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Chajia Village is the most concentrated village of drying equipment manufacturers in Zhenglu Town. Upon entering this village, billboards of high and low drying companies can be seen everywhere. The picture shows the village entrance billboard. (Reporter Wang Yu)
If it weren’t for eye-catching billboards, those who came here would not have imagined that there were more than 400 drying equipment companies gathered here, surrounded by green mountains and vast rice fields, and the total number of drying equipment manufacturers in the country But also more than 600.
Why is this small town with an area of ​​less than 100 sq km clustered with 2/3 of the country's drying equipment manufacturers? Can many companies come together to feel the motive force of Baotuan's development? What kind of ideals are bred in this place called "the land of dryness" and what kind of reality is it facing? With these questions, the reporter walked into Zhenglu Township, Wujin District, Changzhou, to learn more about the development and changes of this dry enterprise gathering place.
The evolution of a small village-run factory
“Up to now, I have been drying equipment for more than 40 years.†FAN Bingxi of the Year of Fancy has a long figure and recalls the scene when he was the director of Changzhou Wujin Drying Equipment Factory. His eyes still flashed with pride.
Wujin Drying Equipment Factory was born in the era of the "South Jiangsu Model". It is a village-run enterprise with a small scale. However, as the first professional manufacturer of drying equipment in the country, the Wujin plant is well known in the domestic drying industry. “The Wujin plant can be regarded as the birthplace of drying technology in China. This statement is not an exaggeration at all.†Liu Dengyu, a consultant of the Drying Technology Professional Group of the Chemical Engineering Committee of the Chinese Chemical Industry Association, and a researcher and doctoral supervisor of the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told reporters.
In the 1970s, Jiaoxi Township (which was later incorporated into Zhenglu Township) in the southern part of Jiangsu Province was densely populated with limited cultivated land. Strong commodity economic awareness and sufficient surplus labor force provided excellent conditions for the development of township and village enterprises. The Wujin plant is such a township and township enterprise established by the Chajia village committee of Jiaoxi town that collectively raises funds and concentrates capital and labor. In the same year, in Jian’s factory building, the technical worker master decentralized from Shanghai in the 1960s became an important technical support for the plant. “At the time, drying equipment was an equipment that was urgently needed for production and processing in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries. There was no such a dedicated production company in the country, so Wujin Plant seized this opportunity.†Fan Bingxi said.
Fan Bingxi, who entered the factory in 1979, is still impressed by the difficulties of the early days of the venture. "At that time, there was no technical information that was formed. We studied it a little bit by ourselves. We read a lot of related technical books and went to the local masters." He recalled, "The first equipment we made was air heat exchange. The device was designed and developed by our organization. Later, it developed and produced the first steam-heated hot air circulation oven in China, which increased the thermal efficiency from 3.7% to 35%. It also won the energy saving award. According to him, in the 1980s, Wu Jin As a designated enterprise of the national drying equipment, the plant often has too many orders, and the output value has doubled in size year after year.
With the continuous deepening of reform and opening up, the non-public economy has become increasingly active in the broad stage of the national economy. With the continuous maturation of drying technology, the Wujin plant has grown stronger. Many sales personnel or technicians of the plant have begun to choose their own portals and established their own dry equipment manufacturing plant. This is also the important reason why dry enterprises in Zhenglu Town are blooming everywhere.
“The technical barriers to the manufacture of drying equipment are not particularly high. If one or several people have mastered the technology and raw materials, and sometimes associate relatives and friends, and then recruit workers, they can set up a company to start production. In addition, the scope of application of drying equipment is relatively wide. Many companies are required to use chemicals, pharmaceuticals, foods, etc. Therefore, many people have started to look forward to the prospects of this product,†said Cha Guocai, chairman of Changzhou Step Drying Equipment Co., Ltd., who told reporters. The one-step drying that was established in 1995 is already a well-known enterprise in domestic drying equipment manufacturing and a vice chairman unit of China Drying Equipment Industry Association. Prior to this, Zhan Guocai was also one of the leading members of the Wujin plant.
Just like Zhao Guo Cai, Fan Bingxi now has his own company, Jiangsu Fanqun Drying Equipment Co., Ltd. Walking in Chajia Village, Zhenglu Town, drying equipment companies can be described as three-step, one-step, and five-step. Most of the heads of the companies are more or less related to the horses of the Wujin Plant.
“It should be said that the Wujin plant had laid a very good technical foundation for the development of the industry and became a developed source of the drying industry in Zhenglu Town at the time. At the same time, due to the earlier start of the non-public economy in this area, there was a clear accumulation of personnel. With the accumulation of capital and advantages, with a leading enterprise, we can gradually develop our business, form an industry with amassing scale, and form a unique industry phenomenon where dry companies get together.†Yang Kangcheng, mayor of Zhenglu Town, summed up the report. Road.
According to Yang Kangcheng, drying equipment manufacturing has become one of the five pillar industries in Zhenglu Town. More than 400 drying enterprises in the town achieved a total sales income of more than 2 billion yuan last year, accounting for 11% of the town's industrial sales revenue; Zhenglu Town's drying equipment products also accounted for about 40% of the national market share. 
Changzhou Drying Technology Industry Forum and the docking of production, education, and research. (Reported by reporter Liu Kai)
With the development of the private capital, Zhenglu Town Drying Enterprise has the flexibility of the system and the adaptability of the market since its inception, but at the same time, it also has the limitations and disadvantages of its own growth.
“The technical content of the drying equipment manufacturing process itself is not very high, and there is no major difference from the conventional general-purpose machinery manufacturing. The difficulty of high-grade precision lies in the drying process and technology,†said Shi Yongchun, chairman of the drying equipment branch of China General Machinery Industry Association.
The reporter learned that although there are not many kinds of products for drying equipment, the drying equipment belongs to non-standard equipment. The design, development and production of the equipment are closely related to the material properties and processes of the drying objects. “The process parameters needed to dry coal, dry some fine chemicals, and dry foods are completely different, and the properties of the materials themselves are different. For different objects, a complete solution should be given instead of relying on a single one. Single machine can solve the problem." Shi Yongchun said.
However, a number of industry insiders told the reporter that many small and medium-sized drying equipment companies in Changzhou have not yet provided solutions and are still stuck at the level of equipment manufacturing.
“We have hundreds of companies here, and many of them are very small. Two or three people started and got a drawing in hand. It can be produced just like it looks. Even the factory buildings are rented, a company is registered, a business is pulled by a relationship, and the recruitment of a few workers is a business.†A local dry company manager in Changzhou told reporters.
“This is based on the manufacturing industry itself as the company's development direction, rather than the study of the drying process itself. The equipment produced by such companies is still a standard equipment and cannot be modified, or can only be adjusted according to changes in drying objects. In this way, the concept of drying was removed and the material was adapted to the equipment.†Shi Yongchun told reporters, “This is also why some companies cannot expand. They lack the ability to innovate in technology and can only linger in the low-end product areas. Out of this circle, they can't survive without solving their abilities."
The reporter learned that among the more than 400 drying enterprises in Zhenglu Town, there are only more than 30 enterprises above designated size, and there are very few companies with sales revenue of 100 million yuan. Among them, small dry companies are closed every year, and new companies are registered every year.
"Drying equipment is widely used. There are always customers who do not require a high degree of drying effect. Therefore, such a small company can always find a market. As long as it can earn money, it will also achieve the purpose of surviving some enterprises." Only told reporters.
However, the existence of a large number of low-end equipment manufacturing companies with serious product homogeneity has brought about vicious competition for the development of the drying industry in Zhenglu Town and the enthusiasm for innovation.
"You bid 100,000, and I bid 80,000. In this way, some small businesses may not want quality or credibility, but large companies must consider brands, quality and other factors, and the price is relatively high," said Zha Guocai.
In addition, many dry companies in Changzhou are mainly imitations. “Everyone is mimicking each other. Researching a new thing has quickly been learned. It is useless to apply for a patent. And the equipment is not mass-produced. This is a copy of one, and the copy is a copy. Many, where can a family go to court? So this is really not conducive to encouraging everyone's enthusiasm for innovation." Fan Bingxi frankly.
At the same time, as a private company, the drying companies here have significant family management characteristics. “Some corporate husbands are the chairman, the younger brother is the general manager, the wife manages the finances, and the family is in a company. This kind of management method is rather extensive, which is not conducive to the introduction of advanced talents, and it is not conducive to the introduction of advanced management concepts. "Yang Kangcheng told reporters.
“Most of Changzhou's drying equipment manufacturers still remain in the extensive production stage. This situation has been maintained for more than ten years, but now the chemical industry and other user industries need more high-end, energy-saving technical equipment, which is the inevitable development of drying equipment. If the drying industry here continues to be in such a state, it is dangerous,†Liu Dengxi thinks.
The way out of an industry breakout
In recent months, Cha Guocai, chairman of Changzhou Step Drying Equipment Co., Ltd., has been busy preparing for the 14th National Drying Conference next year. He told reporters that the leaders of Zhenglu Town and Wujin District attached great importance to the meeting and hoped that through the holding of the meeting, the influence of the dry enterprises in Changzhou would be improved, and with the help of experts, a clear direction for the development of the drying industry in Changzhou would be made. .
In addition, another thing is also placed in the important position of the work schedule of the National Talent Survey, that is, as the leader of the dry equipment industry in Changzhou City, and related departments and corporate representatives, agreed to establish the Changzhou City Drying Industry Association related matters. On October 20, Yang Kangcheng, mayor of Zhenglu Township, brought together the veterans of more than 20 drying enterprises in the town to discuss the establishment of the association.
“We have realized that there are many problems in the development of the drying industry in Zhenglu Town, such as low technical content, high mobility of personnel, and vicious competition. We lack an industry platform to supervise and guide the Drying Association.†Yang Kang Cheng told reporters.
In response, Yang Kangcheng stated that the township government is formulating relevant measures to govern the chaos in the industry. In addition to joint quality supervision, industry and commerce, taxation, and other related departments, it has strengthened supervision and cracked down on counterfeiting and counterfeiting, and established the Changzhou Drying Industry Association. In addition, it is also a key measure to promote the development of the industry by formulating corporate behavior norms, strengthening industry self-discipline, and encouraging cooperation. The association will also encourage the formation of strategic alliances to promote the complementary advantages of enterprises, and jointly face the suppliers of complementary products and customers, Baotuan development.
Zhaguo Cai told reporters that the association can also regulate the corporate industry through the system, prohibiting bad prices and digging each other, and companies that violate regulations will establish blacklists.
Some industry experts told reporters that the establishment of an association can help the local market regulate and encourage cooperation, but the power of the association is still relatively loose. To truly realize the transformation and development of the dry industry in Changzhou, it is also necessary to use technological innovation as the starting point to support key enterprises to play their part. Leading role to promote the development of the drying industry in Changzhou.
“Economic development requires a certain scale of benefits. Changzhou, as the largest gathering place for dry enterprises in the country, has initially achieved the regional agglomeration effect, but it is still not obvious. How to give full play to the agglomeration effect is an important issue, for example, driven by large companies. A shared social resource can be formed in terms of product processing and parts supply, said Chai Bingyin, general secretary of the drying equipment branch of China General Machinery Industry Association.
In this regard, the country has the same view. He believes that Changzhou's drying industry must be strong and large, it must have a focus on the leading enterprises, at the same time should have the appropriate industrial chain division, do their own expertise, do fine, and stronger, rather than we all do repeat things, with Quality development.
“There are a large number of drying companies in Changzhou, and the drying industry here is a microcosm of the development of the national drying industry.†Liu Dengxi said, “If we want to get out of the low-end competition, we must go through technology research and development to high-end, energy-saving, environmental protection and other high-end direction. Development, however, only when enterprises have a certain scale and form economies of scale will they use forward-looking strategic thinking to consider such issues, rather than the idea of ​​some small companies to 'make a fortune,' so they should support the backbone. After the enterprises and backbone enterprises are bigger, they will achieve industrial integration through joint mergers and acquisitions. This requires a process." 
Drying equipment production site. (Reporter Wang Yu)