Shandong hardware development still needs to pay attention to the "leader" effect

On August 19th, the 2011 China Wendeng International Hardware & Electrical Products and Equipment Fair was held in Wendeng, Shandong. This is another great event in the Shandong hardware industry after the cooperation between Power Tools and Stanley, it will once again push Shandong Hardware to the focus of attention in the industry.

Shandong Province, one of the three major cities in China's hardware industry, not only has a long history of hardware manufacturing, but also shows its unique development direction in recent years. It has always been the focus of the industry. The overall strength of Shandong's hardware industry ranks among the top three in the country, and a number of large enterprises with considerable strength have emerged. However, compared with the situation of hardware companies in Guangdong and Zhejiang that are “overwhelming”, Shandong hardware companies do not have an advantage in quantity.

Only three leading companies compared with the leading hardware companies in Guangdong and Zhejiang. There are only a handful of hardware companies ranking in Shandong. They are Wendeng Power Tools, Yantai Sanhuan Locks, and Texas State. Strong hardware.

For a long time, the industry’s view of the tool is that it is a hard-working industry and a low value-added industry that depends on labor-intensive production. In the past, the expansion of production scale was the increase of personnel and the construction of factories. However, with the increasing labor costs and the declining land resources, relying on advanced equipment to change the traditional industrial structure will be the future development trend.

Although these three leaders took the lead in the adjustment of product structure, traditional industry innovation, and export of self-owned brands, this model has little effect on the tens of thousands of companies in the five hardware industry clusters in the region.

The low level of industrial clusters and the development of the five hardware industry clusters in the Shandong region have received widespread attention from the industry. In addition to the provincial-level SME industrial cluster - Linqing bearing industrial clusters, there are Wendeng Hardware & Electrical Industrial Clusters, Linfen Hardware Industrial Clusters, Yangxin Stainless Steel Kitchenware Industrial Clusters, and Pingyin Pipes Production Base.

According to the author's understanding, the problems such as scattered layout, traffic congestion, difficult-to-find reservoir areas, complete logistics, and poor management still seriously hinder the development of the hardware industry cluster. Although since 2000, many domestic “big brother” hardware companies have taken the lead in the Shandong hardware market, but it will take quite some time before the rise of more local leading enterprises.

Conclusion: "The internationalization of domestic competition, the internalization of international competition" will be the characteristics and major trends of China's hardware industry in the next few years. For the Shandong hardware industry, which has prominent leading enterprises and large foreign market share, the acceleration of the integration of enterprises will become more apparent. At present, there are few leading companies in Shandong Hardware, and its hardware products still have problems with poor design and slow changes. On the one hand, Shandong enterprises pay more attention to the practicability of products and pay insufficient attention to appearance. On the other hand, hardware companies should carry out skills training for enterprises and employees from within, strengthen the cultivation of technical talents, and strive to emerge as regional “leaders”.