China Personal Protective Equipment Expo | Gaomi: Building a High-End Protective Equipment Industry Cluster
The China Personal Protective Equipment Expo has learned that Shandong Xingyu Chengyang New Materials Co., Ltd. has developed ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber.
This fiber is only the thickness of a toothpick yet can be split into 240 strands. Despite its lightweight texture, it possesses load-bearing capacity far exceeding that of steel wire. Beyond serving as the core raw material for high-end cut-resistant gloves, it can also be applied in high-end fields such as special personal protection, aerospace, and deep-sea cables. The fiber was jointly developed by the company in collaboration with the Chemical Fiber Research Institute of Donghua University through a jointly established R&D center. The company holds 26 independent patents related to fiber modification, with multiple international patents authorized across 24 major countries worldwide.
Gaomi holds dual titles of “China’s Famous City for Safety Protection Products Industry” and “China's Footwear Production Base.” Local safety protection products cover over 300 categories including protective gloves, protective footwear, protective clothing, and protective masks. The overall production capacity accounts for one-third of the national total, with production and sales scale ranking first domestically, earning recognition as a Shandong provincial-level characteristic industrial cluster.
Facing the current industry landscape of intensifying competition, technological updates, and green transformation, the locality has adopted high-end development as its main theme, promoting enterprises to simultaneously carry out technological R&D, digital transformation, and green upgrading, thereby solidifying the local protection industry brand.
The locality has continuously driven enterprise technological upgrading, implementing 18 high-end technical renovation projects, updating 483 sets of new production equipment, and completing green transformations for 62 enterprises.
The supporting integrated energy project can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 17,000 tons annually, helping enterprises reduce export carbon tariff expenditures by 12 million yuan. Among these, Xingyu New Materials has been recognized as a national-level green supply chain enterprise and a provincial-level green factory.
Digital transformation initiatives are being advanced in parallel. In collaboration with 18 digital service providers including Haier COSMOPlat, intelligent transformation services have been provided to 30 enterprises, implementing smart workshops and intelligent factories, and establishing big data and artificial intelligence digital application scenarios. Fengdun Leather has been selected as a pilot for the provincial digital economy Morning Star Factory program.
Gaomi has established a complete full-industrial-chain production and sales system for protective equipment, connecting the entire process from raw materials, production, logistics, to export.
Upstream, raw material supporting enterprises such as Xingyu New Materials, Zhengfeng Trading, and Debao Sole Manufacturing have been cultivated. Midstream, 69 above-scale enterprises including Dengsheng Safety, Haiyu Co., Ltd., Aolong Footwear, and Fengdun Leather have been gathered, with over 2,000 various business entities in total.
Downstream, e-commerce channels have been leveraged to expand sales, forming an integrated online-offline sales model. Among the top ten best-selling protective footwear stores on Taobao, eight are from the locality. Over 60% of nationwide online sales of labor protection and safety products originate from Gaomi. Brands such as Dinggu Labor Protection and Jiankun Protection have established presence on major e-commerce platforms, relying on local warehousing and logistics platforms to achieve one-stop customs clearance with products supplied directly to overseas markets.
The local government has complemented this with comprehensive industrial support policies, establishing a supporting ecosystem for industrial development.
Support has been provided to enterprises such as Haiyu and Fengdun Leather to establish their own dedicated technology R&D centers. Assistance has been given to Rongsheng and Dinggu Protection in applying for digital demonstration factory status. Equipment subsidies have been secured for Xingyu’s annual production project of 6 billion nitrile gloves, enhancing product market competitiveness.
Haiyu and Aolong Footwear have been guided to expand into European overseas markets. Leveraging Xingyu Safety's advantages in industry standard formulation and high-end product R&D, the overall industry is being driven toward high-end, standardized development, creating new industrial advantages with synchronized technology and standard export.
A responsible official from Gaomi Municipal Industry and Information Technology Bureau stated that the locality plans to build a 50-billion-yuan protective equipment industry cluster, complete with a full industrial chain covering protective products for all body parts. Adhering to standard-led development, the locality will promote the transformation of local protective industry from simple product export to synchronized technology and standard export.
Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7656800875909857827/?&source=m_redirect
