1. The “Thirteenth Five-Year” National Key R&D Program “New Environmental Protection Materials for Pen Making” passed the comprehensive performance evaluation;
In 2016, under the organization of China National Light Industry Federation and China Pen Association, a new wave of technological innovation was launched in the pen industry. According to the national science and technology policy orientation, with Shanghai Chenguang Stationery Co., Ltd. A total of 15 units, including pen enterprises, research institutions and colleges and universities, have actively undertaken this project, aiming to improve the added value and core competitiveness of pen products in my country. The major common key technical problems in the manufacture of type ink and marker pen ink, continue the preliminary results of scientific research in China’s pen industry during the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” period, explore the laws in depth, and continue to study the microscopic science in the pen, forming an important foundation for my country’s pen-making industry. The industry has achieved strong support for the transformation and upgrading from big to strong.
On September 16, 2021, the Special Office of Key Basic Materials Technology Improvement and Industrialization of the High-tech Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology organized a comprehensive performance evaluation of the “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan” National Key R&D Program “New Environmental Protection Materials for Pen Making” at the China Science and Technology Hall in Beijing. Meeting. The expert group conducted a comprehensive performance evaluation of the project. The expert group reviewed the project materials, listened to the project’s comprehensive performance self-evaluation report, and watched the video of the industrialization demonstration line. Industry associations further promote the promotion and application of project results, and carry out technology research and development to improve product consistency and stability.
Wang Shuqin, chairman of the China Pen Association and head of the project leadership coordination group, delivered an important speech. First of all, she expressed her heartfelt congratulations on the project passing the comprehensive performance evaluation! I would like to express my gratitude to the Ministry of Science and Technology and the China National Light Industry Federation for their strong support for the implementation of the project and the hard work and efforts of the participating R&D units in the past five years! It is hoped that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the achievements and technological breakthroughs of scientific and technological project research and development will be accelerated into transformation, promotion and application, in the development stage of the new era, implement the five development concepts, build a new development pattern, and promote the high-quality development of the industry!
2. The exchange meeting on the promotion and application of water-based paint pencils in China’s pen-making industry was held in Qingyuan, Zhejiang;
On March 23, the “China Pen Industry Waterborne Paint Pencil Promotion and Application Exchange Conference” hosted by the China Pen Association and the Qingyuan County Party Committee and County Government of the Communist Party of China and undertaken by Zhejiang Best Softening Board Co., Ltd. was held in Qingyuan County, Zhejiang Province.
In April 2019, Zhejiang Best Soft Board Co., Ltd. initiated the research and development of water-based paint pencils, invested a lot of human, material and financial resources, completed the publicity of the enterprise standard in 2020, and passed the scientific and technological achievement appraisal of China National Light Industry Federation in December 2020.
At the meeting, Wang Shuqin, chairman of the China Pen Association, said that it is very important for consumers to pay for products willingly and to guide consumption, but fundamentally speaking, it is the most important for enterprises to insist on innovation and promote the high-quality development of the industry.
“Innovation is the first driving force for development.” Wang Shuqin said, “The pen industry is actually a high-tech industry. Every innovation and change in traditional craftsmanship will greatly promote the development of the industry.”
According to Wang Shuqin, taking water-based paint as an example, it has long been popularized and covered in the furniture industry, but it still faces many difficulties in the pen-making industry: the paint area is small, the number of times of painting is large, and another paint cannot be applied if one paint cannot dry… Although it is a paint problem, but ultimately the pen industry needs to solve it by itself. Fortunately, these problems are being overcome one by one, and it is this kind of innovation that is driving the entire pencil industry to develop in a green and healthy direction.
In fact, in terms of material innovation, the pen industry already has many notable success stories. According to Wang Shuqin, after the successful development of free-cutting stainless steel wire in my country, Japanese steel suppliers immediately lowered the price from 125,000 yuan per ton to about 90,000 yuan. At the same time, my country has also successfully developed domestic pen tip manufacturing equipment, and built a number of demonstration production lines for ink and new structure pen tips. The price and quantity of imported ink have also declined. In addition, Chinese pen-making enterprises have developed substitutes for poplar board under the circumstance that the pencil board basswood material is limited, which greatly alleviates the situation that the raw material is controlled by others.
“I hope that we will continue to develop leading and alternative pen-making materials, and not always follow the same steps and catch up with others.” Wang Shuqin said.
Firm confidence, not forgetting the original intention: to meet the desire of consumers to “use a good pen”
Since the outbreak of the epidemic last year, some companies in the pen-making industry have not only stopped on the road of innovation, but have even switched to selling other products.
In this regard, Wang Shuqin said that the impact of the epidemic has affected almost the entire manufacturing industry. Although the pen industry is not a big industry, it is just in demand and will not have much ups and downs. The operation data in 2020 also proves this. Therefore, enterprises should strengthen their confidence, practice their internal skills, and determine their own positioning with a pragmatic attitude. At the same time, we must learn to build on our strengths and avoid our weaknesses and leverage each other’s strengths. “Companies don’t have to be big, but they need to be refined, specialized, and long-term.” Wang Shuqin said. “It is necessary to take a differentiated development path and keep the original intention in mind. In particular, it is necessary to strengthen the self-discipline of the industry and not engage in vicious competition. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the awareness of intellectual property protection and legal awareness.”
In addition, Wang Shuqin hopes that the pen industry can speed up the consolidation and resource reorganization, improve the industry concentration, avoid duplication of investment in scientific research, and avoid mutual price reduction. Leading enterprises should take responsibility for the development of the industry.
At the end of the exchange meeting, Wang Shuqin’s enthusiastic concluding remarks resonated with all the participants. She said, “2021 is the first year of the 14th Five-Year Plan. We should speed up the development of the pen industry and provide consumers with high-quality pen products. ‘Meet the needs of the people for a better life’, for the pen industry , is to satisfy the desire of consumers to ‘use a good pen’. ‘Those who know are not as good as those who are good, and those who are good are not as good as those who are happy. ‘Produce consumers’ look at the pen products they like and use them comfortably. It is the unshirkable responsibility and obligation of a pen-making enterprise.”
Wang Shuqin hopes that pen-making enterprises can keep pace with the times, develop and create, and seize the new development stage of China’s economy
