Yongkang hardware: "smile curve" is called the design of the end

Yongkang Enterprises is not unfamiliar with the "smile curve" with both ends facing upwards. In the industrial chain, the added value is more reflected in the two ends - design and sales, while the manufacturing in the middle, the lowest added value.

Like the best-selling luxury products in the world, if you create your own brand for end-consumers to accept, it will be a very long process. As a result, the concept of Yongkang entrepreneurs is quietly changing: They are increasingly focusing on the use of process design, functional innovation, and cultural embedding to improve product quality, shifting from focusing on the volume share of products in the market to value-based share.

Cheng Fengxiu, director of the Yongkang Hardware Technology Innovation Service Center, said that the value of the hardware industry accounts for more than 90% of the city’s total industrial output. Among the more than 10,000 companies in the city, through four consecutive industrial design competitions, companies have increased the number of companies by absorbing and digesting design innovations. The added value of products has exceeded 10 billion.

Bubble scooters blow out big market

A group of foreign children playing in the park sprayed colorful bubbles on a pedal scooter. Whenever there is such a picture, Huang Jinyun, general manager of Hongsheng Industry and Trade, cheerfully said: "This children's bubble car is our company's product."

In the Yongkang leisure sports car industry, Hongsheng Industry and Trade can only be considered as a latecomer. The company that was founded in 2004, the product is a scooter. At that time, the sales were very good. She did not have her own R&D institution and the products were mostly imitations of others. For this reason, seven patent lawsuits were eaten in a year, and it was too late for them to deal with lawsuits.

Two years ago, she heard that there was such an industrial design competition and Huang Jinyun, who had already suffered hardship, firmly participated. “When we got this work from a college student at Northwestern University of Technology, we made a bright eye.” Although it was two years apart, Huang Jinyun was still very excited about it. When she was a child, she grew up blowing soap bubbles.

After the bubble-blasting bottle was installed on the scooters, foreign orders came at once. “In the first three quarters of 2008, more than 100,000 units were exported.” Huang Jinyun said that despite the global economic crisis, an innovative product not only saved a company, but also the company seized the opportunity, followed by 24 countries in the European Union, the United States, and Canada. Russia and other countries and regions applied for international trademarks.

The competition leading the success of Hongsheng Industry and Trade was called the Industrial Design Competition. This event was held in Yongkang for four times. The 4th China Hardware Products Industry Design Contest held at the same time as the 14th China Science & Technology Hardware Expo last year, many companies have robbed the naming rights: "Hongsheng Cup", "Hales Cup", "Zhengda Pigeon Cup", " "Aining Cup", "Kaifeng Cup", "Yoyang Cup" and "Yongkang Cup".

The four bearings were fixed on a wooden board. A "scooter" was on the ground. When he was a child in rural areas, a senior student in the Department of Industrial Design of the Art School of Central South University took a "Hongsheng Cup." The gold medal. “He figured out a scooter driven by rear-wheel mechanical transmission, which greatly reduced the number of landings.” Hongsheng Industry and Trade believes that the structure of the works is very reasonable and will soon be transformed into real productivity.

Thousands of boxes are all priceless

1.2 million yuan, 18,000 yuan, 3.8 million yuan! After 9 rounds of fierce bidding, one of the industrial design works called “Changing Children Scooter” was collected by Yongtai Industry and Trade Company half a year ago.

"This work is only one of the 'stocking' works of the Yongkang Hardware Products Industrial Design Contest. There are 1,653 unwinned works like this," said Cheng Fengxiu. In April of this year, the hardware technology innovation service center selected 3 works and won two award-winning works of the “Yongkang Cup” fitness equipment item competition of the industrial design competition, and publicly applied for patents to enterprises at the base price of 12,000 yuan each. , attracted more than 20 "matched" buyers to bid for patent applications, "5 design works sold a good price of 201,000 yuan, of which 3 were not awarded works accounted for 118,000 yuan."

Tossing tens of thousands of yuan to win an unwinned design work is worth it? Wu Delu, general manager of Wing Tai Industrial & Trade Co., Ltd. believes that the novelty of this piece of work is very cost-effective. "I want to start with it, reserve and develop more new products and occupy the commanding heights in the market competition."

Wing Tai Industrial and Trade's views are very representative in Yongkang. Qian Yuehua, general manager of ShuangQian Stainless Steel Products Co., Ltd., said that raw material prices have risen sharply, pressure on *** appreciation has increased, and homogenous competition has become fierce. If companies blindly follow the manufacturing products and follow others, the company may survive and develop. It will encounter difficulties. "For stainless steel products, for example, new products have higher added value when they are launched, and they can cope with price increases and other factors. But over time, this product and profitability will decline until low profit."

“So every one or two months, the company will launch a new product to deal with it.” Qian Yuehua said that although she did not participate in the industrial design competition, she still felt a sense of “grassroots” design that comes from life and returns to life. Interest, "There must be a lot of works that I can refer to."

"No winning is not necessarily not good." Cheng Fengxiu also believes that the expert's professional vision and the business owner's market vision are not the same. From the perspective of transforming Yongkang's existing industrial design works into practical productivity, at least several hundred million yuan of additional value has been developed. “The more than a thousand pieces of works are collected from universities, scientific research institutions, professional design institutes, and private competition entries at home and abroad. Creative design is invaluable. These works are also priceless, and we will further screen them. It is recommended to the company after signing an intellectual property transfer agreement with the designer."

"In order to improve the innovative design capabilities of China's hardware products, display new ideas, new concepts, and new ideas for product innovation, promote the development of China's hardware industry, strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights, and enhance international competitiveness during the 15th China Hardware Fair in 2010. The '2010 5th China Hardware Product Industrial Design Competition' was held. A few days ago, the municipal government issued an invitation letter to the world through a number of media.” Cheng Fengxiu said that this year's industrial design competition will focus more on product innovation and industrialization to increase The added value of technology and market competitiveness of hardware products will enhance the independent innovation capability of China's hardware manufacturing industry.

Currently, the Industrial Design Branch of the Mechanical Engineering Society, Chiba University, Zhejiang University of Technology, Zhejiang Institute of Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Qingdao Technological University, Zhengzhou Institute of Light Industry, Zhengzhou Institute of Aeronautical Management, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an Technological University, Shandong Arts and Crafts Schools, etc. as co-organizers joined Yongkang, Zhejiang Hals Vacuum Vessel Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Hongsheng Industry and Trade Co., Ltd., City Aining Electric Co., Ltd., City Yongtai Industry and Trade Co., Ltd. will be named co-sponsored enterprises.

Cheng Fengxiu said that the Yongkang Hardware Productivity Promotion Center is the only batch of 22 pilot units announced by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the only county-level city in the country, and the only pilot in the province. Can become the two "sole", and Yongkang successfully held the hardware industry design competition for four consecutive years is not unrelated. "From the perspective of the industrial design competition, the title-name companies believe that the quality of the design contest works is higher than the previous one and its practicality is strong. Many of these works can be put into production with only minor modifications."

“Innovation is the eternal theme of corporate development.” Bao Weilang, deputy director of the Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology, said, “We must continue to increase our ability to independently innovate through the holding of similar activities, constantly increase the added value of our products, and strengthen the market for our company. Competitive power."