Lin Songtao 254238712@qq.com PINGSHAN District recently organized a tour for expats to explore Shenzhen’s burgeoning new energy vehicle (NEV) industry and intelligent driving technology. Among the participants, Allen Griffin stood out for his enthusiasm — constantly recording videos and eagerly asking questions. When Griffin first came to China in 2015, Shenzhen was his first stop. “I had a friend that worked for an American company with an office in Shenzhen. I knew that Shenzhen was a relatively new city and large companies had offices there, but I didn't know much else. I decided to come because I knew that China was at the front of technology and there were a lot of new and exciting things happening. I wanted to see and experience them.” He first worked in the city’s LED industry. “LED lighting was something becoming popular then,” he recalled. “At that time, new kinds of LEDs using chips were allowing for some new lighting options, especially with outdoor design, which allowed a building to light up in various ways compared to the old static LED lights we had seen in the past.” Later, he found opportunities in consulting. Griffin said that as his social network grew, he noticed that many of his friends had questions and wanted someone to help them with their projects. “I found that helping people acquire what they wanted, whether that was sourcing or manufacturing, was more satisfying than selling something.” Griffin initially started consulting as a favor to friends, but it eventually became a full-time career. “In 2020, I officially created Deng Griffin Consulting. My wife, who was also in the lighting industry, was a huge help to me in the initial phase. She helped to negotiate with factories I work with while I was in the U.S. during the pandemic. The company she works for has participated in the aquarium construction in Xiaomeisha.” For Griffin, one of the biggest challenges in the consulting business is communication. “It’s very important that my customers can get their requirements to the factory with precision. However, there is often some confusion in communication and I have to help sort that out for both parties.” “Sometimes you have to be face to face to effectively discuss an idea. Just recently I needed to redesign a fixture and the designer had a tough time trying to visualize what my colleague in the U.S. wanted, so I went to the designer’s office to explain it to him.” Today, Griffin helps clients with large lighting projects in the U.S. place orders with factories in Guangdong Province. He also has clients from Europe, Thailand, and China’s Taiwan. “I really like the idea of a smart home. Today, as related technologies are integrated into voice and app commands, they allow not only lighting but other options to be remote controlled, such as the AC and curtains.” Griffin thinks that compatibility will be a top priority in design and purchasing in the future. “Now I may be focused on interior decor lighting, but soon I will be asked to combine all of the different fixtures and devices in the home into a single compatible solution.” Griffin thinks that Shenzhen’s tech industry is the best in the world. “I don’t think that there is a tech CEO anywhere in the world that doesn’t need to know what is happening here because if you don’t know what’s happening here, you aren’t going to be in the business long.” He recalled that he was impressed with how efficient the production line was when visiting BYD's headquarters. “It only takes 51 seconds for the assembly process where you go from chassis to the final stage!” “The city is a magical place where you can find almost anything you can imagine in tech. A lot of companies here are looking far into the future and are trying to make that a reality today,” he said. “Shenzhen is anyone’s city,” he reckoned. “It exists to be a city of the future that includes people from China and the rest of the world. It’s truly the most special city in the world, and oddly, not many people are aware of it.” Griffin wants to continue living in Shenzhen. “Although my wife has dreams of moving back to her hometown in Sichuan Province, for me, I like the city life and wish that Shenzhen can continue to be my home.” | 