Industrial Cluster: Transformation And Upgrading Of Foshan, Guangdong From The Perspective Of Textile Industry

As a major manufacturing city, Foshan City, Guangdong Province, has gradually formed a consensus in recent years: traditional manufacturing is not a synonym for backwardness. As long as the transformation is well carried out, traditional manufacturing can also be revitalized.

The textile industry is one of Foshan's traditional pillar industries. In recent years, Foshan has actively explored the digital transformation and intelligent transformation of the traditional manufacturing industry to develop new quality productivity in line with local conditions in response to common problems such as increased pressure on human costs, weak transformation and upgrading, and low added value of the industrial chain.

　　 Industry renewal: new models and new business forms are emerging

There are more than 5800 knitting garment manufacturers, 40000 knitting machines, an annual output of 3 million tons of fabric, 300 million pieces of ready to wear, and an industrial scale of more than 60 billion yuan.

"The world's knitting looks at China, and China's knitting looks at Zhangcha." Zhangcha Street, located in Chancheng District, Foshan, is a "famous knitting town in China", the largest knitting fabric industry base in China, and the largest yarn trading market in China. The annual cotton yarn trading volume accounts for 30% of the country.

Three years ago, Tao Siping, chairman of Foshan Yadi Clothing Co., Ltd., decided to cooperate with Xiyin. Since he came to Foshan in 1991, he has been in the knitting clothing industry for more than 30 years.

Xiyin is a fast fashion cross-border e-commerce enterprise, which adopts the production mode of "small order fast reaction" to quickly meet the needs of market diversity. In recent years, Xiyin has changed and led the global fast fashion production trend, and also brought Tao Siping a huge ideological impact. "With the rapid development of the Internet, if you do not adapt to it, you will fall behind or even be eliminated. The fast fashion production model has three characteristics: fast, low cost, and large-scale production capacity."

"We have established a fast reaction production line to race against time." Tao Siping said that under the traditional production mode, the production cycle of a new product takes four or five months, while under the new production mode, it only takes three to seven days. "Only the best price performance ratio can win the market."

"Now there are more than 100 new styles designed every month." Tao Siping said that since the cooperation with Xiyin for three years, the enterprise has shown a rapid growth trend, and its annual turnover has doubled.

In addition to the new production mode, a number of new business forms related to the knitting fabric industry are also emerging.

The platform of "Helping Clothes and Helping Clothes" (Buying Clothes without Worry) is an ecological chain digital system platform tailored for the textile industry, which has grown rapidly in recent years.

"Our ideal is to build a 'fabric library' and reduce the purchase cost of Chinese textile enterprises." Yuan Jia, the founder of the clothing gang, said that at present, more than 100000 clothing factories have settled on the platform.

"Constantly promote the development of the knitting apparel industry cluster to large-scale, high-end and international development." He Yongqing, secretary of the Party Working Committee of Zhangcha Street, said that from January to November this year, the development of Zhangcha knitting apparel industry cluster continued to improve, and the clothing output increased by 21.3% year on year.

　　 Upgrading: "traditional" or "high-end"

　　 As a leading enterprise, Guangdong Dongjian Yiyuan Group is working hard to remove redundant production capacity and move forward with light weight.

Ou Shuwei, general manager of Dongjianyi Operation Center, told the reporter that the enterprise had more than 500 knitting machines and 33 dyeing and finishing production lines. Since 2019, enterprises have started to upgrade and transform: cut down the old machines whose energy consumption is not up to the standard, and at the same time transform the original equipment into advanced production capacity through technological transformation. At present, the number of knitting machines is reduced to 300, and the number of dyeing and finishing production lines is reduced to 23.

"In terms of quantity, the capacity of enterprises seems to be decreasing, but they have become healthier through 'downsizing'." Ou Shuwei said that the operating rate of Dayuan machines can reach 80% or 90% in the peak season, which is far higher than that of peers. As a traditional industry, it is difficult to return to the period of rapid growth, but through upgrading, healthy growth can be achieved.

After entering the intelligent workshop of Foshan Ruianthracan Garment Co., Ltd., various data such as orders are beating on the huge digital display screen. The person in charge of the workshop said that the raw materials could be changed into clothes in 7 minutes.

Zhang Yinfang, general manager of Ruianthracene Garments, said that through digital transformation, the pressure of increasing human costs has been effectively alleviated. "The enterprise will adhere to the concept of 'being strong but not big' and move forward steadily."

"There is no backward industry, only backward factories. Through digital transformation, 'traditional' can also be 'high-end'." He Yongqing said that Zhang Cha took digital and intelligent transformation as an important starting point to promote the transformation and upgrading of the knitting apparel industry, focused on extending the chain, supplementing the chain and strengthening the chain, and worked hard to build a new cluster of 100 billion yuan knitting apparel industry.

　　 Traditional industries can also "transform" into new quality productivity

The textile industry is the epitome of the transformation and upgrading of Foshan's traditional industries.

In recent years, Foshan has achieved remarkable results in digital transformation, and a large number of enterprises in ceramics, textiles, building materials and other industries have achieved "old trees grow new branches". Up to now, more than 7100 industrial enterprises above designated size in the city have implemented digital transformation, accounting for more than 70%. After transformation, the average production efficiency has increased by 16.5%.

In 2023, Foshan will become the second prefecture level city in China and the first prefecture level city in Guangdong with an industrial output value of 3 trillion yuan. This year, the number of industrial enterprises in the city exceeded 100000, and the number of industrial enterprises above designated size exceeded 10000, and the manufacturing industry accelerated to achieve "from big to strong".

According to the data, from January to October this year, Foshan completed the added value of industries above designated size of 495.8 billion yuan, and the added value of advanced manufacturing industries accounted for more than 50% of industries above designated size. The output of refrigerators, air conditioners, water heaters, aluminum profiles, soy sauce and other products rank first in the country, and the city name card of "where there is a home, there is Foshan" is more loud.

"With the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries as the starting point, we should develop new quality productivity in line with local conditions." Tang Yifeng, secretary of Foshan Municipal Party Committee, said that the manufacturing industry is Foshan's solid foundation, of which the traditional manufacturing industry is the largest, the heaviest, and the best foundation. Seven of the 10 hundred billion level industrial clusters belong to traditional industries. If the transformation of traditional industries is good, new quality productivity can also be "transformed". It must not be simply withdrawn as a "low-end industry".

"Vigorously promote entrepreneurship, continue to create a first-class business environment, and strive to form an enterprise ecosystem of 'grass, shrubs, trees and forests'." Reporters learned from Foshan that in recent years, Foshan has formulated and implemented a series of policies and measures such as "21 measures for stable growth of industrial economy", "eight measures for reducing burdens and promoting industrial investment", and continued to guide land, capital Technology and other resources converge to advantageous traditional industries, and the road of transformation and upgrading is becoming more spacious and solid.

(Source: Xinhuanet)