Innovation key to high-tech zone’s development

Area aims to build cluster of smart equipment makers, Hao Nan reports.

Innovation has become the “new normal” of manufacturing companies in the Nantong High-tech Industrial Development Zone, said Cao Jianxin, deputy head of the zone’s administrative committee.

The only State-level high-tech area in the city, the zone focuses on the development of intelligent equipment manufacturing as it tries to build an industrial cluster.

The zone is home to a China’s leading provider of capacitors and energy storage solutions.

Although it deals with metal everyday, the workshop of Jianghai Capacitor Co Ltd is kept neat and clean. Its sparkling floor can mirror every light on the ceiling.

Jiangsu Yongjin Metal Technology Co in the Nantong High-tech Industrial Development Zone is investing heavily in innovative metal products. [BEI DUOMIN FOR CHINA DAILY]

Every production procedure has a high requirement for the environment in which it is carried out. Circling, for example, as an important link to produce film capacitors, must take place in a completely dust-free environment, the company said.

Its products are used in a wide range of fields, such as household appliances, new energy and rail transportation, and help promote energy conservation and emissions reduction. Since 1993, Jianghai Capacitor has been ranked first in sales of aluminum electrolytic capacitors nationwide.

Part of the company’s competitive edge lies in its product quality, said Zheng Jun, deputy general manager of Jianghai Capacitor. “We promise that our film capacitors can be used for at least 100,000 hours and will not need maintenance in 10 years,” he said. That guarantee has already been proven and enjoyed by many clients, he said.

The company also highlights innovation in developing supercapacitors.

Zheng said for hybrid buses and pure electric cars, lithium batteries and capacitors are the two choices of power supply.

“Industry insiders have different opinions of which is more effective, but I think a combination of the two is better to promote the rapid development of new-energy vehicles,” Zheng said.

The zone is also home to a super large workshop covering an area of 55,000 square meters, which is the equivalent of the size of almost eight international standard football fields.

Jiangsu Yongjin Metal Technology Co invested nearly 1.2 billion yuan ($188.8 million) to build the workshop, including 1 billion yuan for two pickling lines and four cold rolling mills. The company designed the cold rolling mills itself, receiving 17 Chinese invention patents for its components.

Having gone into operation in 2012, the company has provided a large amount of high-quality stainless steel to many well-known household appliance manufacturers including Little Swan and Haier, as well as companies that make vehicles, medical appliances and rail transportation.

It has also established a research institute and set up collaborative relationships with local colleges and universities.

Jiangsu Yongjin now ranks third in China in terms of both production techniques and product quality.

Contact the writers through haonan@chinadaily.com.cn