N Methods for Technological Innovation at Small and Medium-Sized Carton Plants

Technological innovation, as an important factor that keeps carton enterprises full of vitality and creativity at all times, plays a role that cannot be ignored in promoting the overall development of the whole enterprise and the technological progress of the entire industry. The prerequisite for an enterprise to win in competition is being able to provide material products or services that are better in quality and lower in price than those of competitors, which requires the enterprise to have solid technology. However, at present many carton production enterprises in China are weak in technological innovation capability. Continuous technological innovation is an important means for an enterprise to always possess advanced technology. An enterprise can, by formulating a technological innovation strategy, increasing investment in technological innovation and adjusting the organizational structure of existing technological innovation, including establishing an enterprise R&D center and strengthening coordination and exchange in the process of technological innovation, including establishing new-type

joint models with universities and research institutions at home and abroad, and so on, so that the enterprise always maintains its technological advantage.

However, owing to differences in capital, manpower and scale, large carton enterprises and small and medium-sized carton enterprises still differ greatly in their strategies for carrying out technological innovation. In regions with developed carton packaging, large enterprises, relying on their absolute strength in technology and capital, eliminate old equipment that has become obviously outdated and replace it with high-grade, high-speed and advanced new equipment, and the effect is nothing if not obvious. However, the small and medium-sized plants that account for the vast majority of China's carton industry lack the support of the abundant working capital of large carton plants and cannot carry out large-scale transformation of their own equipment

, but each small and medium-sized carton plant will also open up a path of its own and come up with various effective methods of technological innovation.

The technological transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises must proceed from reality and be considered in the light of each enterprise's own circumstances, with the aims of shortening the production cycle of products, improving product quality and raising the economic benefits of the enterprise, adopting suitable advanced technologies and changing the technological outlook of the enterprise. Efforts must be made to correctly combine technical rationality, economic effectiveness, operational applicability and production feasibility in carrying out technological transformation work.

In the process of technological transformation in small and medium-sized carton plants, technological transformation is generally carried out around such aspects as how to shorten the small and medium-sized cycle, improve economic benefits, improve product quality, improve technical quality and adjust the product structure. Because enterprise leaders have different understandings, enterprise systems differ and the environments in which they find themselves differ, the paths taken by each enterprise in technological transformation also differ: some are all-embracing, some open up their own paths, some strive for innovation, and some follow

, the following briefly introduces the various methods by which small and medium-sized enterprises carry out technological innovation.

Focus on the transformation of enterprise equipment

Generally, equipment transformation in technological innovation mainly includes the following two meanings: first, using advanced science and technology to improve the technical characteristics of existing equipment, such as performance and efficiency, including partial technical renewal and the addition of new technical structures, so that the existing equipment reaches the modern level in part or in whole and its role is brought into full play; second, the renewal of outdated equipment, replacing backward old equipment with advanced new equipment.

Principles to be followed by small and medium-sized enterprises in technological transformation:

Carry out transformation in a planned and focused way. One type is equipment that has exceeded its depreciation period and whose efficiency is lower than

%, the other type is equipment whose own design efficiency is low. Small and medium-sized carton plants should treat this

kind of situation as a key point for transformation. In production, only by adopting new technologies and new processes can the increase in the amount of materialized labor occupied be kept below the increase in the product growth rate.

Combine domestic production with introduction. It is beyond reproach to appropriately introduce advanced foreign equipment to fill gaps and drive China's technological development. But it must be moderate and not blind. At present, China imports a relatively large number of small and medium-sized equipment, whose production capacity has yet to be further brought into play, and there also exists the phenomenon of using high-grade equipment to print mid-range products. This reminds enterprise decision-makers that small and medium-sized equipment must follow the path of combining domestic production with introduction, and that while introducing new equipment they should pay attention to digesting and absorbing advanced production processes and technologies so as to form their own characteristics.

Generally, equipment transformation costs a large amount of funds, and the working capital of small and medium-sized carton plants is generally not very abundant, so the flow of funds should also be treated very prudently. Therefore, the preliminary feasibility study work for equipment transformation is indispensable. The performance, quality, applicability, maintenance, price, spare parts and sturdiness of the equipment all need careful investigation and demonstration, so as to ensure the implementation of the technological transformation and the repayment of loans.

When actually carrying out equipment transformation in small and medium-sized carton plants, the following important factors should be considered:

High efficiency. The production capacity of equipment in small and medium-sized carton plants depends on the power of the equipment, the output per unit of time and the working hours of the enterprise, and at the same time the actual production needs of the enterprise must be taken into account.

Reliability. Choosing equipment that runs reliably can reduce the occurrence of faults, ensure stable product quality and save maintenance costs.

Durability. The longer small and medium-sized equipment is used, the less the various costs apportioned to it. But the factor of technological progress must be taken into account.

Energy saving. Some small and medium-sized equipment, although high in speed, also consumes correspondingly large amounts of energy and materials, and attention should be paid to this during transformation.

Ease of maintenance. For small and medium-sized equipment that is easy to maintain, inspecting and replacing parts and components are both convenient. Therefore the workload and time for upkeep and repair are small and the cost is low.

Strong adaptability. Some equipment in small and medium-sized carton plants is high in speed and good in quality, but its structure is relatively complex and it imposes strict requirements on conditions such as raw materials, environment and process technology during use; this should be taken into account during transformation, and attention should be paid to adapting it to the actual conditions of the enterprise. This point deserves particular attention when introducing foreign equipment.

Completeness of sets. When transforming the equipment of small and medium-sized carton plants, attention should be paid to the problem of matching it with the original equipment, the preceding and following processes, and the main machine and auxiliary machines. If they do not match, capacity cannot be fully brought into play and waste will result economically.

Focus on the management of technological innovation

Technological innovation is a long-term strategic decision that affects the rise and fall of an enterprise and an important way to improve the economic benefits of the enterprise. In technological innovation, some small and medium-sized carton plants clearly pay more attention to managing the process of technological innovation.

First, small and medium-sized carton plants need to determine the direction of the enterprise's technological innovation, grasp the principal contradiction affecting the development of the enterprise and overcome the weak links that hinder a substantial improvement in the enterprise's production level.

Second, small and medium-sized carton plants should choose the optimal plan for technological innovation. At the same time, in addition to making a careful choice in determining technological innovation projects, more energy should be spent on comprehensive consideration and integrated analysis of all factors, striving to meet the standards of advanced technology, applicability, economic rationality and cost-effectiveness. In comparing plans, besides calculating the input-output benefits, the cost savings of different plans should also be calculated, and finally the best plan should be determined.

Next comes the implementation of the organization of technological innovation. Technological innovation is a complex task combining technology and economics, involving such aspects as funding sources, plan implementation, intelligence and data, design and trial production, and appraisal and acceptance, and it requires mutual cooperation and coordination among all links of the enterprise's manpower and material resources. Therefore, properly implementing the organization of technological transformation is a very important task.

After the project is determined, the following points should be noted: first, a team with a certain technical strength should be organized to carry out the construction, and the form of construction to be adopted should be determined according to the size and technical difficulty of the project. At the same time, an annual plan should be drawn up according to the project requirements, setting clear requirements for the various preparatory work, quality standards, technology, design, and acceptance and appraisal. Second, a working system headed by the technical plant manager and the chief engineer and suited to the needs of technological transformation work should be perfected, a strict responsibility system should be implemented, and corresponding reward and penalty systems should be formulated.

At the same time, the management of funds and materials should be strengthened: the funds and materials required by the project should be raised promptly through the planned channels, an economic responsibility system should be established, and budget and review should be strengthened so that earmarked funds are used for their designated purposes and accounted for separately. In addition to strengthening management in the above aspects, technological innovation also requires doing a good job of extending the results. First, raise employees' understanding of new technologies, oppose conservatism and encourage innovation; second, after the new technology is put into production, consolidate the results of technological transformation institutionally and organizationally; third, sum up experience and lessons so that technological transformation work keeps improving and the expected goals are achieved.

Focus on innovation in raw material management

Some small and medium-sized carton plants take improving product quality and developing new products as the focus of technological transformation. Quality is the lifeline of an enterprise, and any carton plant that needs long-term stable development must firmly grasp this lifeline without letting go. While carrying out technological innovation and transforming equipment, small and medium-sized carton plants should, in addition to paying attention to the quality of the equipment itself, not overlook the role of raw material management in improving the quality of the enterprise's products.

For example, when small and medium-sized carton plants transform printing equipment, it is not only mechanical precision that must be high; ink quality is also an important link in the printing process. The poor printing quality of many corrugated carton products is caused by ink quality not meeting standards. Dull ink cannot print vivid images, and using poor-quality, low-priced ink only causes greater waste.

Using base paper of reliable quality is also an important part of raw material management. The cost of base paper already accounts for most of the cost of the finished carton. Yet deliberately reducing the procurement cost of base paper in a carton plant will, to varying degrees, affect product quality. In this situation, researchers at small and medium-sized carton plants have put in hard work and devoted themselves to the research and application of low-grammage, high-strength corrugated board, which plays a certain role in improving product quality and reducing procurement costs.

Focus on cultivating innovative talent

The competition of the 21st century is a competition of product quality, but in the final analysis it is a competition for talent. Technological innovation in equipment is inseparable from the application of new processes. For many small and medium-sized carton plants, the performance of their equipment is almost on a par and the materials they use are also much the same, yet the quality of the products they produce differs markedly. This fully demonstrates the position of equipment operators in ensuring product quality. Talent cultivation must be periodic; small and medium-sized enterprises with forward-looking vision will accordingly formulate long-term talent cultivation plans, so that the development of the enterprise is full of momentum.

——This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-369995.html