Recently, in the heavyweight rankings of "2023 Top 500 Private Enterprises in China" and "2023 Top 500 Private Manufacturing Enterprises in China" released by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, Hailiang Group Co., Ltd. once again made the list with an operating income of 207.37 billion yuan, ranking 32nd among China's top 500 private enterprises and 21st among the top 500 private manufacturing enterprises in China. In doing so, it led 12 Shaoxing companies into this prestigious list.
As the only private enterprise in Shaoxing with an annual revenue exceeding 200 billion yuan, what winning strategy lies behind Hailiang's stellar performance, and how did it transform from an ordinary private enterprise into today's large international conglomerate? Shaoxing News Broadcast conducted a headline report to delve into these questions. Here are the details of the report.
Located within the Hailiang Nonferrous Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park in Zhuji, the "Future Factory" project spans a thousand acres. Currently, the factory buildings have been entirely painted, and some equipment is in the process of installation. It is expected to commence production by the end of next year. Once operational, this facility will possess an annual production capacity of 188,000 tons of precision copper alloy pipe fittings, with an anticipated annual increase in sales revenue exceeding 4 billion yuan.
Hailiang's Director of Technology, Feng Huanfeng, emphasized that in the construction of the Future Factory, they focus on three key aspects: highly digitized operations, using digital technology to empower the real economy, achieving end-to-end intelligent manufacturing; eco-friendly and low carbon practices, increasing the copper rod's recycling rate from 40% to over 80%, thus creating an environmentally friendly modern factory; internationalization, with a strategic global perspective aiming to become the world's largest precision component processing base.
Hailiang Group is the world's largest producer of copper pipes, with its independently developed intelligent manufacturing technology for precision copper pipes in a leading position globally. Currently, the global demand for copper alloy pipe fittings is estimated at 600,000 to 700,000 tons annually, signifying a vast market capacity.
Once the "Future Factory" comes into production, it will expand its capacity nearly tenfold, substantially increasing Hailiang's market share from 1-2% to 7-8% in the global copper alloy pipe fittings market. Additionally, the factory's man-machine efficiency will increase by over three times, with a potential reduction in manual labor of around 70%, making it a bona fide "unmanned factory." This year, Hailiang was also successfully included in the list of pilot enterprises for the Zhejiang Province Future Factory, as recently announced by the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology.
In recent years, alongside the creation of the Future Factory, Hailiang Group's development journey has been marked by remarkable achievements. In the 7th China Industry Awards ceremony, Hailiang Group proudly received the title of "China Grand Awards for Industry," often referred to as the "Oscar" of Chinese Industry. At the 8th China Advanced Materials Industry Expo, Hailiang Group was honored as the "2022-2023 Annual High-Performance Materials Technology Innovation Enterprise," signifying a new stage of development in the field of new energy materials. Additionally, three national standards led or participated in by Hailiang were successively published and are scheduled to be formally implemented next year.
Hailiang Group's history of development stands as an exemplary journey of growth, reflecting the path from a small private enterprise to a robust and influential one. Currently, Hailiang Group is witnessing the simultaneous flourishing of its three major industries. Hailiang's subsidiary has established its presence in 12 countries and regions and boasts a global marketing network. It has already become a benchmark and a leading enterprise in the global copper rod processing industry. Hailiang Education, on the other hand, stands as one of the most comprehensive and widely encompassing education service providers in the entire nation, setting a benchmark for China's private basic education sector. Meanwhile, our ecological agriculture enterprise, Mingkanghui, is diligently striving to establish itself as China's leading brand in the middle-to-high-end health food industry, with a distinct focus on fresh and wholesome products throughout the entire production chain.
Hailiang Group's Vice President and Assistant President of Hailiang Corporation, Dr. Peng Long, said that the company has been focused on its core business, declining any speculative ventures. As early as 2016, they voluntarily withdrew from other businesses, including real estate and financial leasing. Instead, they concentrated on the fields that matter most to the general public: education, intelligent nonferrous material manufacturing, and ecological agriculture, achieving steady and far-reaching growth. Moreover, Hailiang Group emphasizes a talent-centric approach and innovative driving force, considering talents as the core competitive advantage in the company's development. Since 2000, and continuing through the Hundred Boats Plan launched in 2018, the company has successively introduced a large number of high-caliber international talents with professional qualifications and advanced education. Currently, the company employs around 1,300 talents with master's degrees or higher, nearly 2,000 graduates from Double First-Class universities, with around 120 graduates from Tsinghua and Peking University. The company is committed to continued recruitment, aiming to harness the excellence of its talents to drive technological and market superiority.
The recognition of Hailiang Group as a Shaoxing enterprise in the Top 500 Private Enterprises in China underscores the importance of valuing talent and promoting innovation as essential elements for achieving high-quality development. Situated in Diankou, Zhuji, is a research institution with modest physical proportions but enormous significance—Hailiang's Research Institute. It shoulders a comprehensive range of scientific and innovative responsibilities, including research and development management for Hailiang's products, processes, and equipment, technology upgrades, intellectual property management, and the formulation of industry standards. Over the years, Hailiang has excelled in technical innovation and research and development at this institution. This encompasses the transformation of research outcomes into practical technological solutions, often leading to the prompt filing of patent applications both domestically and internationally. Active participation in the formulation of national industry standards is another essential dimension of the institute's work.
According to Wei Lianyun, Head of the Knowledge Management Department at Hailiang's Research Institute, the company has already obtained 786 authorized patents to date, including 83 invention patents. It has also participated in the publication of 47 national industry standards, 28 of which are considered national standards, accounting for over 50% of the total number of national industry standards within the pipe material category. These achievements have been recognized multiple times with the China Standard>s Innovation Contribution Award, enhancing the company's status and influence within the industry, thereby strengthening its authority.
It's worth noting that, after years of dedicated development, the core entity of the Hailiang Group, Hailiang, has grown to become the world's largest integrated supplier for non-ferrous metal materials, focusing primarily on copper pipes, rods, and foils. It holds the title of having the highest market share in copper pipe materials globally, the largest production scale for copper processing products worldwide, and the highest domestic export volume for copper fittings. These accomplishments have solidified its leadership in the copper processing industry, attributing to its elevated market share, brand value, technological sophistication, and superior product quality.
With 34 years of history and renewed determination, the Hailiang Group will continue to uphold its development philosophy of prioritizing both corporate profitability and social contributions. It centers its attention on three core business areas: education, intelligent non-ferrous materials, and ecological agriculture. The company is unwavering in its commitment to drive high-quality business development, aligning its strategies with national interests, corporate capabilities, and future direction. It aspires to be a proactive contributor to rural revitalization and the pursuit of shared prosperity, actively aligning with Zhejiang Province's efforts to lead in advancing common prosperity within the framework of Chinese socialism with distinctive features and driving provincial modernization and make great efforts to build Zhejiang as an "important window". All the while, it aims to provide more "Hailiang solutions" to enhance the quality of life for the people.