According to Ye Ying, Vice President of Kodak Global and Chairman of Kodak China, the close relationship between Kodak and Shanghai is just like predestined affinity between two people. Since 1927 when the first contact office was set up in Shanghai, Kodak’s ‘predestined affinity’ with this oriental metropolis started. Up till now, the company still often receives from photography hobbyists the photographic magazines it has published in Shanghai in the 1930’, each of which overflowing with warmth.

Eastman Kodak, the world’s largest manufacturer and supplier of photographic products and relevant services, has its business covering more than 150 countries and regions throughout the world. Her history can be traced back to 1880’ when an American clerk named George Eastman founded a photography firm in a store in Rouchester of New York State with only four people. And then Kodak has been engaged in the development of films for commercial use until it becomes the leader in the global photographic industry, with its sales volume of 2003 up to 13,300,000,000 dollars.

Introduce the World’s Best to China and Present China’s Best to the World

On mentioning ‘Kodak’, everyone, old or young, will hit upon the slogan of ‘Share Moments, Share Life’ and Kodak’s fast colorful photographic service network spreading all over the city. In fact, the products of Kodak are not confined to films, colorful printing devices and digital cameras. Rather, its products are rich in kinds, covering medical treatment photography, commercial printing, photography for civil and specialized use, commercial photography, digital photography, entertainment photography, etc. to provide comprehensive photographic solutions for customers from all over the world.

In 1990’, Kodak picked up its ‘predestined affinity’ with Shanghai. In 1993 when Shanghai held the first East Asian Sports Meeting, Kodak became the sponsor of photographic materials without any doubts, and was responsible for technical support for news center. In 1995 when Pudong New Area was undergoing development, Kodak made a resolute decision to set up in Jinqiao Export Processing Zone Kodak Electronics (Shanghai) Limited Corporation, which was the first factory in the world to produce Six-Sigma high-quality camera. And then, Kodak Photographic Devices (Shanghai) Limited Corporation, specialized in the production of colorful printing devices, was set up, and the digital photographic Software Development Centre was also put into operation in Shanghai.

In 1998, the development history of Kodak in China turned a new chapter. In this year, Kodak signed a ‘joint-venture plan in the whole industry’ with Chinese government and thus created an unprecedented cooperative mode—Kodak mode, in the history of multi-national corporations in the world.

And it is also in this year that Kodak transferred its Asia-Pacific Headquarters from Hong Kong to Shanghai, and founded in Shanghai its product R&D center of Asia-Pacific Region, which is rarity of rarities among all the multi-nationals in China. Since then, ‘Kodak mode’ started to function in full scale.

After ‘98 Agreement’, Shanghai witnesses a lot of ‘first’s of Kodak. In January 2001, Kodak opened its first fast colorful film development store for digital image. In March of the same year, ‘Kodak Super Film World’ was inaugurated in the downtown area of Shanghai, which was the first cinema Kodak invested in the world with the most advanced equipment. In September, Kodak, joint-ventured with Shanghai Seagull Camera Limited Corporation, founded Shanghai Da Hai Camera Ltd Corp, and jointly started the production project of digital camera, which marked that Shanghai has become Kodak’s global production base for digital camera for civil use. In addition, Kodak also chose Shanghai to be the location of its financial and logistic center in China.

In 2004, Kodak set up its world’s second medical treatment image product development center in Shanghai, which is the only one of world class besides the US headquarters. At the same time, technology support centre of medical treatment image in Asia-Pacific Region was set up, and would provide 24-hour technological services for customers from all over the world, together with the other two centers in Rouchester USA and Geneva Switzerland.

The products Kodak produced in China reached the global quality standard set by Kodak at the beginning of production, and therefore, the first-class photosensitive products marked ‘made in China’ were exported to the outside world for the first time. On one hand, Kodak helps China catch up with the world by setting up factories in China and providing China with advanced production technologies and managerial experience; on the other hand, it help the outside world have a better understanding of China by exporting the first-class made-in-China products. And hence the saying ‘introduce the world’s best to China, and present China’s best to the world’.

Love Shanghaiese—the Reason of Loving Shanghai

“The reason why Kodak chose Shanghai is very simple. Just because we love ‘people’ of Shanghai”, Ye Ying once said frankly. A fact can be found in her remarks.

Up till now, China has become the Kodak’s second largest civil-use film market in the world. Kodak has developed into a large foreign-funded enterprise with about 30 agencies, 4 factories and 5,000 employees. Meanwhile, Kodak has set up a good image of foreign-funded enterprise developing in China: the most respectable Chinese enterprise, the most reputable foreign-funded enterprise and one of the most popular ten international brands. More than half of Kodak(China)’s significant decisions and achievements are made in this metropolis in the far east—Shanghai, to name just a few. And talent advantage of Shanghai plays an extremely important role.

Ye Ying said, “Shanghai is characterized by its great tolerance described as ‘The sea admits hundreds of rivers for its holding capacity’, which is difficult for any other part of the world to copy. To our admiration, talents here present strong comprehensive ability and creative spirits towards all new things, and almost perfect ability to carry out tasks of all kinds.”

“Besides, leaders of Shanghai municipality are also farsighted. A city must rely on the foresight and sagacity of its group of leadership to develop, and hence it is important for leaders of Shanghai to be aware of the future need of the city. The future Shanghai can never rely on processing with materials supplied by the buyers or labour-intensive industry. Over the past decade, what Shanghai has been explored is to develop through high tech industry.”

Kodak of Chinese, Kodak of Shanghaiese

Kodak is the only multi-national corporation that hangs Chinese national flag in all factories in China in Chinese mainland, which perhaps benefits from ’98 Agreement’. In terms of sincerity and degree of localization, Kodak is unique among all the multi-nationals.

“Kodak is Chinese Kodak”, which is often heard within Kodak. Kodak not only promotes the localization of raw materials and production equipment, but also encourages Chinese to research, develop, design and produce on their own. If we taking distributors, retailers and suppliers into account, Kodak has created over 50,000 job opportunities in China, of which 95% are taken by local employees.

As a multi-national with its base in Shanghai, Kodak is engaged in becoming a good enterprise citizen. It sets up ‘Kodak scholarship’ at key universities in Shanghai. Apart from, it is also an active supporter of Shanghai Medical Treatment Centre for Children. In 2003 when SARS broke out in China, Kodak took an active part in the donation campaign from US to Shanghai. When Shanghai-native Yao Ming, NBA basketball player on the other side of the Pacific, appeared on TV at the Anti-SARS charity performance he initiated, the whole Shanghai and the whole China felt proud of him. As an active participant, Kodak donated 50,000 dollars in the name of the company. And its employees and cooperative partners raised out of their own will about 160,000,000 RMB in one day to support the research of SARS prevention and treatment. In October, Kodak donated three mobile medical treatment buses to Ministry of Health to provide medical treatment and diagnosis for inhabitants in remote areas.

Feel Spring of New Image Life

Today, a colorful digital globe is emerging. The application of information technology is undergoing profound changes from form to content. Technologies like storage of magnanimity, broadband network, fast research, bluetooth transmission, super remote sensing, holographic image and virtual reality technology are becoming more and more important in this age.

From Kodak’s perspective, information age is, in a sense, a lively new world of image. While the role of Kodak is not to promote sales of some traditional or digital products, but to provide omnidirectional and systematic service for photographic life, ranging from capturing to output, from sharing to permanent preservation. This is completely humanized photographic life. Several years ago, Carp CEO of Kodak (Global) declared, “Digital image will become Kodak’s new growing point in the world. Kodak’s purpose is to make image an indispensable part of people’s daily life, which means continuous efforts in promoting development of traditional image field and application of digital image, and also a larger market.”

To Kodak, Shanghai China with its central position, will undoubtedly be the first in the Asia-Pacific region to experience information image brought about by global informationalization. “Shanghai plays a key role in Kodak’s business development and devices production in China”, Carp says.

As the global cooperative partner of Olympics, Kodak has promised to go all out to help Beijing hold the best Olympic Games in the history. The 2010 World Expo to be held in Shanghai will also give Kodak more room for imagination. Carp once said, “China is the world’s second largest civil-use film market. With the growth of per capita consumption and number of families with a camera, China will surpass US to become the largest film consumption market in 2010 when the World Expo takes place. Kodak will keep to its promise to introduce the world’s best to China and present China’s best to the world.”