Wade New Materials Moves 100 Miles Eastward to Transform into a Phoenix

2023-04-12 22:13:35

By the Honglian Lake in Ezhou, the colorful castles of Evergrande Children’s World have begun to take shape.

However, Wade New Materials, the supplier of the colorful roof tiles for these castles, has moved from Ezhou to Huangshi.

“In the first 11 months, our output value has exceeded 20 million yuan, and we have been recognized as an enterprise above designated size.”

On December 25, 2019, at Huandiqiao Industrial Park in Daye, Xie Xin, General Manager of Hubei Wade New Materials Co., Ltd., and Shen Tiancheng, Executive Deputy General Manager, mapped out their goals for 2020:

to achieve an output value of over 100 million yuan and obtain high-tech enterprise certification.

Behind this booming development lies a difficult relocation process.

Relocation Driven by Environmental Needs

In 2008, Wade New Materials settled in Gedian Economic and Technological Development Zone, Ezhou, mainly engaged in high-end cement tile products.

With the rapid development of the zone, the area around the company gradually became a prosperous urban area.

Since the second half of 2017, the company had received complaints from residents of Xiangda Jinyuan Community about excessive noise, which seriously affected their daily rest.

To reduce noise, the company invested 700,000 yuan to build sound insulation walls on three sides of the factory building.

However, the community was less than 30 meters away from the company’s fence, and complaints from residents continued.

“Our noise level does not exceed 60 decibels, which meets the standards for industrial parks.

But being too close to residential areas made conflicts unavoidable.”

At a board meeting, Xie Xin put forward a bold idea: could the company relocate to another place?

At that time, the company’s production capacity was insufficient.

Even at full capacity, it could not produce 5,000 rolled tiles per day, and the output value in 2017 was only more than 10 million yuan.

The company wanted to launch new production lines but was limited by only 35 mu of land, leaving little room for expansion.

In Gedian Development Zone, the new economy represented by e-commerce was rising, and Wade New Materials felt increasingly out of place.

The relocation plan was unanimously approved by the board of directors.

A Win-Win Strategy to Revitalize Idle Factories

More than 50 kilometers east along the Optics Valley Science and Innovation Corridor, crossing the Jinye Line, Xie Xin arrived at Huandiqiao Town, the largest town in Daye.

In Jinqiao Industrial Park of the town, building materials enterprises represented by aluminum profiles were thriving.

Further east, Huangshi, an old industrial base, boasted a complete range of manufacturing industries such as cement building materials, copper and aluminum strips, and intelligent molds.

“Doing business requires clustering to achieve industrial cluster effects.”

After Xie Xin reported to the board, all members agreed to move east.

After several inspections, Wade New Materials chose an abandoned steel structure enterprise.

“Covering 75 mu, with complete office buildings and workshops — this is the one!”

The move could both revitalize idle factories and bring new tax revenue.

Zheng Zan, Director of the Investment Promotion Branch of Huandiqiao Town, acted as a “project steward” to facilitate negotiations and cooperation between the two companies.

“Relocation is to seize market opportunities; every minute counts.”

Zheng Zan clearly remembered that on April 26, 2018, he accompanied Xie Xin to the Daye Government Affairs Service Center for enterprise registration.

The application was submitted and approved on the same day, setting a record for enterprise establishment in Daye.

Everything proceeded at an accelerated pace:

On April 28, the two companies signed the factory and land transfer agreement.

On May 4, Wade New Materials moved in and began renovating the factory.

On October 1, the company officially went into production.

A Choice for Takeoff Through Technical Upgrading

A new factory brought a new stage of development.

After renovation and adjustment, the old production line moved from Gedian raised daily output to 8,500 pieces, and orders far exceeded supply.

Optimistic about the market prospect, in the second half of 2019, the company invested more than 80 million yuan to introduce a fully automatic production line from Italy.

At present, supporting facilities are under installation and commissioning, with plans to officially start operation in February 2020.

“The maximum capacity of the new production line will be 20,000 pieces per day, which can meet order demand for the next few years.

Its high degree of automation saves labor costs and eases recruitment difficulties,” Shen Tiancheng said.

The company has increased R&D investment, focusing on waterproofing, thermal insulation, energy saving, fastening, and decoration to make products more high-end and diversified.

At present, the company’s total investment exceeds 130 million yuan.

By the end of 2019, 38 of China’s top 50 construction enterprises had signed long-term supply agreements with Wade New Materials.

Xie Xin said that Huandiqiao in Daye has been included in the initial zone of Huangshi’s Airport Economy.

The formation of a comprehensive transportation and logistics system will surely boost the company’s rapid development.

“Becoming an enterprise above designated size is only a starting point.

We plan to achieve an output value of 300 million yuan within three years and become a leader in China’s Colored cement tile industry.”