TheIliRiverValleyhasbecomeChina鈥檚largestlavenderplantingbase.THEIliRiverValleyofXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegionhasbecomeChina鈥檚largestlavenderplantingbasesincethe1960s,whentheplantwasfirstintroducedthere.Itsoutputranksaglobalsecond,outstrippingthatofHokkaidoinJapan.RelatedlavenderproductsarealsoacompetitivespecialtyindustryinIliKazakAutonomousPrefecture.
Onelocalcompanyspecializinginlavenderproductionandprocessingtookonlynineyearstoexpandfromasmallworkshopintoalargemodernenterprise.Itsoperationsincludelavenderplantationandproductresearchanddevelopment,productionandsales,culturalcreativity,andsightseeingtours.鈥淚nthismarket-orientederaofexcessproductioncapacity,entrepreneurialinnovationisoureternaltheme,鈥漟ounderandpresidentoftheIliPerillaBeautyBiotechnologyCo.,Ltd.,Ms.YangJianxinsaid.
DampSquibs
Thecompany鈥檚industryparkwasapprovedasanationalAAAscenicspotinNovember2015.Thescreenatitsentrancebearstheworld鈥檚largestmural,ofasinglelavenderplantswayinginthebreeze.Inhighsummer,itisthegate-waytoapurpleseaofflowerswaftinganintoxicatingfragrance.鈥淓verytransitionispainfulandriddledwithpitfalls,notatalllikethe鈥榓mazingtransformation鈥檖eopleimagine,鈥漵aidYang,whoseshorttrendyhairstylebefitsherroleasdynamicentrepreneuse.
YangoriginallyworkedinastateownedtanneryinIli.Itwastherethatshegainedexperienceinmanagement,supply,andmarketing.In2000,whenthecountryimplementedstate-ownedenterprisereform,manypoorlymanagedcompanieswentbankrupt,andlaid-offworkershadtofindtheirownwaysofscratchingaliving.Yang鈥檚factorywasonesuchcasualty.AfterbeinglaidoffandreceivingRMB27,000incompensation,Yangdecidedtostartabusinesswithherformercolleagues.
Duringtheensuingfouryears,sheopenedseveralstoressellinggoodsrangingfromfurcoatstosteamedbread,noneofwhichthrived.Poisedwiththenecessarycapitalandlaborforce,therightproductremainedelusive.
Then,inAugust2004,YangheardthroughthegrapevinethatIlihadbeenearmarkedasalavenderplantingbase.Aftercarryingoutmarketresearch,shewasinspiredbytheimmensedevelopmentpotentialofthisindustry,forwhichtheIliRiverValleypossessedidealdevelopmentconditions.ButstartinganewbusinesswithaproductthatneitherYangnorherfellowsknewanythingaboutwasadauntingprospect.Afterdeepconsideration,however,shedecidedtotaketheplungeintothelavenderindustry.
Relyingonherbusinessadministrationandmarketingexperience,Yangcompletedtheinitialtransitionstageandmadealong-termplan.Aftertwoyearsofresearch,sheincorporatedthecurrentcompanyintoascienceandtechnologyenterpriseengagedinlavenderresourcedevelopmentandutilization.
DependonTechnology
Astheboss,Yanginitiallyhadonlytwoemployees,andanofficeoflessthan100squaremeters.Thethreeofthemmanuallycarriedoutallthenecessaryprocedures,fromfulfillingformalitiestopurchasingrawmaterialstopackingandlabeling.Thankstothehighstandardofrawmaterialsandstringentqualitycontrol,Yang鈥檚productsgraduallygainedagoodreputation.Overtheyearthatfollowed,eventhoughthecompany鈥檚productionscalewasstillsmall,itformedanicheinIli鈥檚lavendermarket.
Butthequestionsofhowtobemorecompetitivebyproducingdistinctivegoodsremained.Yangwasalltooawarethatscientificandtechnologicalinnovationisthecoreofcorporatedevelopment.
In2009,thecompanycooperatedwithChinaAgriculturalUniversity(CAU)incarryingoutresearchandapplicationsoflavendersupercriticalcarbondioxidefluidextraction,technicalstudiesonspiceefficientutilization,andqualitycontrol.
Yangdiscoveredthatlocalspiceenterprisesextractedessentialoilsthroughwaterdistillation,amethodthatresultsinpoorproductquality,wastesresources,andfailstoexploitthefullvalueoflavender.ThenewtechniquejointlydevelopedwithCAUistheworld鈥檚mostadvancedextractionmethod,andwasfirstappliedinChina.
In2010,thecompanyjoinedhandswithXinjiangTechnicalInstituteofPhysicsandChemistryunderChineseAcademyofSciences.Thiscollaborationachievedtheproprietarytechnologymarketizationofsupercriticalcarbondioxideextraction,andalsolaunchedtherelatedproductproductionline.
Thetransformationofproprietarytechnologyandstrengtheningofprofessionalequipmentandpersonnelresultedinaconstantlyimprovedquality.Italsoexpandedtherangetoincludemorethan150essentialoilandskincareproducts.Yang鈥檚enterprisethusbecamethesoleoneofitskindqualifiedtomanufacturetheseitems.
Morethan100areondisplayinthecompanyexhibitionhall,wherecustomerscanalsoobtaininformationrelativetotheirspecificrequirements.Essentialmassagecreamisthelatestproducttohitthemarket.
Innovation
In2014,Yang鈥檚companyinvestedRMB100millioninbuildingacreativeindustryparkthatcovers25muofland,withafloorspaceof13,000squaremeters.Itisanindustrialchainoperationencompassingbaseconstruction,production,researchanddevelopment,marketing,andculturaltourism.HavingprogressedfromworkshopprocessingtoXinjiang鈥檚largeststandardGoodManufacturingPracticeproductiondepartment,thecompanyisaproudexemplaroftheprototypemoderncorporateimage.YanghasbeenselectedfortheNationalHigh-levelSpecialPersonnelSupportProgram,andreceivedtheScienceandTechnologyProgressAwardfromthegovernmentofIliKazakAutonomousPrefecture.
Atpresent,thecompanyhastwolavenderdeepprocessingandaromaticplantsresearchcenters,andowns32nationalpatents.Ithasneverceasedtechnologicaldevelopmentandupdating,andremainscommittedtodevelopinghigh-techproducts,accordingtoYang.
鈥淲ehaveestablishedXinjiang鈥檚firstlavenderentrepreneurialcenter,specializinginlavenderresourcedevelopmentandfeaturingagriculture,supportedbybiotechproductresearch,culturalcreativityinnovationprograms,aswellasInternetmarketing,鈥漎angsaid.
Inrecentyears,shehaslearnedfromotheradvancedenterpriseshowtoaccelerateenterprisetransformationandoptimizeenterprisestructure.Aftersixmonthsofpractice,employeemotivationhasbeengreatlyenhanced,andefficiencydoubled.
Asregardsfuturedevelopment,Yangdoesnotwantherproductstorelyoverlyonthetouristmarket.Shewouldrathertheybecomedaily-useitemsininnumerablehomes.鈥淚believethelavenderindustrywillenduretobecomeahighlightofIliknownthroughouttheworld,鈥漎angsaid.
YangJianxin,whomthegovernmentofIliKazakAutonomousPrefectureawardedtheScienceandTechnologyProgressAward.aproudexemplar
HavingprogressedfromworkshopprocessingtoXinjiang鈥檚largeststandardGoodManufacturingPracticeproductiondepartment,thecompanyisaproudexemplaroftheprototypemoderncorporateimage.