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October 21, 2014

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Home » District » Minhang

Friendly plastics thrive in lucrative niche market

By Lu Feiran | October 21, 2014, Tuesday | Print Edition

PLASTICS are often regarded as environmental villains, but Chen Xiaodong begs to differ.

He and his Minhang-based company Shanghai Sunny New Technology Development Co Ltd have devoted the past two decades to research and development of more environmentally friendly plastics.

The company has become a leader in China’s plastics industry, with Chen holding more than 20 national patents and the company holding in excess of 100.

“Many companies pay attention to only the function of their products, but that’s not enough,” said Chen. “We pay attention to products from their birth to death, and every process in the manufacturing chain relates to pollution reduction. This is an important factor for both profits and social responsibility.”

Like most innovative businesses, Sunny New Technology started small. In 1996, after Chen graduated from the former Shanghai Technology University (now Shanghai University), he borrowed 500,000 yuan (US$81,555) from friends and started the company in his home with four employees.

Deliver a breakthrough

Cracking into the plastics industry was no easy feat. The industry is dominated by state-owned titans like Sinopec and a host of specialized companies whose products target industries such as automobile parts. To survive, Sunny had to deliver a breakthrough.

Sunny at first manufactured products already in the market. Chen, however, said he always believed that the company had no future in copycat work. It had to create its own products — niche products not common in the market.

“We realized that environmentally friendly products represented the future of the industry,” he said. “And in the end, they represented the future of our company.”

The company started to seek collaboration with colleges. Two years after the company was founded, Sunny formed a laboratory with the Institute of Polymer Materials at Shanghai Science and Technology University. In 2004, a composite materials application research center was established with Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

The collaboration provided not only technical support for Sunny, but also the talent to develop and expand the company’s own research and development team.

The company’s aim was to develop a plastic with a longer shelf life and recycling potential.

“The idea actually ensures the quality of our products,” said Chen, “because we want our clients to use them for as long as possible.”

Robust development

The company developed a number of cutting-edge products, like plastics with metallic paint for cell phone shells and a new type of conductive, nonflammable plastic for auto parts.

Durability, recycling and creativity helped propel Sunny’s products in the marketplace, both at home and abroad. Customers have included General Motors, Shanghai Volkswagen and Xiaomi Smartphone.

The company’s credo for environmental friendliness doesn’t apply only to its products. The company’s workplace is a model of safety and cleanliness. There are no hazardous wastes lying about the place, and polluting processes in manufacturing are kept to a minimum.

“Treating employees properly is part of our corporate and social responsibility,” said Chen.

Sunny now has more than 700 employees and annual sales of more than 1 billion yuan. It operates six subsidiary companies in East China, including two trading firms in neighboring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

For the past few years, it ranked among the top three enterprises in the Chinese plastics industry and among the top 100 privately owed science and technology companies in Shanghai.

Chen said his next goal is to transform the company from a simple supplier of products to a firm offering industrial solutions.

“We want to focus on not only what our clients need but also what the clients of our clients need,” said Chen. “We want to think about what our customers want and would like to have. We want to provide solutions to problems.”

The company is well on the way toward that goal. It has enhanced its marketing and funding operations, trying to keep up with the latest trends, such as online commerce and social media marketing.

The new thrust will get its first market test in November, with the unveiling of a new type of suitcase developed to withstand even being run over by a car, Chen said.

“Providing solutions means that we don’t merely sell our products but also our ideas, which adds value to the business,” he said. “That means we won’t be so prey to fluctuations in petrochemical prices, which can allow customers to force our prices down.”

Chen said his ultimate goal is to turn Sunny into a time-honored brand, both in China and the world at large.

“I believe we still have room for improvement and growth,” he said. “Most of our employees are young people around the age 30, so we are just like the rising sun.”

Minhang


 

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