Fan Xian, whose ancestral home is Rugao, Jiangsu Province, lost his father at the age of 3 and is the youngest of four children at home.
At the age of 17, Fan Xian, who graduated from junior high school, started working and became a fitter in the power workshop of Shanghai Soap Factory. In the following three years of work, he learned and became proficient in the skills of fitter, lathe, plumber, and driller, and participated in the implementation of the 1,000-kilowatt generator set project. These efforts were noticed by his leaders and colleagues, and made him When he was recognized by everyone, he got an opportunity to study chemical machinery at East China University of Science and Technology.
In September 1977, after Fan Xian returned from studying chemical machinery at East China University of Science and Technology, he was appointed as the equipment section clerk of Shanghai Soap Factory, responsible for managing the equipment of the first workshop.
After that, he relied on his technical skills to rise through the ranks, and successively served as the deputy section chief of the equipment section of the Shanghai Soap Factory and the deputy director of the Shanghai Soap Factory.
During this period, he designed and completed the glycerin evaporator project, "special rotating soap dispensing device for cold room soap dispensing", "10,000-ton high-pressure hydrolysis production device, soda ash saponification, large pot saponification, continuous saponification ” and a series of advanced production processes, it even won the Technology Progress Award from the Ministry of Light Industry.
At the end of 1989, Fan Xian was transferred to the Shanghai Ink Factory as the director.
When Fan Xian first arrived at the ink factory, the economic situation in the factory was still relatively good. Foreign-funded ink factories had not yet entered, and the ink sales were very good.
The so-called three things that a new official should do when he takes office. After Fan Xian arrived at the ink factory, he did display his leadership skills. He followed the situation closely and kept pace with the times. After 1990, he adopted a series of reform measures: establishing an enterprise management office; re-formulating the worker job responsibility system; carrying out institutional reform; cadre employment reform; implementing a labor contract system for all employees; Implement supporting reform plans; pilot pilot workshops in special zones, etc.
By the end of 1991, catching up with the trend of joint ventures between domestic ink companies and foreign-funded companies, Fan Xian established the Shanghai Ink Factory in 1992 with Wang Ziyou, the boss of the American Hongguo Company, in order to enable the Shanghai Ink Factory to develop more scientifically. Sino-US joint venture Shanghai Koehler Ink Chemical Co., Ltd.
Since then, in order to solve the problem of surplus enterprise employees after the reform, Fan Xian has sought a way out from diversified operations and invested a lot of money into various industries, such as daily chemicals, plastics industry, and electronics. Product industry, food processing industry, catering industry, clothing processing industry, decoration design industry, vehicle repair industry, warehousing and transportation industry, medical materials, overseas investment, purchase of overseas high-tech patents, establishment of high-tech research institutes, construction of Chongming resort, etc.
However, Fan Xian's reform practices at this stage were not successful, and the Shanghai Ink Factory paid expensive tuition for Fan Xian's practices.
Fan Xian himself admitted in a report: "The production of agricultural and sideline products has no scale, sales are not good, and marketing is completely different from our ink. For glass engraving in decoration design, the foreign partners left after making money. Later, we outsourced the equipment to others and stopped making products such as electric light sources. Low-cost areas in Jiangsu and Zhejiang were also making products, but our costs could not be compared with them. Due to many reasons and lack of specialization, we did not achieve diversification this time. Success."
Although there were no economic results, Fan Xian was greeted with a lot of flowers and applause: in 1991, he was named Shanghai's top scientific and technological talent; in 1992, he was selected by the Shanghai Municipal Economic Commission and the Municipal Government. The office and other departments also spoke highly of Fan Xian's reform spirit and called on the city's industrial enterprises to learn from the reform spirit of the ink factory.
After that, Fan Xian served as chairman of Shanghai Unilever Service Company, party secretary and director of Shanghai Battery Factory, party secretary and general manager of Shanghai Baixiang Swan Battery Co., Ltd., and director of Shanghai Peony Company. Senior positions.
During this period, Fan Xian almost grew up with honors: from the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award to "an individual with outstanding achievements in turning around losses and relieving difficulties in Shanghai's industrial system" and "one of the top ten influential figures in China's chemical industry" ", "Leader in the Scientific Development of China's Rubber Industry", "Top Ten Outstanding Entrepreneurs in China's Brand Building", etc., and was even once called the "Loss Turnaround King" by the media.
In July 2000, Fan Xian was appointed as the vice president of Huayi Group Company, reaching the pinnacle of his life.