Andy Taylor, CEO of the UK-based Wides Group: Investing here was the perfect decision!

“Here”—where exactly? Dongying Economic Development Zone, where the moment has arrived for key projects to begin production.

Driving signed projects forward with top-notch service to ensure early construction, early production, and early results.

The Widis Pipe and Valve Manufacturing Project was successfully established in the Dongying Economic Development Zone with the precise support of Guchuan Lianxing. The total investment amounts to 100 million yuan, including 2 million USD in foreign capital.

To jointly build a new hub for industrial development, Guchuan United, acting as an external consultant for investment promotion, has also assisted the new materials enterprise—MID (China) Composite Materials Group—in establishing a deep-rooted presence within the Economic Development Zone.

With a total investment of 1 billion yuan, including 65 million yuan in foreign capital, the project is helping Dongying Economic Development Zone realize its “aviation dream.”

Annual production capacity of 120,000 cubic meters

Integrating into the “Aviation Circle”

As early as 2016, the “theme” of the transformation of old and new growth drivers resonated passionately across the fertile soil of Dongying, and Guchuan United signed an investment promotion cooperation agreement with the Dongying Economic Development Zone.

Throughout the partnership, Guichuan United, aligning with the park’s industrial positioning and focusing on key sectors, introduced major projects characterized by high technological content, strong industrial relevance, and significant economic returns upon full production—Meade being a prime example.

In 2018, the Meade project settled in the Dongying Economic and Technological Development Zone with a total investment of 1 billion yuan, injecting new momentum into the region’s development.

Meade (China) Composite Materials Co., Ltd. is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the U.S.-based Meade Group, with years of experience serving clients in sectors such as aerospace and wind turbine blades. Following the successful R&D of new products, the company urgently needed to commence production and operations.

Upon learning of the company’s site selection process, GuChuan United promptly engaged in comprehensive discussions with the enterprise to promote the target park, tailored to the project’s specific needs. Simultaneously, leveraging the presence of upstream and downstream suppliers as a key attraction, the firm precisely matched the company with the Dongying Economic and Technological Development Zone and facilitated mutual site visits and inspections.

In terms of the project sector, the park possesses unique advantages. The Development Zone has designated the aerospace industry as a key future sector for development, with COMAC Group leading the way in attracting a large number of enterprises to settle there. This is a favorable factor for Meade, a company with an aerospace background, and the park’s relatively well-developed industrial chain aligns perfectly with Meade’s requirements for industrial support.

Furthermore, a series of preferential policies—including the “Preferential Policies for Manufacturing Investment Promotion in Dongying Economic and Technological Development Zone (Trial)” and the “Several Policy Measures for Expanding Opening-up and Accelerating Foreign Investment Utilization in Dongying Economic and Technological Development Zone”—provide support to Meide in areas such as fiscal assistance, financial support, tax and fee incentives, and land allocation guarantees.

It is understood that Meide began preparations for the construction of its new factory in 2018. The project site is located in the High-End Equipment Manufacturing Industrial Park of the Dongying Economic and Technological Development Zone, covering an area of 100 mu, with a total of four PET production lines. Among these, the new PET core material has been fully put into production, with an annual output of 120,000 cubic meters.

This material is used as a core filler in wind turbine blades, replacing the PVC and balsa wood traditionally used. It has been adopted by leading enterprises in the wind power sector, including Sinoma Science & Technology, Vestas, and Mingyang Wind Power.

In addition, the fire-resistant resin developed by Meade (China) is widely used in projects such as electric buses and high-speed rail. Through years of relentless effort, Meade has established long-term, stable cooperative relationships with numerous large domestic and international enterprises.

Production pipelines could circle the Earth eight times

"Filling" an Industry Gap

Since partnering with the Dongying Economic Development Zone, Guichuan Lianxing has been dedicated to the targeted introduction of the park’s leading industries.

To promote regional economic development and foster energy-saving and emission-reduction industries, in August 2021, Guichuan United facilitated the establishment of the UK-based Vistal Group Holdings Limited in the Dongying Economic Development Zone. The total investment amounts to 100 million yuan, including 2 million USD in foreign capital.

Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Derbyshire, UK, Wides Group Holdings Limited is one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of plastic piping systems and one of the most specialized valve integrators in Europe. With over 30 years of practical application experience in Europe, the company has successfully installed 185,000 km of flexible, reinforced, insulated pipelines.

To date, it has become an international market leader in pipeline engineering for the gas, oil, water, district heating, and telecommunications industries.

The project partner has 50 years of pipeline experience, sells over 3 million electrofusion fittings annually, and produces enough pipe to circle the Earth eight times.

Currently, domestic plastic pipe manufacturers are mainly concentrated in coastal and economically developed regions, with the combined production of Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Shandong provinces accounting for more than one-third of the national total.

However, due to the low technical and capital barriers to entry in the plastic pipe industry, there are numerous small and medium-sized manufacturers, resulting in a market dominated by low-end products and low industry concentration.

The successful launch of Weidis has filled a gap in the industrial landscape of the park and plays a crucial role in the strategic layout of fostering local industrial clusters and establishing an industrial base.

To provide comprehensive, high-quality services for enterprise development, the Dongying Economic Development Zone has emphasized a “tailor-made” approach to factory facilities, pioneering a new model of “customization.” This involves offering enterprises customized, personalized, and high-quality one-stop spatial solutions, effectively addressing the demand for high-standard manufacturing facilities and providing “move-in-ready” factories and supporting infrastructure for incoming enterprises.

Meanwhile, Shandong has established a relatively robust cluster of plastic pipe manufacturers. Companies such as Shandong Tongjia Machinery Co., Ltd.—one of China’s largest specialized manufacturers of plastic machinery—and Shandong Nanshan HVAC New Materials Co., Ltd. have all set up operations within the province.

Recently, Andy Taylor, CEO of Weidis, stated that the development zone possesses robust economic vitality, strong regional driving capabilities, and significant market potential. Weidis Group will fully leverage its technological, resource, and innovation advantages to continuously explore new areas of cooperation with the development zone on the basis of existing strong partnerships. The company aims to innovate cooperation models, expand domestic and international markets, promote the large-scale development of industries such as plastic pipe and valve integrated manufacturing, extend the industrial chain, increase the scale of cooperation, and jointly drive win-win development.

Annual production capacity of 1 million steel drums

Focusing on "Smart" Packaging Manufacturing

Now, as the hum of machinery grows louder, workers are busily going about their tasks in an orderly fashion.

One can see steel plates moving along the machine rollers to various processing stations: seam welding, flanging, ribbing, corrugation, forming, painting, drying, and screen printing—all completed in one seamless process—as they are transformed into 210-liter steel drums.

Located within the New Materials Industrial Park of the Dongying Economic and Technological Development Zone, Dongying Datian Packaging Co., Ltd. officially commenced production in October 2021. From contract signing to production launch in less than a year, the project settled into the park in December 2020 with the precise support of GuChuan United.

The project was invested in and constructed by Datian Packaging Group, with a total investment of 70 million yuan and an annual production capacity of 1 million steel drums.

For over 40 years since its establishment, the company has focused on the steel drum packaging sector, building on a solid foundation and driving innovation to provide a full range of professional packaging manufacturing services for industries such as petrochemicals, coatings, food, and beverages.

The company operates production bases in more than ten cities and regions both domestically and internationally, including the United States, Malaysia, Tianjin, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Hebei, Liaoning, and Shandong, establishing itself as a benchmark enterprise in the steel drum packaging industry.

Undoubtedly, the development zone’s solid industrial foundation and promising prospects will drive robust demand for industrial packaging, particularly in the petrochemical sector, where the outlook is vast and full of potential.

The commencement of operations at Datian Packaging has enriched the park’s smart manufacturing resources, promoted industrial clustering within the development zone, continuously strengthened its momentum and vitality, and sustained high-quality development.

6,000-square-meter factory

Estimated annual tax contribution of 5 million

Last August, inside the factory of Shandong Hanjing New Materials Technology Co., Ltd., staff were making final preparations for the project’s launch as the hum of machinery gradually filled the air.

The project primarily produces fiberglass composite products for wind turbine blades and is a key link in the offshore wind power equipment industry chain.

Two months prior to the groundbreaking, Guchuan United conducted multiple on-site surveys of the Dongying Economic Development Zone, thoroughly analyzing the park’s layout and industrial planning. They successfully facilitated the establishment of Hanjing New Materials in the park, with a total investment of 50 million yuan and an estimated annual tax contribution of 5 million yuan.

Under GuChuan United’s efficient service, and with a focus on mutual benefit for both the government and the enterprise, the firm quickly and precisely aligned the park’s investment promotion needs with the company’s specific requirements. For issues and obstacles encountered during the process, they provided effective solutions and recommendations, facilitating communication between the enterprise and the government.

Over the course of just over a month, from the initial invitation to the project signing, the government and the company demonstrated remarkable speed and efficiency. This success was made possible by GuChuan United’s high-efficiency investment promotion and professional site selection capabilities, as well as the development zone leadership’s sincere commitment to serving investors with integrity.

Consistently adhering to the principle of “establishing the main equipment industry to drive the development of supporting industries,” the development zone has leveraged the establishment of leading enterprise projects to attract the clustering of upstream and downstream enterprises along the industrial chain.

With offshore wind power entering a high-potential growth track, the arrival of various industries—including fiber, blades, wind turbine generators, and towers—has gradually completed the Development Zone’s full offshore wind power equipment industrial chain.

In addition, local enterprises such as Kunyu Power, CRRC Zhaoyuan, and Wanda Submarine Cables have been encouraged to actively integrate into the offshore wind power equipment industrial chain. The powerful appeal of this “chain effect” has led to the continuous expansion of the Development Zone’s offshore wind power equipment industry “network.”

Why did these projects choose to locate in the Development Zone? Primarily because of the high concentration of upstream and downstream enterprises within the zone’s industrial cluster. This allows products to be transported from the factory to downstream enterprises within half an hour, significantly reducing costs and improving efficiency.

Adhering to the philosophy of attracting investment and gathering businesses through “chains,” the Dongying Economic Development Zone has drawn key enterprises along the industrial chain to establish operations there, thereby attracting more “chain” enterprises to follow suit and leveraging the multiplier effect of project concentration, enterprise aggregation, and industrial clustering.