Anyang firm's new tech matches ambition

ZHENGZHOU - Matches may have been a daily necessity in the last century, but a match factory in Central China's Henan province has recaptured attention by selling its innovative new products internationally.

Fangzhou Matches Factory in the city of Anyang saw its matches exported to more than 20 countries and regions including Germany, France, Poland, and Italy, earning more than $700,000 last year.

However, the factory went through a difficult period as the whole match industry was in decline in the 1990s, said Zhao Changxin, founder and general manager of the factory.