Lumber sector helps revitalize Shandong town

A town in Chengwu county of Heze, East China's Shandong province, has entered the fast lane towards rural vitalization by further improving the industrial chain centered on its lumber business. 

Sunsi town boasts about 1,000 lumber spinning machines and is home to a group of processing enterprises with products that range from furniture to paper, announced Huang Zhen, head of the town.

Some industrial companies have adopted a family workshop-style production process, while others have production lines. Since the local poplar trees cannot meet the rising demand, a group of individuals and enterprise representatives began to engage in the trade of raw materials.

"Our village has always had a tradition of planting poplar trees, and many locals were originally engaged in wood trade. In 1997, several villagers with good business sense worked out a plan to buy their own equipment for production and processing," said Zhang Fenglei, Party chief of Zhouzhuang village.

The village is one of the birthplaces of the wood processing industry in Sunsi town. Over 70 percent of its residents are engage in the lumber industry.

The town's lumber industrial chain has created more than 10,000 jobs, while its annual output value totals at about 2.2 billion yuan ($319.8 million).

The town will continue to further improve its infrastructure facilities and explore more business opportunities for the lumber industry, so as to increase employment, expand income sources, and promote economic growth, said Tian Changqing, the town's Party chief. (Edited by Xue Xinyi)