Seizing opportunities and accelerating the transformation of traditional industries are also the "hard backbone" of high-quality economic development. Global | Lighters | Opportunities

CCTV News: The real economy is the foundation of a country's economy, the fundamental source of wealth creation, and an important pillar of national strength. In the first half of this year, the central government proposed to accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system supported by the real economy. And manufacturing is an important foundation in the Chinese economy. Starting today, "Morning News" will launch a series of reports on "China on the Production Line", taking you into factories and busy production lines to experience the pulse and leap of the Chinese economy.

Why is the "wandering industry" no longer wandering

Today, let's first go to Shaodong, a small town in the central part of Hunan Province, to take a look. Over the past twenty years, the people of Shaodong have rooted the seemingly traditional and even once "low-cost" "wandering industry" of lighter manufacturing. Now, for every 10 ordinary lighters sold globally, an average of 7 come from Shaodong. How did they do it? Take a look at the journalist's research.

As soon as the reporter arrived in Shaodong, he caught up with the first large-scale summer job fair held here.

The crowded job fair scene reflects the heat of the local lighter industry. Currently, Shaodong is the world's largest lighter production base, with a daily output of 50 million ordinary lighters and an annual output of approximately 15 billion. Together, it can circle the Earth more than 30 times. But in the past, there were many small workshops and low production capacity here. On the one hand, the government continued to integrate small enterprises to move into modern factories for large-scale production, and on the other hand, it intensified investment according to industry needs to attract talent.

Although lighters are small, the industry chain is not short. There are over 200 types of lighters stacked with different components in different stages, and they can all be produced in Shaodong now. Even Shaodong has several more gas reserve stations that provide industrial gas for lighter enterprises than other county-level cities.

Among numerous supporting enterprises, world-class "individual champions" have also emerged. This lighter windproof hood factory operates 24 hours a day with a daily output of 10 million units, ranking first in the world. This packaging printing factory prints over 50000 patterns annually, ranking first in the lighter industry in terms of finished product quantity.

On this latest Shaodong lighter industry map, the reporter saw that 10 townships have undertaken different industrial supporting links in the lighter industry chain, forming industrial clusters such as high-end machines in the international market, domestic sales machines, design and research and development, packaging and printing.

The Secret of Selling Only "One Yuan"

Many people may notice that the price of a regular lighter in daily life has never changed, it has always been sold for one yuan. This is actually what the Shaodong lighter industry has been striving to do, which is to control costs.

What is the secret to the rising cost of land, raw materials, and labor, while the price of lighters has not increased for twenty years? Director Xie led the reporter to the newly built lighter industry park in Shaodong.

Director Xie told reporters that compared to small and micro enterprises in the past, lighter enterprises that can settle in industrial parks have a larger scale, generally achieving an annual output value of over 20 million yuan and higher production efficiency. In terms of conversion, for the same acre of land, the benefits generated per acre are twice as high as before.

This enterprise is one of the first to settle in the industrial park, currently producing 1.5 million lighters per day. The reporter found that automated equipment can be seen in every production process here. In the quality inspection process, the manufacturer is using machine vision technology to conduct a physical examination of the lighter to see if the height of the flame meets the factory requirements.

Automation equipment brings efficiency improvement and higher product quality. Welding has become more precise, inflation has become more stable, and even the lighter casing has become smoother than before. However, the cost of diluting it to each lighter decreases instead of increasing.

At present, the lighter industry in Shaodong is promoting a new round of automation transformation, with the goal of transitioning from the automation of individual machines to the automation of the entire production line. Some companies have just taken the first step of digital transformation, with smart meters installed on production lines and optimized factory operations through data monitoring. It is expected to save 10% of energy costs for the company every year.

From "one yuan" to "two euros"

Automation and digitization can indeed help businesses reduce costs, but there is always a limit to cost reduction, and it becomes more difficult later on. How can sustainable growth be achieved? The lighter industry in Shaodong has turned its attention to a market with higher added value.

After a series of "soul questions" from Italian customers, Wang Chaohui, the foreign trade manager of this lighter company, was slightly excited, and the hundreds of thousands of euros in orders looked promising.

The largest production of ordinary lighters in Shaodong is currently priced at one euro and one dollar in the European and American markets. But these lighters, positioned as mid to high end, often sell for "two euros", "two dollars" or even more in foreign supermarkets.

However, it is not easy to sell more of this "one euro" or "one dollar", as it requires a combination of design and craftsmanship. Shaodong Enterprises gradually discovered that different customers have different needs for lighters. Russian customers prefer those with beautiful appearances; High end consumers prefer blue flames; European buyers only choose those with child safety locks; Another detail is that due to thermal expansion and contraction, lighters sold to Nordic countries often have a relatively larger inflation capacity and higher flames compared to lighters sold to Arab countries.

Shaodong's lighter enterprises also collaborate with research institutions to overcome technical difficulties. This spare part, which is not yet as big as a grain of rice, is called a constant flow valve and is often installed on some mid to high end lighters. Its function is to ensure that the flame height of the lighter remains stable regardless of the environment.

At present, the proportion of mid to high end lighters in the industry is increasing year by year. A set of latest statistical data from Shaoyang Customs shows that in the past three years, the total value of lighters exported to the European and American markets has gradually increased from 290 million yuan to 310 million yuan and 440 million yuan.

The reporter learned from the research that focusing on the standards, quality, and brand building of the lighter industry is the three key tasks for the local government this year. According to the current development trend, the annual output value of Shaodong lighter industry in the future will exceed 30 billion yuan, and the global market share will reach 80%.

He Zhihong, Director of the Industry and Information Technology Bureau of Shaoyang City: Traditional industries are not backward industries and cannot be simply withdrawn as "low-end industries". As long as we seize opportunities, transform and upgrade, they can still become the "hard backbone" of high-quality economic development.