Talented ‘PRSI’ enterprises drive innovations in Chinese plastics industry

The brand new concurrent event at CHINAPLAS 2023, “PRSI” - Shining Stars in Plastics & Rubber Industries, was held successfully with a full house yesterday. The event was organised in response to China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, which has aimed to promote the development direction of PRSI enterprises.

PRSI refers to Professionalization, Refinement, Specialization and Innovation. Featuring original innovations and specializing in particular segments, PRSI enterprises are increasingly recognized in the Chinese plastics industry. They represent a strong force in domestic import substitutions and also strive towards the international arena.

There are more than 400 PRSI enterprises exhibiting at this year’s CHINAPLAS. Over 100 of them are recognized as national-level “Little Giant” enterprises, while the rest are provincial and municipal-level PRSI enterprises. 

The opening speeches of the event were made by leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the China Plastic Processing Industry Association and the China Plastics Machinery Industry Association. After that, Adsale Exhibition Services Limited explained the idea of creating this platform at CHINAPLAS to help PRSI enterprises go international.

Import substitution to expand in specialized segments

In the technical product introduction session, four PRSI enterprises shared their innovative solutions. Orinko Advanced Plastics Co., Ltd. introduced a special nylon solution that is applicable to the thermal management system of new energy vehicles, while Guangzhou Lingwe Technology Co., Ltd. focused on the production process and application of silica anti-blocking agents.

CHINAPLAS' new concurrent event “PRSI” - Shining Stars in Plastics & Rubber Industries.

Also, Qingdao Xindacheng Plastic Machinery Co., Ltd. gave an overview of its solutions, while Ningbo EST Technology Co., Ltd. explained the hybrid control system solution for precision products.

Lingwe Technology was recognized as a PRSI enterprise in Guangdong Province and has obtained a total of 20 national invention patents. The company's nano-silica is an environmentally friendly and multi-functional high-tech material. The company has also developed its own high-end anti-corrosion agents, ion-exchange silica eco-friendly anti-rust pigments and other high-end products that can be applied to multiple end user areas, gradually replacing some imported products in the domestic high-end market.

Huang Shuibo, R&D Director of Lingwe Technology, told our reporter that this year the company has launched a variety of high-end anti-blocking agent products, which are widely used in PP, PE, PET, PVC and other plastic films. These products feature increased performance with a low concentration and optimized product quality with excellent dispersion and high film transparency. Furthermore, they meet the food contact standards of FDA and BGA. They can be applied to the industrial field as well as films for food products.

“We place great value on research between the industry and universities and we invite university consultants to guide our R&D and production. This creates synergy in academic research and the industry to further substitute import. We also continue to expand industry segments to help China develop in environmental protection, photovoltaics, new energy and the upgrading and iteration of applications. PRSI enterprises will play the role of an innovation leader in the rubber and plastics industry among China's new national brands,” said Huang.

Technology iteration to step up product competitiveness

Another PRSI company, Xindacheng Plastic Machinery also believed that PRSI is essentially a “domestic substitution with a clear perspective” in the plastics and rubber machinery industry. PRSI enterprises have obvious comparative advantages in their industry segments, high market share and innovative technology to solve the problem of being “bottlenecked” by foreign technology.

“Businesses cannot be maintained by staying put, they need to constantly innovate in order to develop,” stressed Li Chengxiu, General Manager of Xindacheng. He went on to introduce the company's original innovations in drip irrigation tape/pipe production line and mold manufacturing, including the design concept of low-temperature plasticization of products, double-automatic dripper storage and screening and identification devices. He also explained the packing tape extrusion and drawing technology, which uses 100% recycled materials to produce high value-added packing tape finished products.

“Technological iteration enhances cost reduction and efficiency increase, which bring changes to the competitive environment of the plastic machine industry. Only technology iteration can improve product competitiveness,” explained Li. He also mentioned that green, low-carbon and sustainability are inevitable challenges as enterprises embark on the road to development.

As for products, Li believed that “industry customization” is the key to the sustainability of brand influence as this will prompt enterprises to seek breakthroughs in new products and new industries, thus increasing the importance of automation upgrades and supply chain security in upstream and downstream enterprises.

In the next three to five years, the company expects the sales of new products to account for 50% of the total sales, mainly in renewable resources, solid waste recycling, solar packaging film and other environmental protection industries.

Talent training is the greatest challenge on the road to development

EST Technology specializes in injection molding machine control. The team currently has more than 300 people with post-90s employees accounting for more than 70%. The company’s annual investment on R&D is more than 25 million Yuan.

Xia Qinghua, General Manager of EST Technology, pointed out that the company's short-term goal within 3-5 years is to boost the industry status and market competitiveness of domestic equipment through professional control solutions and cooperation with OEM manufacturers. After 10 years, the company expects to become an innovative enterprise to continuously create value for its customers and end users. "In the current period of development, the biggest challenge is nurturing talent," Xia added.

He believed that the most prominent feature of PRSI enterprises is on professionalization, as the development of the industry is inseparable from constant breakthroughs and accumulation in their industry segment. “As a ‘professional’ enterprise, EST Technology hopes to play the role of an industry expert and promote industrial transformation through professional technology,” said Xia.

During the event, EST Technology introduced solutions for the hybrid control system of precision products. The system is made up of the company’s control system, electronic material storage system and hot runner control system. It can save 4-5 kWh/hour of electricity when used on high-speed machines, saving electricity costs of 30,000 yuan a year.

In addition, the system can shorten the storage time and machine debugging time, while uniform plasticization can improve the yield rate. The control instructions of its all-digital platform are more refined, and the monitoring parameters can be read in real time with standard OPCUA protocol. The system can be widely used in auto parts, medical treatment, packaging and other industries that require high product precision.

To let the representatives of participating enterprises and buyers get a deeper understanding of each other's technical features as well as supply and demand requirements, the organizer held a special meeting to match supply and demand. It was met with enthusiastic responses and bustled with lively interactions.