Ruyi’s belief in science and technology
Jan 17, 2020 ｜ by CT
2019 is coming to an end. Looking back at the past year, many textile people find it extremely difficult. The internal and external markets are exceptionally sluggish, and the economic situation at home and abroad is extremely complicated. Many articles on Moments are detailing various types of negative news: for example, the collapse of private enterprises is coming on; the industrial upgrading is just self suggestion... No matter what the truth is, “the poor economic environment” seems to have become the consensus of every textile person in 2019.
However, the “poor economic environment” must not be an excuse for “inaction”. It is gratifying that in the downturn of the economy, many outstanding textile companies are able to withstand the pressure to set an example and actively respond in various ways. Recently, this reporter came to Ruyi Group and conducted an in-depth interview on its development in recent years. It was learned that Ruyi Group, as the number one comprehensive competitiveness company in China’s textile and apparel industry, has continued to develop steadily under the guidance of science and technology, internationalization, high-end and branding, especially the achievements in the field of scientific and technological innovation are remarkable.
As a global textile power, China is about to enter a new era of textile power. Scientific and technological innovation is the foundation and the driving force. On November 25, 2013, when General Secretary Xi Jinping inspected the Ruyi Group, he pointed out: “Enterprises are the main body of innovation, mastering first-class technology, and traditional industries can also become sunrise industries.” This is not only General Secretary Xi ‘s sincere advice for Ruyi, but also General Secretary Xi’s earnest expectations for the textile industry. November 25, 2019 is the sixth anniversary of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s inspection of Ruyi. Looking back over the past six years, Ruyi Group has not forgotten its original intention, kept in mind that it always puts technological innovation at the top of its corporate development strategy, breaking industry boundaries with the power of science and technology, representing China’s textile and apparel industry on the world stage, has won worldwide attention.
Ruyi Group is a technology and fashion industry group with the most complete and advanced textile and apparel industry chain in the global luxury goods industry; it has 4 listed companies in domestic A-shares, Japan’s Tokyo main board, Paris, France and Hong Kong; it has nearly 6,000 stores worldwide in more than 80 countries and regions, it has become one of the most influential Chinese companies in the global fashion industry. It is a unique role in the modern development history of the Chinese textile industry. Behind its achievements lies the humility that regards science and technology as faith and the firm original intention that as a textile and clothing enterprise to meet the people’s yearning for a better life. It is this rock-solid spiritual source that always supports Ruyi and can calmly cope with any difficulties. He does not give up, does not shrink, does not waver, because he knows that dreams and the other side are still on the road ...
“Stay persistent and upgrade” in Ruyi technology
——Deep cultivation of science and technology, design empowerment, Ruyi interpretation of textile change
Established in 1972, Ruyi Group has experienced 47 years of development and accumulation. Its technological achievements in the textile field have made it a world-renowned innovative technical textile enterprise, especially in terms of fabric technology and intelligent manufacturing.
As we all know, Ruyi started woolen textiles and is still the top enterprise in the field of woolen spinning in the world today. In 2009, “Ruyi Spinning” won the first prize of National Science and Technology Progress Award. This award established Ruyi’s unshakable position in the global spinning field, no one can surpass it so far. However, for Ruyi, “Ruyi Spinning” is not the end but the starting point. On this basis, Ruyi continues to pursue the standard of ultimate textile technology, inspiring Ruyi to continuously achieve various technological breakthroughs in the field of scientific and technological textiles.
On October 11, 2019, during Shanghai Fashion Week, The Woolmark Company and Ruyi Group’s fashion brand “Louis Man” jointly promoted innovative machine washable Merino wool blend business casual suits, breaking the stereotype of traditional suits. Machine washable suit? This is almost a subversive concept for consumers. It is a major research and development direction made by The Woolmark Company and Ruyi Group after studying the current socio-economic development trends and consumer upgrade trends. Unlike traditional suits that require careful dry cleaning and ironing, the new machine washable suit fabric uses ecological anti-shrink E-WOOL wool processing technology, combined with advanced technology to make the suit permanent set in hot and humid conditions, and maintain good dimensional stability after machine washing. It is easier to take care of while maintaining high-quality texture, and has anti-static and natural anti-wrinkle functions. This not only keeps pace with the times and the pragmatism currently being advocated by the younger generation, but also meets the high-speed development of business and social needs, and leads the suit market to undergo cross-era changes.
In recent years, relying on industrial advantages, Ruyi Group’s products focus on technological functionality, solve the pain points of consumers in the process of wearing, and have the best cost performance. From exclusive ranch to spinning, weaving and dyeing all the way to cutting, making and ironing, the highest level of quality is guaranteed from beginning to end.
As a global fashion industry group, Ruyi knows that technology is the foundation for product upgrades, but to gain market recognition and successfully commercialize technology, design is an important part. Recently, Department of Consumer Goods Industry of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced the list of the fourth batch of textile and apparel creative design pilot parks (platforms). A total of 16 creative design parks or platforms were shortlisted. Ruyi Holding Group and its Ruyi International Fashion Creative Design Platform are on the list and become the first textile and apparel company selected in Jining.
It is reported that since the establishment of the Ruyi International Fashion Creative Design Platform, many well-known designers at home and abroad have been settled in. At the same time, Ruyi Group has independently cultivated more than 10 outstanding textile and apparel designers through platform. Its new products won many textile creative design honors, such as Best Market Application Product, the first prize of Weierjia Cup, Best Color Application Award.
“Extending and leading” of Ruyi technology
——Layout of new fiber materials and intelligent production line, Ruyi’s wisdom and courage
Ruyi’s obsession with textile subversive technology is a gene flowing in his bones. Every Ruyi person is proud of its image of technological textiles. Driven by the ambition and vision of making the textile industry chain bigger and stronger, Ruyi has gradually extended its business sector in recent years, making remarkable achievements in the fields of new fiber materials and information network technology.
In January 2019, Ruyi completed the acquisition and delivery of the global new fiber material giant Lycra Group. Lycra Group is known as the crown jewel in the field of global new fiber materials. It has many high-end fiber brands, including the world-renowned high-end spandex LYCRA, special polyester COOLMAX series with cool function, THERMOLITE series with warm function, the main elastic T400, as well as special nylon SUPPLEX, TACTEL and other fiber brands. Lycra spandex fiber is the only brand in the high-end spandex field. The average selling price is 2 - 3 times that of ordinary spandex. It contributes more than 25% of the industry’s revenue with 11% of the industry’s output. It represents the most advanced and cutting-edge technology in the spandex field, exclusively occupy the entire market share in the high-end spandex field and have absolute industry voice. Ruyi’s completion of the acquisition of Lycra has a typical demonstration effect on driving the technological upgrading of China’s chemical fiber industry and mastering the right to speak the world.
New fiber materials are another important layout for Ruyi following the establishment of two complete industrial chains of wool spinning and cotton spinning, and its successful acquisition of Lycra’s control of new fiber materials technology can accelerate its use of Lycra’s strong R & D capabilities to expand its leading research and application in the field of new fiber material.
After Ruyi acquired Lycra, it immediately increased the construction of three national research centers of spinning engineering technology research center, industrial design center, and enterprise technology center, and promoted the integration of scientific research and development between the new materials research and development center and the five major scientific and technological research and development centers of the Lycra Group. For example, it has developed high-strength polyethylene fibers in cooperation with polymer materials of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which is the world’s top product for high-performance fibers. High-strength polyethylene fiber is currently recognized as one of the three most technologically advanced fibers in the world. It is as thin as paper and hard as steel. Its strength is 15 times that of steel, and it is 2 times higher than carbon fiber and aramid 1414. Bending performance and tensile fatigue performance are the strongest among the existing high-performance fibers, with outstanding impact resistance and cutting toughness, and are currently the main materials for the manufacture of body armor. Technology empowerment will once again help Ruyi develop into a world-class giant in the field of new fiber materials.
Extending the textile industry chain is a branch of Ruyi’s vision of becoming bigger and stronger based on textiles. As a manufacturing industry company, under the guidance of “Smart Manufacturing 2025”, Ruyi Group has also conducted many practical explorations around smart manufacturing. In recent years, every new project of Ruyi has been constructed in accordance with the world’s most advanced production line level, leading the era of intelligent manufacturing 4.0 in China’s textile industry. In response to the national “Belt and Road” initiative in Shandong, Ningxia, and Xinjiang, Ruyi has invested more than 30 billion yuan in the construction of industrial parks, introduced advanced global automation equipment, built intelligent manufacturing plants, IoT technology to develop intelligent manufacturing systems and intelligence manufacturing version 4.0, and created the world’s most advanced intelligent industrial chain from spinning, weaving, dyeing and printing, and clothing manufacturing, and realized “smart textiles” in the traditional textile and apparel industries, completing the conversion of new and old kinetic energy to realize the industry upgrade.
On March 30, 2017, Ruyi’s 800,000 spindles digital intelligent technology textile demonstration base project in Kashgar was put into production, all of which adopted international advanced digital intelligent spinning equipment. Xinjiang Tiansheng Textile acquired in North Xinjiang has been awarded the “China Xinjiang Hengtian Ruyi Digital Intelligent Spinning Base” by China Cotton Textile Association. At present, it has completed a total investment of 6.21 billion yuan and formed 500,000 spindles of spinning and yarn-dyed fabric and towel production capacity, with an annual output of 30 million meters of high-grade yarn-dyed fabrics and 3,000 tons of high-grade towels.
In Ningxia, Ruyi has built three industrial parks integrating science and technology innovation, intelligent manufacturing, and comprehensive bonded insurance, and has established China’s first digital intelligent technology spinning demonstration base. Among them, the Ningxia Ruyi Technology Fashion Industry Industrial City project, located in the Ningxia Ecological Textile Industry Demonstration Park in Helan County, Yinchuan City, is the first digital intelligent technology spinning demonstration base in China, which employs only 10 people for ten thousand spindles and improves work efficiency by 12 times.
In today’s complex and changing market situation, corporate transformation and upgrading can be described as coexisting opportunities and pressures. The entire industry is investing in scientific and technological innovation practices with greater enthusiasm and strength, relying on technological progress to solve problems, meet consumer demand and our own development needs, and shape the future competitiveness of the industry with high-quality development. Among them, intelligent manufacturing is a general direction that enterprises must work hard, and Ruyi Group has already taken the lead and completed the upgrade step by step.
“Development and cooperation” in Ruyi technology
——Integrate the industrial Internet, build a flexible supply chain, and embrace the information age to realize the conversion of old and new kinetic energy
If it is said that getting involved in new fiber materials and launching intelligent manufacturing projects is still a traditional expansion idea based on the textile industry, then the construction of the industrial Internet and flexible supply chain is a vivid portrayal of Ruyi’s embrace of information technology and the implementation of traditional industrial upgrading and transformation following the 5G era.
On September 6, Shandong Ruyi Wool Spinning Garment Group stood out from many competitors by virtue of its rich experience and perfect technical solutions, and successfully won the 2019 Industrial Internet Innovation and Development Project - Industrial Internet Logo Analysis Second Node (Apparel Industry Application Service Platform) Project.
At present, the industrial Internet, as a product of the deep integration of new-generation network information technology and manufacturing, is the key support for promoting the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, fostering new technologies, new formats, and new industries, and achieving high-quality development. In late May, in order to implement the industrial Internet innovation and development strategy in depth, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology conducted public bidding for the industrial Internet innovation and development project in 2019. Shandong Ruyi Wool Spinning Garment Group actively bids as a consortium with China Electronics Standardization Institute, Qingdao Haier Washing Appliance Co., Ltd., Qingdao Yunshangyu Clothing Technology Co., Ltd., and Qingdao Haida Xinxing Software Consulting Co., Ltd. In the end, Shandong Ruyi Group lived up to expectations. As the subject of bidding, it was successfully shortlisted in the Industrial Internet Logo Analysis Second Node (Apparel Industry Application Service Platform) Project, which is the fruit of the successful implementation of the country’s industrial Internet innovation and development strategy by Ruyi technology.
It is reported that through the analysis of the industrial Internet of Things identification, it is possible to generate a unique ID (Identification) for each piece of clothing, bind it with the clothing in the form of identification, and record the raw materials, technology, design, brand, quality inspection, marketing areas of clothing products, and other information content, to display trusted data information to consumers, and can use blockchain technology to achieve product authenticity identification, blockchain big data, logistics information tracking, QR code marketing and other functions. From the perspective of data application, it can connect with intelligent products, production equipment, enterprise workshops, group factories, etc. to achieve large-scale collection and data sharing, and data-based application analysis. From the perspective of data connectivity, group companies, industry companies, block economies, and ecological chains can connect upstream and downstream companies, horizontal industry companies, and form ecosystems or industry application platforms. From the perspective of functional applications, the identification analysis system can establish a full-lifecycle management system or quality traceability system for smart products from R & D design, manufacturing, logistics and transportation to aftermarket services, helping enterprises and consumers.
In addition to the industrial Internet, another path for Ruyi to embrace the new era is the construction of flexible supply chains. On October 12, Ruyi Group and the New Third Board company Shanghai Tiger 8 Network Technology Co., Ltd. launched in-depth industrial cooperation on the apparel supply chain system. Shanghai Tiger 8 Network Technology Co., Ltd. will become the exclusive partner of Ruyi Group in the e-commerce supply chain system. The two parties will set up a supply chain process exhibition center and ODM and OEM business reception center on the first floor of the headquarters of Shanghai Tiger 8 Group, relying on Ruyi Group’s world-leading clothing intelligence manufacturing capabilities and the complete industry chain capabilities of the textile industry, they will provide more domestic apparel brands with flexible supply chain services in the Internet era.
Shanghai Tiger 8 Network Technology Co., Ltd. is a fashion group that started as an e-commerce operator. It has established China’s e-commerce sales channel expansion and operation management for many international brands and first-tier Chinese brands. This company has been established for more than 6 years and the average age of employees is 29 years old company has repeatedly won the title of Alibaba’s gold medal operation service provider. After the listing of the New Third Board at the end of 2016, the company will gradually extend its business from pure agent operation business to providing brand companies with data technology research and development services and star online marketing services. In 2018, it won the New Third Board “Best New Retail Enterprise” and “High-tech Enterprise”.
With the rapid development of the Internet today, the design and production and sales networks of many brands have undergone tremendous changes, but the transformation and changes in the supply chain system have not been large enough. The supply chain system of the traditional offline brands that placed orders half a year in advance can not fully meet the characteristics of the rapid change and high timeliness of the Internet, As a result, many mid- to high-end brands online sales account for less than 10% of offline sales. Ruyi’s strong supply chain system is exactly the flexible supply chain system that the Chinese clothing industry has been seeking in the Internet era. Ruyi can meet the characteristics of brands of sku testing in the Internet era and strong and fast response capabilities. A sweater customer orders on the e-commerce, the daily sales of less than 2,000 pieces can be produced on the same day and sent away on the same day, which has fundamentally improved the inventory problem that has long been a problem in the apparel industry.
It is reported that the cooperation between the two parties, the market for all apparel brands sold in the Chinese market, providing them with flexible supply chain and intelligent manufacturing services, greatly enhancing the traditional apparel brands’ supply chain response capabilities, inventory control and management ability in the Internet era, Relying on Ruyi’s strong, advanced and complete supply chain system, coupled with the young and energetic Internet company Shanghai Tiger 8 Network Technology Co., Ltd., we believe that we can find an innovative way for the supply chain system of the apparel industry in the Internet era.
Sun Ruizhe, president of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, said: “Science and technology innovation is the fundamental driving force for the high-quality development of the textile and apparel industry, and the most important starting point and driving force for industry transformation and upgrading”. Ruyi seized the opportunity to lead a new revolution in the textile industry’s technological innovation and brand internationalization, becoming a textile ambassador for the Silk Road in the new era, and walking out of the development of fashion brands with Chinese characteristics. In the future, Ruyi will continue to carry forward the national mission and explore the road of building a textile power, and strive to become a world-renowned technology and fashion industry group.
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