Smart farm tech a boon for exports

The setback fundamentally changed Longfeng's strategy.

Today, the company invests between 5 percent and 10 percent of its annual revenue into research and development, while roughly 15 percent of its employees work in R&D. It has accumulated more than 100 patents, operates proprietary testing platforms and designs much of its own production equipment.

"It took us more than 30 years to go from three-bottom models to thirteen-bottom models, and from relying on imported components to mastering core technologies ourselves," said Chen Xuanda, the company's R&D manager.

Plows are becoming increasingly intelligent. Mechanical controls are gradually giving way to hydraulic systems, electronic controls and satellite navigation.

Longfeng's newest models can automatically adjust working width and detect obstacles, reducing the need for operators to repeatedly climb out of the tractor to make manual adjustments.

"In the future, machinery must not only be highly productive, but also smarter and more precise," Chen said.

Its first major overseas breakthrough came five years ago through exports to Russia, whose vast farmland created demand for large hydraulic plows.

"Customers care first about quality, then after-sales service, and only then about price," Chen said.

Today, overseas business contributes roughly one-quarter of Longfeng's revenue, and the company hopes eventually to raise that figure to between 50 percent and 60 percent.

Different regions require different products. Smaller machines are shipped to Southeast Asia, where farmland is relatively fragmented. Russia and other large-scale agricultural markets purchase customized 12-bottom and 13-bottom plows designed for industrial farming.

For Hai, exporting machinery is only the beginning.

"To truly succeed internationally, you need localized sales and service networks," he said. "That's what we're building now."