From “Yantang Road” to “Hardware Capital”, from “travelling everywhere” to “business all over the world”… Yongkang, a small town in central Zhejiang with “seven mountains, one water and two fields”, has gradually embarked on a development path based on hardware in the economic wave, building a large-scale, complete hardware industry system and a complete hardware industry chain.
In the magnificent development history of Yongkang Hardware, the imprint of China Hardware Expo has always been shining brightly.
On September 26, the 30th China Hardware Expo opened as scheduled at the Yongkang International Convention and Exhibition Center, attracting 1,610 domestic and foreign companies to participate in the exhibition, with products covering seven categories including power tools and tool hardware.
This expo not only set up a display area for imported hardware products, but also for the first time set up an “artificial intelligence +” high-tech product display area, a historical classic industry metal sculpture display area, a foreign business negotiation area, etc. The site was surging with innovation and industrial vitality, and nearly 300 overseas purchasers rushed to the event with orders.
From “weather vane” to “world-class” – an expo rewrote the history of Chinese hardware
Back in 1996, the first China Hardware Expo sowed the seeds of hopes and dreams in the fertile hardware soil of Yongkang, and sounded the first clarion call for Yongkang Hardware to go global.
After 30 years of watering and careful cultivation, the original seed has grown into a towering tree with lush branches and leaves, becoming a broad stage for the hardware industry to efficiently connect, deepen cooperation and seek common development – it is not only the “golden business card” for Yongkang Hardware to go global, but also the “wind vane” and “barometer” for the development of China’s hardware industry.
In the past 30 years, from fixed booths of 6 square meters to personalized special displays, from single product exhibitions to the multi-modal integration of “exhibition + industry + market + technology”… China Hardware Expo has been called the largest, highest-standard, most effective and most influential hardware exhibition in the country. It has been listed as a key guidance and support exhibition by the Ministry of Commerce for 20 consecutive years, and has been rated as one of the “Top Ten Industrial Exhibitions” and “The Opening of the Most Brand Valuable Exhibition” many times.
Since its inception, China Hardware Expo has been committed to the communication and docking of the domestic and foreign hardware industries, successively created the “World Hardware Capital”, held the “World Hardware Development Conference”, released the “World Yongkang Hardware Index”, carried out the “Yongkang Hardware Brand Overseas” series of activities, promoted the Yongkang Hardware Industry Brand Logo… In 2024, Yongkang’s total import and export volume will exceed 50 billion yuan, an increase of more than 100 times compared with 30 years ago, and the export growth rate ranks first in Jinhua.
Yongkang hardware products are sold to nearly 200 countries and regions, and the “sweet potato” vines extend to every corner of the world.
China Hardware Expo has grown into a global hardware event that integrates functions such as “hardware product exhibition and sales, transfer of scientific and technological achievements, exchange of information technology, and integration of cultural communication”.
Driven by the China Hardware Expo, the Yongkang hardware industry has undergone earth-shaking changes, achieving a historic leap from traditional hardware to modern smart hardware, from a single product to the entire industry chain, from the domestic market to global layout, and achieved all-round breakthroughs in technological innovation, brand building, and quality improvement.
Today, Yongkang has gained reputations such as China’s Hardware Capital, China’s Gate Capital, China’s Cup Capital, China’s Power Tools Capital, China’s Leisure Sports Vehicle Capital, China’s Home Cleaning Tools Capital, China’s Cookware Capital, China’s Famous Hardware City, and world-class hardware industry clusters.
1,610 exhibitors hit a five-year high – outlining a clear path for the transformation of traditional hardware
Every year in the golden autumn, tens of thousands of domestic and foreign merchants gather in Yongkang from all directions to attend this industry event and explore new opportunities for cooperation.
In the intelligent garden equipment exhibition area, a device that looks like a mini crawler robot quickly became the focus as soon as it was unveiled.
The design of the white body with black tracks not only conveys the solidity of engineering equipment, but also has the sophistication of smart products.
Its core competitiveness is hybridization and remote control operation – it can not only ensure stable and long-lasting power output, but also achieve precise speed regulation through the electric motor, taking into account 6 hours of long battery life and flexible control. Operators can operate within a range of 200 meters through a remote control with a display.
This is also a microcosm of enterprises’ response to market demand and upgrading from machinery to intelligence and unmanned technology.
At this hardware expo, an “artificial intelligence +” high-tech product display area was set up for the first time, and high-tech products such as robot dogs, drones, and patrol robots were unveiled.
At the exhibition site, from smart equipment that breaks through technical bottlenecks, to specialty products that accurately adapt to segmented needs, to power tools that fit the green trend, multiple innovative products competed on the same stage, which not only demonstrated the innovative strength of the company, but also outlined a clear path for the traditional hardware industry to transform into intelligence, efficiency, greenness, and refinement.
The hardware industry is bursting with new productivity enabled by technology.
The attractiveness of this China Hardware Expo continues to increase. Since the launch of booth application, hardware companies from all over the world have actively signed up.
According to statistics, a total of 1,610 companies from home and abroad participated in this China Hardware Expo, a year-on-year increase of 7.26%. The number of exhibitors hit a new high in the past five years.
Among them, 1,188 companies are outside the Yongwujin area, accounting for 73.7%.
The exhibition has a total of 9 indoor exhibition halls and 1 outdoor exhibition hall, with an exhibition area of 88,000 square meters.
The products on display cover seven categories: power tools, tool hardware, daily hardware and hardware appliances, outdoor supplies, fitness and leisure, other hardware, mechanical and electrical products, and mechanical equipment.
In addition to the first “artificial intelligence +” high-tech product display area, this China Hardware Expo has launched a number of innovative measures – setting up an imported hardware boutique display area, with well-known brands such as Japan’s Koichi, American Dewalt, and Spain’s Tumtec appearing on the same stage; setting up a historical classic industry metal carving display area for the first time to comprehensively display the inheritance results and innovative applications of Yongkang’s metal carving intangible cultural heritage projects; setting up a foreign business negotiation area for the first time to provide exhibitors and purchasers with an efficient communication and docking platform.
Double-line promotion of on-site exhibitions and live broadcasts with goods – giving “digital wings” to the exhibition
What is striking is that this expo actively innovates the exhibition and sales model, and sets up live broadcast rooms at multiple booths to organically combine offline exhibitions with online live broadcasts, effectively improving the interactivity of the exhibition and product sales.
At the Fandi Kitchenware booth in Hall A, live broadcast equipment and lighting occupy a prominent position. Three anchors are enthusiastically promoting products, attracting many viewers to stop.
It is understood that this company is a local pot manufacturer in Yongkang. It participated in the exhibition for the first time and tried a two-pronged promotion of “on-site exhibition and sales + live broadcast of goods.”
With the continued boom in online consumption, digital marketing is gradually becoming an important way for manufacturing companies to break through market bottlenecks.
In addition to corporate independent live broadcasts, this expo also cooperated with Douyin e-commerce to set up an exclusive live broadcast area, with a total of 25 live broadcast rooms covering multiple categories such as hardware tools, kitchenware, cups, and leisure supplies.
Yongkang Hardware’s online promotion activities are not only rich in exhibition content, but also a microcosm of the digital transformation of Yongkang Hardware industry.
With the help of e-commerce platform resources and promotion mechanisms, enterprises are expected to further open up the connection channels between production, sales and market, help Yongkang Hardware go global, and the world’s hardware gathers in Yongkang.
On the basis of traditional exhibition displays, this Hardware Expo actively introduces digital elements, especially through in-depth cooperation with short video platforms and e-commerce live broadcast channels, opening up a new marketing track for enterprises.
This China Hardware Expo continues the previous edition and continues to open two online and offline venues. The two-wheel drive adds “digital wings” to the exhibition and strives to promote more substantive trade cooperation.
During the exhibition, supporting activities such as Douyin Yongkang Hardware online promotion activities, the 30th China Hardware Expo Global Live Procurement Festival, TikTok Yongkang Hardware Industry Belt Centralized Procurement and Selection Activities, Mailian Yongkang Industrial Belt Central Asia and Middle East marketing activities, and the 30th China Hardware Expo Transnational Procurement Negotiation Meeting are designed to build efficient and accurate docking channels for hardware companies and help promote Yongkang Hardware to sail overseas.
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary, a photo exhibition titled “Thirty Years of ‘Gold’ Color, Moving towards the New and the Future” was specially held during this China Hardware Expo, using images to review the development changes and industrial empowerment achievements of the China Hardware Expo in the past 30 years, as well as the changes in Yongkang’s acceleration of building the “Hardware Capital of the World” and striving to “build an advanced manufacturing base in China and even the world.”
It is worth mentioning that Yongkang simultaneously launches various cultural tourism activities and preferential benefits to create a diversified consumption scenario integrating “exhibition, tourism and food” to comprehensively enhance the exhibition experience for exhibitors and purchasers.
