On July 26-27, 2018, in order to strengthen the exchange and interaction between the Hong Kong Corrugated Paper Manufacturers Association (hereinafter referred to as "HKCPMA") and the packaging industry in the East China region, jointly raise the level of industry development, and explore new opportunities for exchange, some members of HKCPMA went to East China to begin a 2-day inspection, study and visit trip. This event was hosted by HKCPMA, co-organized by Shanghai Meiyin Culture Communication Co., Ltd., and received strong support from the Paper Products Packaging Committee of the China Packaging Federation and Reed Exhibitions Group. The representatives who came for the inspection and visit included HKCPMA President Chen Hansong, Chairman of Dongguan Dabao Xiangwang Paper Products Printing & Packaging Co., Ltd.; HKCPMA Secretary-General Situ Chongguang, Director of Dongguan Xinsenqi Paper Products Co., Ltd.; as well as Gao Zhantang, General Manager of Zhongtai Paper Products Co., Ltd. in Pengjiang District, Jiangmen City; and Nie Weiquan, Factory Director of Dongguan Zhenxing Paper Products Co., Ltd.; along with more than 20 other representatives. Late July fell during the dog days of summer, with unbearable heat, but even the scorching weather could not stop everyone's pace of visiting and learning. The more than 20 representatives who came for the inspection were full of enthusiasm and gained abundantly during the 2-day trip to East China.

Jiangsu Shengtai Group Co., Ltd. — Extensive Learning, Noble Virtue, Self-discipline, Earnest Practice

(HKCPMA representatives taking a group photo at Jiangsu Shengtai Group)

On the afternoon of July 26, the representatives' first stop was Jiangsu Shengtai Group. Group Chairman Gu Yongyuan warmly welcomed the arrival of the HKCPMA and Meiyin Culture delegation, and personally led the delegation members on a tour of Shengtai Group. In the corrugator workshop of Shengtai, Chairman Gu showed the guests the fully imported American Marquip corrugated paperboard production line purchased by Shengtai Group in 2016. This corrugator line has an extremely high degree of automation, stable operation, an average running speed of 202 meters/minute, and excellent paperboard quality. Chairman Gu also showed the factory's advanced sewage treatment equipment and boiler area. The HKCPMA visiting delegation present marveled at Shengtai Group's outstanding production efficiency.

(Shengtai Group welcomes HKCPMA members for the visit)

(Shengtai workshop)

After the tour, Chairman Gu introduced the journey of Shengtai Group's development. Originally, as the village party secretary, Chairman Gu was determined to change the poverty situation in the village, raised funds everywhere, and founded Shengtai Group. He hoped that through the economic benefits brought by Shengtai Group, he could improve the economic conditions and quality of life of the villagers. However, when Shengtai Group was first established, it faced capital shortages, lacked technology, had no backing, and many problems urgently needed to be solved.

(HKCPMA President Chen Hansong giving a speech)

Initially, Shengtai Group was positioned as a plastics factory producing plastic film. At that time, China's packaging industry was just starting out, and merchants and consumers generally used plastic bags, so the vast majority of packaging industry practitioners invested their projects and funds in the plastics industry. However, through communication with colleagues, Chairman Gu keenly discovered that China's light industry would become very prosperous in the future, and the demand for paper packaging would increase significantly along with it. Shengtai Group entering the paper packaging field would be a very good choice, so Chairman Gu made up his mind to invest funds and resources into the paper packaging industry, making paper packaging the future development direction of Shengtai Group. Around 1995, Shengtai Group had already achieved an annual output value of 80 million relying on a 1600mm Jingshan Light Machinery production line. Recalling the days when the factory was first established, when he had to borrow money from everywhere to get the factory running, and seeing the company now flourishing, having become a star enterprise in Kunshan, driving the development of the local economy, these abundant fruits made Chairman Gu feel very gratified.

(Chairman Gu giving a speech)

Jiangsu Shengtai Group has been established for nearly 35 years. While considering relocating to a new factory to improve production efficiency, it is also pursuing a brand-new management model. In 2017, Chairman Gu visited and inspected dozens of provinces, cities and regions in China, as well as over a hundred carton factories in countries such as Japan and South Korea. Through visits and exchanges, Chairman Gu and Jiangsu Shengtai Group fully absorbed the experience of domestic and foreign advanced enterprises in modern and automated production lines and excellent management systems. In November 2017, Shengtai Group sent a team of 8 people to Kanzaki Company for a 3-day in-depth study. Kanzaki Company received the Shengtai team with great care, and spared nothing in imparting technology and management know-how. This year, Mr. Fujino, Chairman of Japan's Kanzaki Paper Container, led top technical personnel to Shengtai for a three-day professional management enhancement training. Through learning from Kanzaki Company, Chairman Gu saw the direction in which he needed to improve. By applying what he had learned, the company's management efficiency reached its highest level in over a decade since its establishment, which moved him deeply. Chairman Gu highly praised Kanzaki Company as a great company, a company worth learning from.

Chairman Gu stated that Shengtai is advancing toward the goal of reaching an annual output of 110-150 million square meters of cartons in the future. He has always firmly believed that the core of an enterprise is its products, so product quality must be strictly controlled. Chairman Gu is very cautious about paper packaging investment. He believes that purchasing European and American imported equipment without thinking upon hearing about it is not a wise move. He also pointed out that many paper packaging enterprises now shift their investment focus from the corrugated carton industry to other industries, even overextending the core industry of their original enterprise. Faced with such an impetuous trend, one should not follow the crowd blindly; only by keeping a cool head can one better serve society. Facing the current fiercely competitive environment of the paper packaging market, Chairman Gu believes that in addition to grasping market trends, it is more important to persist in doing a good job in management, so as to survive stably in the ever-changing market.

(Visiting the nursing home)

After the tour of Shengtai Group, Chairman Gu also led the guests to visit the Shengtai "leaving home but not the village" nursing home, which he funded and established. He said that he would not forget that in his most difficult times, it was the selfless villagers who helped him. "Return the favor of a peach with a plum" — Chairman Gu established a nursing home in Shengtai Village, providing warm daily care services for the elderly and improving their quality of life. Seeing the elderly here all beaming with happy smiles, able to enjoy their later years here happily, Chairman Gu felt very fulfilled.

As a civil affairs welfare enterprise, in addition to running a nursing home, Shengtai Group also provides employment for people with disabilities. Among the company's 500 employees, over 200 are persons with disabilities. Such measures have raised the status of people with disabilities in their families and society, enabling them to fully utilize their wisdom and abilities, actively contribute to society to the best of their capabilities, and share the fruits of social development.

As a large enterprise with a sense of social responsibility, while growing and developing its business and contributing to the national economy, Shengtai Group has always consciously assumed social responsibility, actively participated in public welfare undertakings, and given back to society with concrete actions. Through this inspection, we believe that Shengtai Group, carrying a heart of gratitude, is an enterprise with warmth, and such a Shengtai will go ever further and ever better!

Kunshan Sanda Packaging Co., Ltd. — Safety First, Efficient Management

On July 27, the delegation visited Kunshan Sanda Packaging Co., Ltd. Kunshan Sanda Packaging Co., Ltd. was originally established in 1998, and has gone through industry transformation and industrial upgrading over a period of 20 years to date. Since its establishment, with the business philosophy of "integrity builds brands," it has gathered a team of capable technical and management talents, leveraged advanced technology and management advantages, and provided customers with a large number of satisfactory products. The staff warmly received the HKCPMA delegation members and showed everyone three BHS production lines. One is a 2.8-meter width Excellencia Star equipped with a double-knife double-stacker, which can simultaneously produce two orders of different widths and cut lengths, greatly improving production efficiency through reasonable production scheduling. The other two are a 2.5-meter width Excellencia Star first installed in 2013 and a 2.2-meter width Constant Speed Star 7-layer line.

(HKCPMA representatives visiting Kunshan Sanda Packaging Co., Ltd.)

Kunshan Sanda first introduced to us the safety operating rules for the BHS corrugated paperboard production line. Kunshan Sanda puts employee safety first and strictly enforces safety standards. During the tour, we saw that Sanda Packaging's equipment had many devices such as emergency stop buttons and safety fences to prevent accidents, and safety signs and safety slogans were all placed in prominent positions. HKCPMA also took relevant safety measures during the visit, and personally felt Kunshan Sanda's emphasis on safety.

The main feature of BHS's production lines is the extremely high degree of automation, achieving 100% automated distribution and management. This management approach enhances employee participation in the production process while saving costs in management and distribution, and improving production efficiency. The visiting representatives greatly admired this advanced management approach.

BHS Machinery (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. — Emphasizing Details, Rigorous Style

For the last stop of the trip, the HKCPMA delegation members visited BHS Machinery (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. BHS is one of the world's largest solution providers for the corrugated paper industry. Its main characteristics include capability, innovation, and a passion for pursuing excellence, making it a solid and reliable partner in the industry. The company supports customers' every step of development in 22 countries, with nearly 1,600 employees. Whenever and wherever, BHS delivers not just equipment, but also efficiency and productivity. Currently, BHS has delivered more than 400 complete corrugating machines worldwide, demonstrating its professional expertise in developing, installing, and maintaining equipment for the broad market — having delivered and installed hundreds of wet-end and dry-end equipment and thousands of individual machines in nearly 100 countries, accumulating extensive experience.

(HKCPMA representatives visiting the testing workshop)

(HKCPMA representatives visiting the production workshop)

(HKCPMA representatives visiting the production workshop)

The goal of BHS's production equipment is to reduce errors to zero. During the tour, the BHS equipment factory demonstrated the production of single facer equipment and the inspection of corrugating rolls. Through the employees' meticulous operation and inspection, as well as the precise BHS computer equipment system, the inspection team quickly discovered the problems with the corrugating rolls. In the end, BHS also showcased their century of development history and the patents they had obtained, fully demonstrating that since its establishment, BHS has always adhered to technological innovation, guaranteed quality, kept its feet on the ground, and developed pragmatically.

The attendees expressed admiration for BHS's adherence to its corporate development philosophy. A dyke of a thousand miles is often destroyed by an ant hole, yet BHS's control over product details is meticulous to the extreme, eliminating errors in the smallest margins, fully demonstrating the corporate philosophy — BHS not only aims to produce high-quality products, but also achieves high standards and high requirements in the processing. We believe this will help BHS establish a reputation for high quality in the corrugator equipment market, paving a broad road for the enterprise's development.

(HKCPMA representatives taking a group photo at BHS)

(BHS patent wall)

HKCPMA Training Course: Rational Management Helps Enterprises Develop Healthily

After touring the BHS production equipment process, the HKCPMA members also earnestly attended a course on packaging industry management conducted by Teacher Cao Cuishuang, a senior consultant from Shanghai Kunmeng Enterprise Management Information Co., Ltd. Through her in-depth analysis of the paper packaging industry, Teacher Cao Cuishuang used intuitive models to show that quality, price, and service are the keys to enhancing the competitiveness of paper packaging enterprises. Among them, quality is the core competitiveness of paper packaging enterprises, and any enterprise engaged in paper packaging should invest sufficient resources to ensure quality stability. And a rational management approach is the winning formula for competition among enterprises.

Teacher Cao Cuishuang pointed out that management itself is not an end; management serves the enterprise's goals. Inaccurate goal positioning is the fundamental cause of resource waste; therefore, rather than saying management is used to solve problems, it is better to say that management is used to create value and benefit. Management is not about right or wrong, good or bad; being effective in practice is the best management. In the carton and paperboard industry, grasping management means grasping the lifeline and future of the enterprise. These profound viewpoints deeply moved everyone present.

(Teacher Cao Cuishuang conducting training)

The weather in July was scorching, but even hotter than the weather was the HKCPMA members' enthusiasm for the gains from this East China trip. The HKCPMA members expressed one after another that this 2-day East China trip yielded a great deal, and they hoped to have more in-depth exchanges in the future. We likewise believe that through this in-depth communication and exchange, in the future, HKCPMA colleagues will work together with paper packaging enterprises across the country to bring China's paper packaging industry to a better tomorrow.