Last year's heater, this year's electric iron, Cixi small household appliances are very busy: orders are scheduled until April next year

On the automated production line, the various components of the electric iron are assembled together and packaged through a conveyor belt, including a flat bottom plate, heating tube, and plastic shell. In the production workshop of Huayu Electric Appliances, tens of thousands of household electric irons from Venezuela are being urgently produced. The next day, this production line will also receive 50000 orders from German customers.

Recently, electric iron companies in Cixi, Zhejiang have generally had a feeling that they are a bit overwhelmed. Not only are all production lines operating at full capacity, but even workers are not enough.

Photo by Yu Liudong, Huayu Electric Iron Production Line

According to statistics from Cixi Customs, in the first three quarters, the export value of Cixi electric irons reached 2.85 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 26.85%, accounting for 43.8% of the total export volume of electric comforters in China.

As the "capital of small household appliances in China," Cixi has the world's largest production base for electric irons - Zhouxiang Town.

Why can this place reach a new high in the export of electric irons this year? How can Cixi turn inconspicuous small household appliances into a global business with a market size of over 100 billion yuan?

Electric iron sold out, over 1000 workers are not enough to use it

"Our electric iron has sold out, which caught people off guard."

Ningbo Aijia Electric Appliance Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Aijia Electric Appliance") in Zhouxiang Town, Cixi, mainly produces electric irons. Financial manager Chen Haojie told reporters that in the first three quarters of this year, the company's export value of electric irons reached 285 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 26.5%.

Among them, the most significant growth is in orders from Russia, "which has increased from 5% of all export orders to 15-20% this year," said Chen Haojie.

He roughly calculated that based on the current trend of increasing orders, the output value of electric irons alone is expected to exceed 450 million yuan this year, setting a new historical high for the company since the production of electric irons.

Photo by Yu Liudong from Aijia Electric Appliance Production Workshop

Suddenly, a large number of orders flooded into the production line. On December 14th, a Chao News reporter walked into the electric iron production workshop of Aijia Electric Appliances. Accompanied by the noise of machines, workers processed the components on the assembly line into exquisite and compact electric irons, which were packaged and packed using automated machines.

This busyness has been ongoing since May.

"Before May, there were only 16 production lines for ironing products, and orders suddenly increased. We quickly changed some of the production lines for other products to electric irons. Now, there are 25 production lines operating simultaneously, and the production capacity has been increased to over 30000 units per day. However, production is still very urgent." Shu Yong, the person in charge of Aijia Electrical Equipment Workshop, said that orders have been scheduled for April next year, and there are still more than 1 million units that need to be delivered before the new year.

The order has arrived, the production line has increased, but manpower is running low. In recent months, Shu Yong has not only been busy monitoring equipment and production lines, but also arranging emergency recruitment and on-the-job training.

"Some management personnel and workers are transferred from other production lines and require training. In addition, we don't have enough over 1000 workers to produce electric irons, and we need to hire more than 300 more," he said.

Similarly, in Zhouxiang Town, Huayu Electric Appliances Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as Huayu Electric Appliances), located 3 kilometers away, also has a similar scene.

"This year, the company's overall foreign trade has increased by 40%, with the production of electric irons increasing from 1.4 million units last year to about 1.7 million units this year," said Liu Jianguo, Deputy General Manager of Huayu Electric Appliances.

A small town, creating a world around the world

In Zhouxiang Town, Cixi, every two steps leads to a small home appliance factory, where large trucks shuttle back and forth, loading packaged electric iron products into carriages and then crossing the sea to sell to the European Union, the United States, Russia, and other countries.

This is the world's largest production base for electric irons.

The electric iron enterprises in Zhouxiang Town, Cixi are relatively concentrated. Photo by Yu Liudong

What is the secret to a small town that covers an area of over 80 square kilometers and is striving to create a world with small appliances such as electric irons?

Since the 1970s, the first group of entrepreneurs in Zhouxiang Town have entered the home appliance supporting industry such as electric glue wood, and opened a large number of family workshop style factories. Later, some people began to contemplate the transformation towards complete machine assembly and upgrading, and an industrial chain began to take shape.

In the 1990s, larger and more complex home appliance manufacturers flourished everywhere, covering various fields such as household appliances, kitchen utensils, beauty and hairdressing equipment, among which electric irons were one of the most representative categories.

The development from small family workshops to a complete industrial chain has accumulated a profound industrial foundation for the surrounding areas, which is the most profound experience for enterprises along the way.

"This year's order volume for electric irons is indeed beyond imagination, but it is reasonable." Liu Jianguo believes that winning overseas customers ultimately depends on the accumulation of industry reputation and foundation.

"All the supporting parts and equipment we need to produce electric irons can be found in Cixi and can be delivered within one hour," he said.

Behind a Cixi made electric iron is a complete industrial supply chain.

According to the statistics of the Cixi Commerce Department, there are dozens of enterprises producing electric iron products within a ten kilometer radius of Zhouxiang Town alone, and hundreds of supporting enterprises of all sizes. There are 2000 enterprises engaged in the production of complete household appliances and tens of thousands of supporting enterprises in the entire Cixi city, forming a complete supporting industrial chain of development, manufacturing, and sales.

"Product quality and a complete industrial chain are the confidence for us to go global." Chen Haojie said that Aijia Electric Appliances' export orders account for up to 80% this year. An important channel to stabilize old customers and attract new customers is to go abroad for exhibitions.

This year, they attended small home appliance exhibitions in Chicago and Berlin, as well as the Canton Fair for more than 20 years in a row. "Through exhibitions and face-to-face communication with old customers, we also allowed more customers to see our company, open up sales channels, and gain insight into the latest market demands," said Chen Haojie.

Cixi small household appliances, the path of innovation is getting wider and wider

Last year, the popularity of Cixi heaters is still vividly remembered, and this year this trend seems to have blown into the field of electric irons.

In Liu Jianguo's view, the growth of orders for electric irons is somewhat related to the increase in travel demand, and there is still growth prospects in the future. "Our company is planning to use the new factory for the production of household appliances separately, and within two years, we will increase the production capacity of electric irons to a scale of 5 million units per year."

However, even companies at the forefront of the market cannot predict what the next explosive trend will be.

"For enterprises, it is still necessary to capture consumer needs faster, continuously innovate in product design, and create more selling points," said Liu Jianguo.

Photo taken by Yu Liudong at the Huayu Electric Iron Product Exhibition Stand

"This electric iron with a touch screen and the ability to choose different modes based on clothing fabrics is a high-end product we sell to American customers, with sales exceeding 2 million US dollars." Lv Zongquan, the head of Aijia Electric's development center, told reporters that differentiated research and development should be carried out for different markets. For example, the domestic market mainly targets the needs of young users and tends to improve appearance. In terms of appearance Efforts have been made in color matching and ease of use, while foreign customers place greater emphasis on practicality.

"Although the technology of electric irons is relatively mature and there may not be many disruptive innovations, small innovations made in response to the latest consumer needs may also be able to make big selling points, such as intelligence," said Lv Zongquan.

Aijia Electric's new electric iron product developed for the domestic market, photographed by Yu Liudong

Since the beginning of this year, Cixi enterprises have presided over the formulation and revision of 7 national standards, and participated in the formulation and revision of 75 national standards, setting a new historical high. Among them, 2 Cixi small home appliance enterprises have presided over the formulation and revision of national standards.

"At present, small home appliance enterprises in Cixi have basically developed to a relatively mature stage in terms of technology and quality level, and are gradually creating independent brands from mainly OEM. Many enterprises have begun to seize the discourse power in the industry, leading the formulation of national standards and industry standards." said Ye Xiangyang, the head of the Quality Standards and Metrology Department of the Cixi Market Supervision Bureau.

The government of Cixi City is adopting various measures such as the "Brand Strong City" strategy to encourage local enterprises to create independent trademark brands, promote both domestic and international sales in the industry, and promote high-quality development in industries such as home appliances. At present, the transition from "OEM" to "OEM" has become a consensus for the development of small home appliance enterprises in Cixi.

"Having accumulated over 20 years of OEM experience and supporting resources, Huayu will definitely increase its cultivation and promotion of independent brands in the future, and gain more initiative in the fierce market competition. I believe this is also the common voice of small home appliance enterprises in Cixi." Liu Jianguo said