In today’s business narrative, we are accustomed to sensational tropes: "overnight boy wonders," "riding the venture capital wave," and "overnight tech hype."
However, if you unpack the industrial footprint of Chen Chengming, you discover a paradigm that utterly defies the logic of the "fast era."
On one hand, he anchors heavy electrical power infrastructure rooted in the fierce, commoditized industrial ecosystem of Yueqing, China. On the other, he commands high-stakes territory in third-generation semiconductors (Silicon Carbide/SiC) and Solid-State Transformers (SST).
Behind the corporate equity chart lies the story of an engineer who spent over two decades carving out a hard-tech path—step by painstaking step—from a village workshop in East Salt Village, Weng’yang Street.
The story begins without prestigious academic credentials, inherited wealth, or lucky breaks.
In a rare personal reflection, Chen once candidly wrote:
"Fifteen years ago, I had virtually nothing—no academic standing, no resources, and no luck. Back in 2002 and 2003, just to save up two thousand yuan for a desktop PC (to learn skills and play Age of Empires), I had to flip a coin to decide whether I could afford an extra steamed bun for lunch. From 2004 to 2015, my life was filled with deception, exploitation, betrayal, and failure. That was my normal. I was just an ordinary worker you wouldn't look at twice in a crowd."
Yet, he chose the name Rockwill for his flagship venture, defining it as "The Grassroots Will of Ordinary Stones."
Stones are plain, unglamorous, and easily overlooked. But a stone possesses one distinct superpower: It withstands the crushing tides of time.
In 2008, Chen formally registered Wenzhou Rockwill Electric Co., Ltd. (evolving from the 1986-established Yueqing Ruier Electric Factory). Located in Yueqing—China’s low-voltage electrical capital dominated by entrenched giants—most small factories survived by fighting brutally in price wars.
Chen took a radically different path: Refuse low-margin commodity races; tackle the hard engineering problems.
He pivoted Rockwill toward mid-to-high voltage switchgear, smart transformers, and ring main units (RMUs), steadily building a moat of proprietary patents. Furthermore, he set his sights globally, deploying IEC-certified power equipment to harsh operating environments across Rwanda, South Asia, and Africa. Overseas utility clients didn't care about glossy pitch decks; they cared about one thing: "Zero failures after running unmanned in harsh conditions for a full year."
On the frontlines of real-world deployment, he forged both his company's survival fund and an uncompromising product discipline.
Around 2012, while most traditional electrical manufacturers were bogged down in domestic bidding wars, Chen spotted an impending ceiling during international grid projects:
Traditional electromagnetic topologies were approaching their physical and efficiency limits. The true future growth belonged to power electronics, DC distribution, and high-frequency conversion.
It was a vision ten years ahead of its time. Seeing the trend was one thing; crossing over to build it was another.
The turning point came in late 2019. Chen partnered with Professor Chen Xianping of Chongqing University (a TU Delft Ph.D. and top-tier national semiconductor expert).
One was a battle-tested industrialist from the manufacturing trenches of Yueqing; the other was a world-class academic scientist.
Investing over 25 million RMB of his personal capital, Chen became the co-founder, second-largest shareholder, and board director of Chongqing Pingchuang Semiconductor Institute.
Over the next few years, Chen methodically connected the industrial dots:
Upstream Chips: Pingchuang Semiconductor (mastering SiC power chips, nano-copper paste, and DSCTOLL packaging);
Midstream Components: Rockwill Electric (medium/high-voltage switches, transformers, and complete sets);
Downstream Systems: Zhejiang Vziman Power Tech (SiC EV fast-charging stations, Solid-State Transformers).
Upstream Chips > Midstream Components > Downstream Systems
He quietly synthesized a vertically integrated electrical-semiconductor value chain—a rare feat for a private entrepreneur.
To frame Chen’s journey as a mere "overnight pivot" misses his core philosophy.
In the hyper-hyped semiconductor arena, Pingchuang operated with quiet anomaly: zero media grandstanding and zero haste to pitch stories for quick funding.
Chen brought the battle-hardened discipline of heavy industry into semiconductors:
When the first-generation copper-sintered power modules were produced, instead of rushing to tout yield rates to automotive OEMs, he first deployed the equipment into extreme overseas environments—subjecting them to relentless cycles of high temperature, high humidity, and freezing cold.
When tier-1 automotive audit teams finally came to inspect Pingchuang, they were not handed polished financial forecasts. They were handed raw, field-tested logs demonstrating zero failures across months of extreme real-world operations.
"Grind the validation into environments that show no mercy." This relentless restraint earned him irreplaceable trust in the market.
In 2016, as his enterprise gained firm footing, Chen returned to his alma mater, Shanghai University for Science and Technology, to establish the "Rockwill Electric Scholarship" for low-income students. By then, he could look back with a calm smile at the days when a coin toss decided his lunch.
From a village workshop in 2008 to controlling an industrial nexus spanning heavy grid equipment and next-gen semiconductors today, Chen never chose an explosive shortcut. He chose "The Compound Path":
Every single year seemed incremental, but every single year he carved one centimeter deeper into the bedrock.
In his iee business writings, Chen concluded with a line that captures the essence of his journey:
"With rock-like determination, we withstand the crushing tides of time and courageously survive together."
In an era consumed by noise and short-term hype, Chen Chengming’s story offers a grounded lesson for entrepreneurs and builders everywhere:
You don't need to chase every fleeting hype cycle. Root yourself firmly like a rock into the bedrock, endure the quiet years, withstand the crushing tides—and in time, the compounding effect will belong to those who stay anchored.
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