From a childhood fascination with Transformers toys to becoming a pioneering force in China’s robotics industry, Zhang Sai, founder and CEO of Wingfai Automation Technology Co., Ltd., has built one of the country’s most influential industrial robotics companies.
Zhang, born in Jinan in 1983, graduated from Tsinghua University with a degree in thermal engineering before earning a master’s in mechanical engineering from Columbia University in the United States. In 2012, he returned to China and co-founded Wingfai Automation, a startup that began with just three people and two desks but quickly became a recognized leader in lightweight industrial automation.
One of Zhang’s most notable achievements was leading the development of the “Xunyi Series” high-speed parallel robots, which filled a domestic technological gap and became China’s top-selling product of its kind in 2018. These robots, with positioning precision of up to 0.02 millimeters, are now used by industry giants including Foxconn, Lenovo, and Unilever in sorting, packaging, and assembly.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, Zhang’s team pivoted rapidly. Within just three days, they designed a fully automated mask production system capable of producing 160,000 masks per day. By May that year, Wingfai had delivered nearly 150 machines nationwide, providing crucial support to China’s public health efforts.
Zhang’s entrepreneurial resilience has not gone unnoticed. He has received the Shandong Province Award for Returning Overseas Entrepreneurs, the First Prize of the China Machinery Industry Science and Technology Award, and in 2020 was named to Fortune China’s “40 Under 40” Business Elite list.
Despite setbacks—including a near financial collapse in 2016 that forced him to sell his home—Zhang steered the company through crisis with strategic restructuring and new investment. By 2023, Wingfai’s annual revenue had reached several hundred million yuan, with products sold to dozens of countries.
Beyond business, Zhang is known for his playful side: his office is filled with Transformers models, a nod to the childhood passion that inspired his career. Yet his ambitions are anything but playful. “Our goal is not just to be China’s best,” he once remarked, “but to be the global leader in robotics.”
In 2021, Wingfai was recognized as a national-level “Little Giant” enterprise for its specialization and innovation. More recently, in 2025, the company relocated its headquarters from Jinan to Yuhuan, Zhejiang, as part of preparations for an upcoming IPO in Hong Kong, backed by significant investment from local government and leading venture funds.
Now holding a doctorate in advanced manufacturing from Tsinghua University, Zhang continues to lead Wingfai through expansion into new product lines, including AGVs, SCARA robots, and wafer-handling systems. The company has accumulated nearly 100 patents and more than 300 industrial application cases across pharmaceuticals, food, logistics, and consumer goods.
Looking back, Zhang attributes much of his success to persistence and a willingness to forgo comfort in pursuit of innovation. “Dreams are not only why I founded Wingfai,” he said, “they are also what carried us through the hardest times. As long as I have breath, I will keep pushing forward.”
From a small office in Jinan to the global robotics market, Zhang Sai’s journey reflects not only the rise of one entrepreneur but also the determination of China’s new generation of industrial leaders.