In 2015, a small team in Tianjin faced a brutal choice.
They were building underwater robots, but the heart of those robots—the thrusters—came from overseas. Expensive. Slow to deliver. And worst of all, vulnerable to supply chain disruptions they couldn't control.
Some team members argued they should keep buying. Developing their own thrusters from scratch was too hard. Too risky. No company in China had ever done it.
The founder disagreed.
"Either we make it, or we die here," Wei Jiancang told his team. "Without our own thrusters, this company won't survive. So we have no choice but to go all in."
That story was shared this week in a rare interview with Wei Jiancang, founder of Shenzhilan (Deepinfar), a Tianjin-based marine technology company that has since grown into one of China's leading underwater robotics firms .
What They Faced
At the time, high-performance underwater thrusters and their core components were dominated by a handful of overseas companies. China's deep-sea thruster market relied almost entirely on imports. High costs. Frequent export restrictions. Long delivery times. And zero after-sales support when things went wrong .
The technical challenges were staggering:
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Sealing against deep-water pressure
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Efficient hydrodynamic design
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Motor control algorithms
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Material durability in corrosive seawater
Most people would have said it was impossible.
What Happened Next
The team didn't wait. They poured resources into R&D. They tackled magnetic coupling seals, high-efficiency hydrodynamics, motor design, and control algorithms—one problem at a time.
And they succeeded.
Today, Shenzhilan has achieved full supply chain independence for underwater thrusters. Their products have been used in national projects including the South-to-North Water Diversion project's Yellow River Crossing tunnel inspection. Their consumer products have sold over 150,000 units globally .
Why This Story Matters for You
This isn't just a "China success story." It's a story about what happens when engineers refuse to accept that some problems are too hard.
Whether you're building an ROV in a university lab or a custom kayak rig in your garage, the thruster is the heart of your system. And knowing that someone has already fought the battles of sealing, efficiency, and durability—and won—means you don't have to fight them alone.
At HobbyWater, we share that spirit.
We don't just sell thrusters. We engineer them for real-world conditions. Double O-ring seals. Integrated ESCs. Customizable mounting. Pressure-rated housings.
Because we believe that whether your thruster is going 3 meters deep or 300 meters deep, it should just work.
The Bottom Line
Wei Jiancang put it this way in his interview: "The determination to go all in actually helps you break through the difficulties."
We couldn't agree more.
Need thrusters built by people who understand what "all in" means? Browse our lineup at hobbywater.com. 🚀
