McDonald's walkie-talkies have been wildly popular recently in China. The adorable and somewhat practical design of the toy has quickly captured nationwide attention upon its release, even temporarily overwhelming the McDonald's app.

The packaging of the toy indicates that it is manufactured in Dongguan, China. As China’s toy capital and one of the manufacturing hubs in the country, Dongguan has leverages its industrial chain advantages to lead the global toy industry.

McDonald's walkie-talkies has captured nationwide attention in China. (Source: McDonald’s account on Xiaohongshu)

The toy industry in Dongguan started with OEM manufacturing but has witnessed the rise of independent brands. More and more toy manufacturers in the city are now building their own brands and expanding their sales channels.

Located in Guangdong Province, Dongguan is home to over 4,000 toy manufacturers as well as nearly 1,500 upstream and downstream enterprises. The city manufactures about 1/4 of the global anime derivatives, making it the largest toy export center in China.

In 2023, Dongguan housed 288 toy manufacturing enterprises above designated size that contributed an output value of RMB 26.217 billion.

Precision injection molding facilitates efficient toys manufacturing

Backed by the manufacturing strength of southern China, Dongguan's toy industry has covered the whole industrial chain, including design, raw material supply, mold processing, molding, assembling, and packaging, attracting many plastics machine suppliers to develop business in the city.

Behind the success of every popular toy, there is a combination of design and precise manufacturing. With plastic as the main material for toys, reliable and efficient injection molding machines are critical for the product manufacturing.

For example, the new generation ZE models by Zhafir, a brand under Haitian International, is equipped with a built-in servo-hydraulic system, reaching a maximum injection speed of 500 mm/s and an injection repeatability of up to 0.01 mm.

The machines’ outstanding driving performance and control accuracy easily handle the complex injection scenarios in the toy industry. The Zhafir ZE1200V-300 injection molding machine is suitable for the injection molding of building blocks, with a cycle time of only 12 seconds. 

Zhafir ZE1200V-300 injection molding machine.

The SPARK series of Chen Hsong is also suitable for the manufacturing of building blocks. It utilizes precise mechanical structure, high-speed control system, and intelligent mold protection system to facilitate the precise and efficient manufacturing of high-end building blocks.

SPARK series of Chen Hsong.

Meanwhile, Yizumi’s FE series of fully electric injection molding machines can meet the molding requirements of building blocks. With the optimized equipment performance, the building blocks manufactured have no air holes or weld marks. It improves production efficiency by 30-50% and has been adopted by many toy manufacturers.

Yizumi’s FE series of fully electric injection molding machines is suitable for manufacturing semi-cylindrical building blocks.

Notably, there are many renowned injection molding machine and auxiliary equipment suppliers in Dongguan, including WITTMANN BATTENFELD (Dongguan), Multitech Machinery, Welltec Machinery, Topstar Technology, etc.

Dongguan, as the manufacturing hub of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, has established its mold industry with Chang'an and Hengli towns as centers. Hengli town, in particular, is known as the “Professional Town of Mold Manufacturing in Guangdong Province" and "Famous Town of Mold Manufacturing in China” with an annual output value of over RMB 50 billion for molds.

Policy initiatives support the toy industry

The popularity of McDonald's walkie-talkies once again demonstrates the capabilities of the toy industry in Dongguan. 

Since 2023, Dongguan has been fully committed to promoting “Toy+” cross-industry interaction. In the same year, Dongguan also launched various policy initiatives to strength intellectual property (IP) protection, enhance original design capability, and boost cluster development.

This year, the Dongguan Municipal Government also introduced various policies to accelerate the transformation of the traditional mold industry into large-scale and ultra-precision mold industry.