customer demands have become her most precious
source of satisfaction.

She believes her strong sense of responsibility stems from treating customers’ problems as her own and prioritizing service quality at every stage of production and communication. Consistently leading the team to stick to this original intention is her greatest achievement over the past 22 years.

The label printing industry is generally regarded as male-dominated due to its technical and physically demanding nature.

However, Xuemei proves by her own experience that women’s attention to detail, empathy and tenacity are unique and irreplaceable strengths in this industry.

‘Faced with challenging customer demands, female staff can better perceive clients’ anxieties, ease conflicts through gentle communication and make customers feel valued with patient listening and giving a detailed explanation of a proposed
solution,’ explains Xuemei.

‘In production management, women’s carefulness and rigor help detect potential production risks in advance. Moreover, female practitioners show outstanding tenacity under tight delivery deadlines. They withstand heavy pressure, coordinate resources efficiently and take on heavy responsibilities with gentle but firm strength.’

Xuemei admits that sticking to the industry for 22 years has never been easy. She will keep her passion and original aspiration in the days ahead. Meanwhile, she sends blessings to all female peers in the industry: ‘May we embrace life with
tenderness, forge ahead bravely in the printing industry and live up to our times and ourselves.’