Hunan builds glory through internationalization

Province home to more than 170 enterprises in advanced construction machinery industry

Eight tower cranes, each whose main cables can be suspended from 66 meters above the ground, loom large over the Lusail Stadium construction site north of Doha－the capital of Qatar and host of the forthcoming FIFA World Cup in 2022.

The cranes belong to Hunan-based Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology, and are playing a pivotal role in making sure that the 80,000-seat stadium is fully functioning by the time the whistle blows in a year's time, as well as demonstrating China's strength in large equipment manufacturing.

Through acquisitions and investments, Zoomlion, headquartered in Changsha, capital of Hunan province, has research and development centers, production bases, a marketing network and a service system stretching across the world.

A sizable number of similar companies have sprung up in Hunan. They have helped the province develop an advanced construction machinery industry, with a market share accounting for more than a quarter of China's total. Machinery products from Hunan have been sold in more than 160 countries and regions around the world, according to the local government.

Along with China's reform, opening-up and the promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative, Hunan has introduced a series of preferential policies. These support enterprises in terms of transformation, upgrading and innovative development, and help to make construction machinery a pillar industry in the province.

Xu Dazhe, Party secretary of Hunan, said that during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), the province will build itself into a key national advanced manufacturing center based on well-established industries including construction machinery, and develop new leading-edge machines and equipment. The province is encouraging local businesses to expand in the international market, establish overseas plants and R&D centers, and participate in international industrial standards.

Statistics from the Hunan Department of Industry and Information Technology show the province has become the largest construction machinery industry hub in China. It has 172 construction machinery enterprises above designated scale－with an annual sales revenue surpassing 20 million yuan ($3.11 million)－and more than 300 related supporting enterprises.

In 2020, the operating income of Hunan's construction machinery industry accounted for around 27 percent of the nation's total. It has ranked first among all provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China for 11 years.

Sunward is a construction machinery manufacturer established in Hunan in 1999.Its products have been well received in the global market. An event 17 years ago struck and inspired the company's founder He Qinghua.

"In 2004, together with several young employees, I visited a construction machinery exhibition in Munich, Germany," he recalled. "When I saw that even a whole Chinese delegation of exhibitors was not as imposing as that of a Korean enterprise, I was motivated and determined to create high-end products, establish a national brand and enter the international market."

At that time, many products in China's construction machinery market, such as excavators and pump trucks, were imported. China was behind in the manufacture and technologies of some key parts and components.

Adhering to independent innovation, He and his team made breakthroughs in an array of key technologies. They became the first enterprise to manufacture excavator hydraulic cylinders in China.

Sunward has developed more than 200 kinds of competitive equipment products with independent intellectual property rights.

The company has set up more than 10 subsidiaries in several countries, including the United States, Belgium, Russia, Singapore and South Korea. It has exported its products to more than 100 countries and regions around the world.

Sany Group, another renowned construction machinery company from Hunan, also enjoys a good reputation in the global market.

In 2020, despite the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company achieved an international sales revenue of 14.1 billion yuan, equaling that of 2019. Its sales volume of excavators in overseas markets exceeded 10,000 units last year, with a year-on-year increase of more than 30 percent.

zhangdandan@chinadaily.com.cn