The profit of lighters is only a few cents. Why not raise prices after 20 years?

A lighter, produced in a small town in Hunan, has a footprint all over the world; Small products include more than 30 parts such as windshield, fire ring and bellows valve, but the cost can be controlled within a dime. Clusters of flames ignite not only the local people's dream of starting a business and getting rich, but also the little sparks made in China all over the world.

What kind of goods can go through 20 years without increasing prices? Walking into Shaodong, Hunan, you may find the answer.

"In 20 years, a bowl of Shaoyang rice noodles rose from 50 cents to 10 yuan. The disposable lighter produced by Shao Dong sold 1 yuan 20 years ago, and it can still sell 1 yuan today, and there is also a' profit'. " Lu Shenghua, president of Shaodong Lighter Association, said.

Relevant data show that in 2022, Shaodong lighter industry achieved a total output value of 8.5 billion yuan and a total import and export volume 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 town located in the hinterland of central Hunan has almost contracted the "ignition" business all over the world.

Lighter manufacturing is a low-profit industry and a labor-intensive industry. Under the background of rising labor and material costs and increasingly fierce competition in the industry, why can the local government make this business bigger and stronger and "profitable"?

As the world's largest lighter manufacturer, Dongyi Electric now has more than 3,000 workers, and the daily output of lighters exceeds100000. Dongyi Electric has 1 lighter sold worldwide. When Bai Jiabao first arrived at Dongyi Electric, 1.4 million workers were "sitting in rows", but the daily output was only 1 10,000.

The profit of lighters is thin, and the cost of every penny should be strictly controlled. Chen, the chairman of Dongyi Electric, once calculated an account: the profit of a lighter is only 2~4 cents. In order to keep the lighter at a low price of 1 yuan, the labor cost must be controlled below 7%.

In addition, the monthly salary of workers has also increased from the initial 1000 yuan to 4,000 yuan or even higher. Even so, it is getting harder and harder to recruit people.

The difficulty of labor cost has finally become a "tightening curse" that forced the transformation and upgrading of Shaodong lighter industry. "In addition to industrial upgrading, there is no other way." Chen said to:

However, the investment of tens of millions of yuan is "luxury" for lighter enterprises with small profits but quick turnover. What's more, the lighter seems inconspicuous, but it has 13 processes, more than 30 spare parts, and 10 test standards ... every link needs to be changed and it costs money.

Most lighter enterprises in Shaodong chose "long pain is better than short pain". Since 20 16, Dongyi Electric has invested 20 million yuan in research and development and 20 million yuan in updating automation equipment every year. After the upgrade, the labor force decreased by 80%, but the production capacity increased by 40%. The labor cost of each lighter is reduced from 0. 1 yuan to 0.0 15 yuan. By increasing R&D investment and establishing its own brand, Dongyi Electric's export volume increased by 20% last year.

Behind the extreme cost of lighters is the ambition of high-end manufacturing. "At present, Shaodong 10 lighter leading enterprises have basically completed automation transformation, and their technology is leading the country." Li Luo, Minister of Propaganda Department of Shaodong Municipal Committee and chain leader of city lighter industry chain, introduced.

Intelligent blessing

In the "Innovation Award" awarded by China Invention Association in 2022, the "Efficient Assembly Technology and Application of Special-shaped Small Parts Based on Intelligence and Applicability" led by Shaodong Intelligent Manufacturing Technology Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as "Shao Zhiyuan") won the first prize, which attracted people's attention.

In order to "empower the wisdom" of traditional industries such as lighters, Shao Dong invested 200 million yuan to set up "Shao Zhiyuan" in 20 17. As a public technical service platform and a new R&D institution in the field of intelligent manufacturing, it specializes in customized industrial upgrading for small and medium-sized enterprises, including hundreds of lighter enterprises in Shaodong.

"The institute has carried out research on key technologies around the lighter industry. Up to now, more than 30 sets of new equipment and products have been developed, and 276 intellectual property rights have been authorized, including 47 invention patents, forming more than 50 scientific and technological innovations. " Fei Mingfu, vice president of Shao Zhiyuan, said. According to reports, the award-winning achievement of "Shao Zhiyuan" will be used to solve the * * * problems and pain points in the production of lighters, such as parts assembly, flame detection and finished product packaging.

Europe and America are important markets for the export of Shaodong lighters, and the flame height of lighters is strictly required. Individual lighter flame seedlings are not up to standard, which may even lead to the return of the whole batch. Dongyi Electric has set up a special train inspection room and recruited 35 workers. The daily task is to test whether the lighter can catch fire.

"Now as long as a few people are arranged to check the fire inspection equipment, the work of the original 35 people can be completed." Bai Jiabao, deputy general manager of Dongyi Electric Appliances, said that thanks to Shao Zhiyuan's self-adaptive adjustment of lighter volume and intelligent flame detection technology, the company successfully solved the technical problem of unstable flame seedlings.

"The Institute also provides platform support for talent introduction, technology research and development and achievement transformation around the development needs of Shaodong lighter industry, introduces experts and professors into enterprises, and deeply participates in enterprise product research and development, technology upgrading and process improvement." Fei Mingfu introduced that "Shao Zhiyuan" has joined the team of professors and doctors in colleges and universities, provided automation equipment and automatic production technology solutions for different enterprises, and developed a variety of intelligent special planes.

Last year, Shao Dong "made a list" and listed four "unveiling" projects. The project "Research and Development of Lighter Venting constant flow valve" with a list amount of 8 million yuan is the highest in the project list. The key task is to solve the industrial problem that the flame size of adjustable valve is unstable and is greatly affected by temperature, realize independent and controllable technology, and provide key material support for domestic lighters to enter the European and American markets.

"ignite" the world

Lv Shenghua still remembers that when he attended the 26th Panama International Expo in 2008, he could not fly directly from the United States to Panama due to visa problems. He took more than 2000 lighters and spent more than 50 hours flying. "Even if you go around the earth, you have to go to Panama." Lu Shenghua said.

According to Lu Shenghua, Shaodong Lighter Association has established a global direct selling network by "going out" to find terminal channels. The Association also has a database of new products. All new products of the company need to be sent for filing during the development and proofing, and similar products will be returned by the Association to encourage innovation. The association even set up a price supervision meeting to solve the most common "involution" phenomenon of industrial clusters.

A lighter enterprise has more than 100 suppliers, and there is a complex supply chain behind the lighter. For example, the most common three-piece lighter, drainage core, core sleeve, sponge, etc., all need a series of supporting factories for supply. Electronic components of lighters, air outlet valves, even printing and packaging materials, electroplating and painting also hide a supply chain.

It is reported that there are currently more than 100 lighter production and supporting enterprises in Shaodong, forming four lighter industrial clusters, driving 65,438+10,000 people to obtain employment, which can meet the needs of various markets.

"We use green, information and intelligent means in the lighter industry to build intelligent workshops, intelligent production lines, intelligent workshops and intelligent factories to enhance product added value and industrial competitiveness." Li, deputy secretary of Shaodong Municipal Committee and mayor, said that Shaodong lighter industry is being built into a 10 billion yuan characteristic advantage industry through the deep integration of advanced technology and traditional manufacturing industry. For the future development of the industry, Shao Dong also put forward a new goal: by 2025, the total output value of the lighter industry will be more than 30 billion yuan, and the proportion of domestic sales in the country will increase to more than 85%.

A lighter, produced in a small town in central Hunan with insufficient endowment, has a footprint all over the world; Including windshield, fire ring, bellows valve and other more than 30 parts, but the cost is controlled within a dime. In Shaodong, from undertaking industries to "lighting up" the world, lighters have already changed from traditional industries to emerging industries representing China's high-end intelligence, sparking light up the world with a little spark.