Why is China's manufacturing industry so bullish?

A lighter, produced in a small town in Hunan Province, but the footprint of the world; a small product contains more than 30 parts such as windshield, adjusting the fire ring, gas box valve, but the cost can be controlled within 10 cents. A cluster of embers, lit not only the local people's entrepreneurial dream of getting rich, but also a little bit of Made in China in the world.

What kind of goods have survived 20 years without price increases? Enter Shaodong, Hunan province, and you may find an answer.

"In 20 years, a bowl of Shaoyang rice noodles has risen from 50 cents to 10 yuan. The disposable lighters we produce in Shaodong, which were sold for 1 yuan 20 years ago, can still be sold for 1 yuan today, and there is still a 'profit to be made'." Lv Shenghua, president of Shaodong Lighters Association, said.

Related data show that in 2022, Shaodong lighter industry realized a total output value of 8.5 billion yuan, the total import and export of 2.876 billion yuan. In addition, last year Shaodong exported 3.52 billion lighters***, accounting for 50.1% of the total national lighter exports in the same period, ranking first in the country. It can be said that this small city located in the hinterland of Xiangzhong, almost contracted the world's "ignition" business.

Lighter manufacturing is a micro-profit industry, but also a labor-intensive industry. In the labor, material costs rising year by year as well as the increasingly competitive background of the industry, the local why this business can still do strong, make "earn head".

As the world's largest lighter manufacturer, Dongyi Electric now has more than 3,000 workers, lighter daily output of more than 10 million. Every five lighters sold in the world, one comes from Dongyi Electric. When Bai Jiabao first arrived at Dongyi Electric, more than 14,000 workers were "seated in rows" and the daily output was only 1 million.

The lighter profits are thin, a penny of the cost should be strictly controlled. Dongyi Electric Chairman Chen Shuqi has calculated an account: a lighter profit of only 2 to 4 cents. To maintain the lighter at a low price of $ 1 and profits do not decrease, labor costs must be controlled at less than 7%.

In addition, the monthly salary of workers from the initial 1,000 yuan to 4,000 yuan or even higher, even so, recruitment is still increasingly difficult.

The difficulty of labor costs, and ultimately become forced Shaodong lighter industry transformation and upgrading of the "spell". "There is no alternative but to carry out industrial upgrading." Chen Shuqi said.

However, tens of millions of dollars of inputs, lighters survive on thin margins for the survival of enterprises, each automation transformation seems to be "a big deal". What's more, the lighter seems inconspicuous, but there are 13 processes, more than 30 spare parts, more than 10 test standards ...... each link has to change, all to spend money.

The vast majority of lighter companies in Shaodong chose "long pain is better than short pain". From 2016 onwards, Dongyi Electric invested 20 million yuan a year in research and development, 20 million yuan for updating automation equipment. After upgrading, labor is reduced by 80%, but the production capacity has increased by 40%; the labor cost of each lighter is reduced from 0.1 yuan to 0.015 yuan. By increasing investment in research and development and building its own brand, Dongyi Electric's export volume last year increased by 20 percent over the previous year.

Behind the extreme cost of lighters, there is the ambition of high-end manufacturing. "At present, Shaodong has more than 10 lighter leading enterprises to basically complete the automation transformation, process technology leading the country." Shaodong municipal party committee propaganda department minister, the city lighter industry chain chain leader Luo Li introduction.

Intelligent support

In the 2022 "Invention and Entrepreneurship Award Innovation Award" released by the China Invention Association, Shaodong Intelligent Manufacturing Technology Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as "Shaozhi Institute") led the The first prize was awarded to the "high-efficiency assembly technology and application of shaped small parts based on intelligence and applicability", which is remarkable.

In order to "intelligently empower" traditional industries such as lighters, Shaodong invested 200 million yuan in 2017 to set up the "Shaozhiyuan". As a smart manufacturing field of public **** technical service platform and new R & D institutions, which specializes in small and medium-sized enterprises to carry out customized industrial upgrading, including Shaodong hundreds of lighter enterprises.

"The Institute carries out key **** technology research around the lighter industry, and so far it has developed more than 30 sets of new equipment and products, and authorized 276 pieces of all kinds of intellectual property rights, including 47 invention patents, and formed more than 50 scientific and technological innovation achievements." "Shao Zhiyuan" Vice President Fei Mingfu said. According to reports, "Shao Zhiyuan" this award-winning results, will be used to solve the lighter production parts assembly, flame detection and finished product packaging and other **** problems, pain points.

Europe and the United States is Shaodong lighters export important market, the lighter flame height requirements are stringent. Individual lighters flame is not up to standard, and even lead to the return of the whole batch. Dongyi Electric had specialized in the formation of train inspection room, recruited 35 workers, the daily work task is to test the lighter can not fire.

"Now, as long as you arrange a few people to inspect the fire testing equipment, you can do the work of the original 35 people." Dongyi Electric Deputy General Manager Bai Jiabao said, thanks to the "Shao Zhiyuan" lighter gas volume adaptive adjustment and flame intelligent detection technology research, the company successfully solved the flame height instability technical problems.

"The Institute also focuses on the development needs of Shaodong lighter industry, in the introduction of talent, technology research and development, results conversion and other aspects of the platform to provide support, the introduction of experts and professors into the enterprise, in-depth participation in the enterprise product research and development, technological upgrading, process improvement and other aspects." Fei Mingfu introduction, "Shao Zhiyuan" has been united with university professors, doctoral teams, for different enterprises to provide automation equipment and automated production technology solutions, developed a number of intelligent special machine.

Last year, Shaodong "list" four "reveal the list of marshal" project list. List amount of 8 million yuan of "a lighter out of gas constant flow valve research and development" project, for the project list of the highest list amount, the task of solving the current adjustable valve flame size change is not stable, affected by the temperature of the industry's big problems, to achieve technological autonomy and control, for the domestic lighter into the European and American markets to provide the key materials to support.

"Ignite" the world

Lv Shenghua still remembers, in 2008 to participate in the twenty-sixth Panama International Expo, due to visa problems can not fly directly from the United States to Panama, he took more than 2,000 lighters, took more than 50 hours of flight experience. "Even if we go around the world, we have to go to Panama." Lu Shenghua said.

According to Lv Shenghua, Shaodong Lighters Association has established a global direct sales network by "going out" to find terminal channels. The association also has a new product database, all the company's new products in the development of sampling period need to be sent here for the record, similar products will be the association back to encourage innovation. The association has even set up a price monitoring committee to address the most common phenomenon of "inward rolling" in industrial clusters.

A lighter company has more than 100 supporting business, behind the lighter is a complex supply chain. For example, the most common lighter pilot core, core set, sponge three-piece set, need a series of supporting factories to supply. The lighter's electronic devices, gas valve and even printing package, plating and painting, also hides a supply chain.

It is reported that Shaodong currently has more than 100 lighter production and supporting enterprises, the formation of four major lighter industry clusters, driving 100,000 people employment, can meet the market demand around the world.

"We are building smart sections, smart production lines, smart workshops and smart factories by applying green, informatized and intelligent means of transformation in the lighter industry to enhance the value-added of products and the competitiveness of the industry." Li Guojun, deputy secretary of Shaodong Municipal Party Committee and mayor of Shaodong, introduced that through the deep integration of advanced technology and traditional manufacturing industry, Shaodong's lighter industry is being built into a 10 billion yuan characteristic advantageous industry. For the future development of the industry, Shaodong also put forward a new goal: by 2025, to realize the lighter industrial output value of more than 30 billion yuan, domestic sales accounted for the proportion of the country increased to more than 85%.

A lighter, produced in the under-endowed Xiangzhong small town, footprint all over the world; including windshield, adjusting the fire ring, the gas box valve and other more than 30 parts, but to control the cost of 10 cents or less. In Shaodong, from undertaking industrial transfer to "ignite" the world, lighters have long been transformed from a traditional industry into a representative of China's high-end manufacturing of emerging industries, with a little bit of spark to ignite the world.