Gao Song and Shi Shaoqi reported from Linyi
"There are plates but no brand, sales but no status." This sentence has long been used by the outside world to describe Luozhuang's ceramic industry. In the huge ceramic territory, being known as the regional brand of Luozhuang Architectural Ceramics has always been the common desire and expectation of Luozhuang Architectural Ceramics practitioners. In sharp contrast to the trend of the building ceramics industry, Luozhuang daily-use porcelain has emerged in the industry.
Some of the artistic rock slabs produced by "Huamantian"
No brand relies on "OEM"
Enterprises become "OEM" factories
After more than 20 years, Li Jibao, vice chairman of the Luozhuang District CPPCC and chairman of the District Federation of Industry and Commerce, is still worried about Luozhuang Jiantao's failure to be selected into the top ten brands in the national industry selection. "Guangdong's lineup is very strong, covering almost all the top ten brands." Li Jibao said. In contrast, Luozhuang's "campaign" lacked scale and confidence. Although the product quality was almost the same, it failed in all aspects. The reason is that "they only focus on production and don't know how to look up at the brand." Unfortunately, that national selection almost established the current pattern of the ceramics industry, allowing Luozhuang's ceramics practitioners to "turn over." Weakness.
In fact, Luozhuang Jiantao was very capable in the industry at that time. At its peak, there were more than 100 ceramic enterprises above designated size. "In just two years, nearly 50 production lines can be built." Li Jibao said that expansion of this scale is rare nationwide.
But in those years, contrary to the rapid progress in the number of Luozhuang ceramics manufacturing enterprises, the number of production lines and the total production capacity, most Luozhuang ceramics entrepreneurs lacked the awareness of construction and brand building, and blindly pursued large production capacity and low prices. The business philosophy has enabled Luozhuang's architectural ceramics industry to embark on the road of replicating low-end products. Driven by this business philosophy, Luozhuang Jiantao found itself in an embarrassing situation in the national market.
Unconvinced, Li Jibao took the ceramic tiles produced by Luozhuang Enterprise to Beijing, where he bought several ceramic tiles of the same specifications produced in Guangdong, Zibo and other places for comparison by industry authorities. "From the outside, there is no difference between these tiles. But when I showed them to others, they said that if they were made in Foshan, they could be sold for 80 yuan, the ones in Zibo were worth 60 yuan, and the tiles in Luozhuang were not more than 40 yuan. ." Li Jibao, who wanted to argue with reason, deeply understood the importance of a brand to a production area.
Luozhuang, which has lost its brand initiative, frequently faces severe situations. "Obviously the quality is no worse than other production areas, but it is still labeled as 'poor brick'." Xu Haiyang, general manager of Shandong Huayu International Holdings Co., Ltd., mentioned that at that time, in order to increase sales and profits, many Luozhuang ceramics companies chose "OEM" Foshan turns the company into an "OEM""Factory.
Learning lessons from the construction ceramics industry, practitioners of Luozhuang daily ceramics have been working steadily and have attached great importance to the creation of their own brands from the early days of entrepreneurship. Especially Yinfeng Ceramics, since its establishment in 1957, has developed from a handicraft workshop with 57 people to a powerful enterprise with high-grade products, a full range of porcelain types, and strong strength in China's daily ceramics industry today. The brand "Yinfeng" also "flyed" out of Yimeng Mountain.
"Phoenix Nirvana"
Explore the Rise of Brands
Once the gap widens, it is not easy to make up for it.
When Luozhuang's ceramics market was booming, there were many ceramics companies, forming an agglomeration effect. Merchants across the country come and go to select goods, and the flow of people means business opportunities. Upstream and downstream supporting companies have set up factories in Luozhuang, making it an important production area. Xu Haiyang remembers that in the past, various production equipment maintenance manufacturers had offices in Luozhuang, providing 24-hour services. "Once there is an equipment failure, it will be resolved at the company within 20 minutes."
“Our sensitivity to brands lags behind, and we lack foresight for the development of the industry.” Some practitioners said that upon reflection, the development of the ceramics industry in Luozhuang around 2010 was already significantly slower than that in Foshan. At that time, China's architectural ceramics began to enter a period of industrial upgrading, from large to strong, and towards a new era of "resource-based, low-carbon, functional, and intelligent". In April 2011, Foshan City announced the completion of the transfer of the construction ceramics industry. Through clean production, energy audits and technological innovation, Foshan Ceramics has entered the stage of industrial upgrading. It was not until 2015 that this industrial upgrade was transmitted to Luozhuang in the form of "environmental protection pressure."
Nowadays, Luozhuang Jiantao, which has lost its production capacity advantage, is even more difficult to build its brand. However, these companies that have gone through great waves have not given up on brand building. "Entrepreneurs who came from township enterprises only focused on making money and missed the opportunity." Li Hongshan, general manager of Huamantian Art Ceramics Co., Ltd., once worked in a ceramics factory in Luozhuang. He is well aware of the situation in which those ceramics enterprises are located. Dilemma. After setting up his own factory, Li Hongshan was determined to put quality and brand first in the development of the enterprise. This decision enabled "Huamantian" to break through the sales radius limit on the art slate track, and sell its products nationwide with the help of live e-commerce and personalized customization. Li Jibao commented that Huamantian represents the new future of the Luozhuang architectural ceramics brand.
"The promotion of the brand is two-sided. The improvement of entrepreneurs' awareness and the government's long-term policy support are indispensable." Li Jibao said that the former Linyi (Luozhuang) Ceramics Association registered the "China·Linyi Ceramics" area The brand trademark has been approved by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. "The logo is a deformation of a phoenix. The combination of fire and phoenix represents the Phoenix Nirvana in the Luozhuang production area. Below is a section similar to the Great Wall, which is intended to build the Luozhuang production area into a ceramic Great Wall."
Li Jibao hopes to continue this regional brand. Although the local construction ceramics production capacity advantage is no longer there,The development of daily ceramics is still full of momentum. In 2022, the "Reply to Suggestions on Accelerating the Transformation and Upgrading of Traditional Industries in Our District" issued by the Luozhuang District Bureau of Industry and Information Technology specifically mentioned that it is necessary to strengthen technological innovation support for daily-use porcelain enterprises and reshape Shandong Luozhuang Ceramics brand.
“No matter which brand comes out of the circle, it represents the success of Luozhuang Ceramics’ regional brand.” Li Jibao said.
Extended reading: A fire was lit 4,500 years ago, and ancient pottery treasures were unearthed in Luozhuang
Gao Song and Shi Shaoqi reported from Linyi
Located in Baoquan Temple Park in Zhuchen Village, Luozhuang Street, an ancient kiln and porcelain site about 500 meters long from east to west and 400 meters wide from north to south is hidden in a quiet bush. The Su River meanders through it, and the faults carved out by it are scattered with porcelain pieces and kiln furniture such as bowls, pots, three-pronged nails, cylindrical supports, cushion cakes, and cushion plates.
In the Suhe River area south of Luozhuang, a treasure of ancient pottery, "eggshell black pottery", was also unearthed. The unearthed representative of the peak of Neolithic pottery technology proves that the production of Luozhuang ceramics in ancient times has reached a very high level.
As time goes by, the fire in the Luozhuang Ceramics kiln never goes out. At the Dawenkou Cultural Site in Wangsangang Community, Shengzhuang Street, various types of pottery such as gray sand pottery, red pottery, and black pottery have been unearthed. Huangtuyan Village, which originally belonged to Luozhuang District, still preserves many pottery built in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Ruins of ancient porcelain kilns.
Proximity to water sources, local materials and abundant fuel resources, Li Jibao summarized the three indispensable factors for the millennium development of Luozhuang Ceramics.
According to statistics, centered on Zhuchen, Huxiya and other places, there are dozens of ceramic raw materials such as Daqing gangue, burnt gemstone, purple clay, quartz powder, porcelain stone, clay, Daqing soil, yellow gangue, and yellow medicinal soil. Distributed in Luozhuang, coupled with underground coal resources with abundant reserves and wide distribution, laid a solid foundation for the development of Luozhuang ceramics.
Relevant research shows that by the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Luozhuang had formed a large-scale ceramic production center and sales distribution center with concentrated workshops. The rich black-glazed rough porcelain products such as jars, bowls, altars, basins and dishes are well-known in northern Jiangsu, southern Shandong, northern Anhui and other places, forming a "pottery market" where merchants gather.
The melting of mud and fire tempers the roots and soul of Luozhuang's development. Li Jibao, vice chairman of the Luozhuang District CPPCC and chairman of the District Federation of Industry and Commerce, believes that at that time, the land in Luozhuang was relatively barren and people were under great pressure to rely on the land for food. They turned to mineral resources and handicrafts mainly based on ceramics, which gradually became the Luozhuang industry. development basis.
From a traditional craft to becoming an industry that supports the development of a city, Luozhuang Ceramics has experienced not only the accumulation of time, but also the leap to seize every opportunity of the times.
In the 1950s, many small porcelain factories and porcelain societies were built in Luozhuang, forming a situation of "dotted with smoke in every village, and every workshop". Subsequently, the local area integrated these porcelain factories and porcelain societies, and established Linyi Ceramics in three directions: north, west and south.The first, second and third porcelain factories were established, and on this basis, the Linyi area porcelain factory was opened.
“At this stage, various factories have developed ceramic products that change from coarse to fine, and from black to white, and all use white coarse porcelain as the main product and white fine porcelain as the supplement to produce daily-use porcelain. Luozhuang Ceramics Industry has thus "Starting." Li Jibao believes that people in Luozhuang have skills and a sense of running a factory. Since the 1970s, local ceramic production has gradually changed from manual to semi-mechanized and mechanized production. There are many "social enterprises" and it has become a The predecessor of township enterprises.
After the reform and opening up, Luozhuang township enterprises ushered in opportunities for vigorous development. In 1985, Luozhuang founded the first private enterprise "Linyi Garden Art Ceramics Factory in Shandong Province". Its products include more than 400 designs and colors such as black pottery, purple sand, white porcelain, and kiln ceramics, covering more than a dozen varieties of art ceramics and daily ceramics. .
