Longwan Valve Industry Achieves Growth Against Market Headwinds

Longwan valve industry boasts a complete supporting industrial chain, prominent regional cluster advantages, and strong market competitiveness. However, amid a complex and challenging international landscape and sustained domestic economic downward pressure, the local valve sector has actively risen to challenges. Leveraging decades of accumulated technical expertise, enterprises have accelerated new product R&D while expanding domestic and overseas markets, maintaining resilient growth against industry headwinds. According to incomplete statistics, in the first three quarters of this year, above-scale valve manufacturers in Longwan achieved a total industrial output value of 3.208 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 21.9%, ranking first among all local industries.

New Vitality Driven by Transformation & Upgrading

Longwan’s valve sector has long been plagued by the issues of small scale, scattered layout, and low-end positioning. Most enterprises lack independent innovation capacity, while a flood of low-value, homogeneous products have squeezed already thin profit margins.

As Liu Yongzhi, senior engineer at small and micro enterprise Keke Valve Industry Co., Ltd., put it:

“Market competition is extremely fierce, and profits from manufacturing ordinary standard valves are quite low. Under such circumstances, we have no choice but to develop high value-added products — which requires full industrial transformation.”

Facing intense market pressure, Keke Valve invests 17% of its annual revenue in technical R&D, continuously achieving breakthroughs in cutting-edge valve design and manufacturing technology, and now holds more than 20 new utility and design patents.

Local enterprises have also invested heavily to upgrade manufacturing capacity and product quality, with a sharp focus on technological innovation. Guided by the philosophy of “learning from advanced peers, identifying gaps, building brands, and setting industry benchmarks”, the industry has strengthened cross-enterprise exchanges to drive technical progress and industrial upgrading.

- On April 18 this year, the industry association organized 32 directors for an industrial inspection trip to Vietnam

- On July 24, it arranged a delegation of 30 members for a study tour in Cambodia

These visits have not only strengthened internal industry cohesion, but also provided strong technical support for sector-wide transformation. As Yang Liancheng, Chairman of Longwan District Valve Industry Association, noted, the association also established a dedicated talent workstation for the local valve industry this year.

Building a Distinctive Brand Culture

Located in Wenzhou Airport New Area, Weiduli Valve Co., Ltd. specializes in titanium-nickel-zirconium alloy valves, with an annual output value exceeding 200 million yuan. As a 20-year-old veteran valve manufacturer, Weiduli recognized early on the critical role of branding for long-term survival.

“Every valve enterprise must build its own unique positioning — just as Wuzhou excels in piping systems and Jiangnan leads in large butterfly valves. Blind market imitation will only trigger vicious price competition.” said company Chairman Xia Chengrui.

The company insists on independent branding rather than OEM manufacturing:

“Even though our niche segment occupies a relatively small overall industry share, we command around 70% of this specialized market. Our goal is to make customers instantly associate Weiduli with titanium-nickel-zirconium alloy valves, and vice versa — brand culture is absolutely vital.”

Weiduli Valve assembled a 20+ member team to build a dedicated special valve R&D center, securing more than 40 utility patents and 22 invention patents after years of independent development.

“To seize industry leadership, valve enterprises need both hard strength and soft power. Last year we invested 5 million yuan in R&D, followed by 6.5 million yuan this year, building our brand reputation with solid technology.”

The company has expanded its factory space from an original 2,000+ square meters to 38,000 square meters, equipped with control & regulation test benches, deep-well high-pressure gas testing facilities and dust-free workshops. It has also upgraded operational management with the on-site intelligent WES management system.

Butterfly Transformation: Going Global with International Standards

Founded in 1988, Enis Valve Co., Ltd. has grown steadily over 31 years, with its mid-to-high end stainless steel valve products exported to Europe, Australia and other overseas regions.

“Our export business accounts for over 50% of total revenue, and we have also set up a dedicated sales subsidiary in the United States,” said Huang Guangwen, the company’s General Manager. He added that the company attends the world’s leading valve exhibition in Germany every two years.

What gives the company the confidence to compete on the global stage?

“Our products deliver premium European and American-level quality, yet our prices are far more competitive — truly high quality at an affordable cost.” Huang also shared that their in-house R&D team has secured more than 70 patents in total, and the enterprise has been recognized as a Wenzhou Municipal Patent Demonstration Enterprise, further strengthening their confidence to expand globally.

Similarly, Wang Chengdong, Sales Director of Zhejiang Petrochemical Valve Co., Ltd., stated:

“Our strategy is to drive overall sales growth through exports. High-end precision machine tool manufactured products are primarily made for overseas markets. A few years ago, we supported a large state-owned enterprise’s natural gas project in Kazakhstan, and this single project alone generated over 20 million yuan in valve product exports.”

According to Yang Liancheng, the Longwan Valve Industry Association actively organizes delegations to domestic and international professional trade fairs to help enterprises expand sales channels. As a benchmark for China’s valve manufacturing sector, over 10 local companies jointly participate in major exhibitions every time to build and promote the regional industrial brand.

This year, the Longwan District government has launched special incentives to encourage local enterprises to develop the Russian market. Companies attending Russian industry exhibitions enjoy full subsidies for overseas booth costs, plus additional allowances for staff travel and logistics expenses.

(Report by Reporter Wang Ce)