Recently, at the China International Hardware Expo held in Shanghai, there were 3,170 domestic and foreign exhibitors, 8,000 booths, and a dazzling array of hardware tools.
Zhu Yafei, general manager of Xuzhou Aolong Metal Tool Manufacturing Co., Ltd., said with a smile: “Are you confused by shopping?”
During the interview at the exhibition, the reporter found that the hardware tool manufacturers kept mentioning the word “volume”, and the market competition was intensifying and the operating pressure was increasing.
Take Xuzhou Jinhu Tool Manufacturing Co., Ltd. as an example. Its predecessor was Nianzhuang Iron and Wood Industry Co., Ltd., the only provincial industrial heritage in Xuzhou City. It is known as the “living fossil of Northern Jiangsu Handicraft Cooperative.” In recent years, even though it has continuously invested a lot of money in product iteration and overseas e-commerce, it still faces many difficulties such as market weakness.
During the National Two Sessions this year, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized when participating in the deliberation of the Jiangsu delegation that economically large provinces should work hard to study new situations and solve new problems and gain experience.
Facing the complex international economic and trade environment and the trend of global supply chain restructuring, Xuzhou hardware industry manufacturing companies are actively building the “soft power” of the hardware industry that integrates domestic and foreign trade and accurately matches supply and demand.
After nearly 70 years of development, Nianzhuang Town, Pizhou City has grown into the “hometown of hardware tools” including 46 tool companies above designated size, including Jinhu, Dongpeng, Ruier, and Juli. Among them, the output of wire cutters ranks first in the country, accounting for 55% of the national sales market.
However, Wu Zhenhui, secretary of the town party committee, said frankly: “Most enterprises focus on the production of traditional hardware tools, and subsequent development is weak.” To this end, the town has specially studied and formulated the “Opinions on Supporting the Transformation and Upgrading of the Hardware Tool Industry” to strengthen the “Nianzhuang Hardware” brand from five aspects: supporting the research and development of new products, supporting investment in new equipment, supporting quality improvement, supporting the introduction of technical talents, and supporting the strengthening of the industrial ecology.
“We strive to bring tools into the era of customization, from production-oriented to life-oriented.” Zhu Yafei picked up two manual bolt cutters and introduced that the purchase price of production tools is 10.5 yuan, and the profit is about 20%; while the purchase price of multi-functional bolt cutters is 8 yuan, but the profit is more than 50%. The price decreases, but the profit increases.
This shows that domestic hardware tool consumption is shifting from production tools to daily life tools.
Visiting many companies in Nianzhuang Town found that life-oriented production has been confirmed by the market.
Research by the Pizhou City Industry and Information Technology Department shows that DIY consumption has risen in recent years, and personal consumption has become the main consumption form of manual hardware tools.
The turnover of the Xuzhou hardware tool DIY market segment is growing at an annual rate of over 4.7%, with household consumption accounting for 18%.
This requires tool design to pay more attention to “appearance” and meet consumers’ aesthetic needs.
Du Chenchen, marketing director of Xuzhou Zhouwei Hardware Tool Factory, showed off the household multi-functional wire stripper, which integrates 10 functions necessary for daily operations. The lock is designed as a cartoon image, making the tool feel more like home.
Jinhu, a well-established domestic product, also classifies bolt cutters into “professional grade” and “household grade” and increases the production of household grade bolt cutters.
Nianzhuang Town supports the transformation of enterprise products into electric tools, and provides a 20% subsidy for investment in new production lines and equipment, with a maximum of no more than 2 million yuan.
Encourage traditional professional tool technology to be decentralized into households, such as lithium-ionized power tools to get rid of the shackles of wires.
The town provides full support for the design costs of hiring third-party companies to develop products, up to a maximum of 100,000 yuan, and will apply for product patents free of charge. The subsidy will be redeemed after the product is put into the market.
Gao Xing, general manager of Xuzhou Ruier Hardware Tool Manufacturing Co., Ltd., is full of confidence in building his own brand.
Not long ago, the main leaders of Xuzhou City led a team to the Yangtze River Delta region to attract investment. The inspection team went to Yiwu to learn advanced models and explore the new model of “Xuzhou Production + Yiwu Design + Global Marketing” to bring more “Made in Xuzhou” to the world.
Gao Xing revealed that the company’s first “universal self-tightening wrench” has obtained appearance registration rights and applied for patents and trademarks in more than 30 countries, which has increased export profits and gained more initiative in bargaining with American companies.
The new multi-functional wire stripper product displayed by Zhao Nan, foreign trade manager of Xuzhou Dongpeng Tool Manufacturing Co., Ltd., was favored by Japanese and German buyers at the exhibition, and 9 new products in 4 series were successfully sold around the world.
