Shandong's county promotes technological innovation

Dong'e county – located in East China's Shandong province – has moved to encourage local enterprises to promote scientific and technological innovation, in order to boost their industrial transformation and upgrading and raise their competitiveness.

Wang Weijian, chairman of Dong E E-Hua Medical Technology Co, said that for his company to becoming the global leader in the thermometer industry was no easy feat.

"Without continuous technological innovation, there would be no success for companies like E-Hua," Wang said.

The cutting-edge interior of a high-tech enterprise in Dong'e county. [Photo by Li Aiming for chinadaily.com.cn]

Established in 1987, initially Dong E E-Hua mainly produced mercury thermometers. However, a crisis emerged in 2013 when 87 countries, including China, signed the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

The agreement banned the production and imports and exports of mercury-containing products, starting in 2020.

Determined not to be defeated, Dong E E-Hua invested all its resources into technological innovation and successfully developed the gallium-indium-tin thermometer as a superior alternative to traditional mercury thermometers.

By breaking the technical monopoly of developed countries, the company's product is now exported to more than 20 countries and regions, once again leading the market.

Similarly, Shandong Dong E Steel Ball Group, which holds a 70 percent of market share in the high-end steel ball industry in China, faced challenges due to a lack of core technology.

It invested over 100 million yuan ($13.7 million) in research and development and its efforts paid off handsomely, as its products have filled the gap in China's high-end micro steel ball market and solved technical bottlenecks in the domestic bearings industry. (Edited by Jin Yongxue)