Bamboo is renewable and highly malleable, making it an excellent environment- friendly material. Bamboo forks, spoons and other products are displayed all year round on the office desk of Chen Hongzhuan, chairman of the company, which carry his determination to transform from the plastic industry to the bamboo industry. 

 

Faced with the global trend of “plastic ban” and environmental protection, Chen Hongzhuan gave up his plastic products business that he had cultivated for many years in 2017, and returned to his hometown, Chenzhou. Relying on the local bamboo forest resources of more than 1.5 million mu (100,000 hectares), he began to develop the bamboo industry.

 

At the beginning of the transformation, Chen Hongzhuan was faced with the problems that traditional bamboo products easily get mouldy and need long processing cycles. 

 

He believes that it is necessary to improve product quality to win customers and the market for the long-term development of the company. 

 

“We spent five years and more than 3 million yuan on the research and development of equipment to solve its production process shortcomings, such as high cost, low utilization rate, and long-time processing cycles,” said Chen Hongzhuan. 

 

Over the years, he has shortened the production cycle from a few weeks to 3 days with his team through natural bamboo pollution-free treatment technology. The production quantity has also increased to 2 million units per day from 500,000 units. 

 

Nowadays, the company’s products have passed ISO9001 quality management system certification and BRC international food safety certification. It has become a supplier of airline meal boxes and customized tableware of high-end hotels, and a green brand of Chenzhou’s open economy.

 

 

 

As one of the earliest enterprises in China to explore “replacing plastic with bamboo” and deep processing of Nan bamboo, the company participated in the formulation of the first bamboo tableware standard in Hunan in 2023, making important contributions to advancing the standardized development of the bamboo tableware industry and improving product quality and safety levels, and promoting the standardization and internationalization of the bamboo industry.

 

Bamboo knives, forks, and spoons, which are mainly exported to the European and American markets, have become the “green partner” of airline meal boxes due to their lightweight and durability. Bamboo plastic composite materials combining bamboo fibers with bio-based plastics are used to manufacture biodegradable packaging materials to replace traditional plastics. 

 

Over a hundred kinds of bamboo products including bamboo trays, bamboo straws, bamboo packaging boxes are displayed in the exhibition hall of the company. 

 

In addition, the company has also developed bamboo cultural and creative products, explored a new model combining bamboo culture and ecological tourism, and extended the bamboo industry chain to the tertiary industry, adding green highlights to the construction of a comprehensive tourism demonstration area in Chenzhou.

 

 

 

In addition to technological innovation, the company has precisely laid out its market. In 2024, the company won overseas orders worth over 5 million dollars and sold its products to more than 30 countries through channels such as Alibaba International and cross-border e-commerce 9710. It won the first order through the cross-border e-commerce in Chenzhou, which has made “Hunan’s Bamboo” a benchmark for international green trade.

 

To ensure the supply of raw materials, the company has established multiple Nan bamboo cooperatives in Chenzhou, which has driven more than 5,000 local farmers to increase their income. 

 

“We plan to integrate 300,000 mu (20,000 hectares) of bamboo forests in the next three years to create a distribution center for bamboo knives, forks, and spoons,” said Chen Hongzhuan.

 

In order to solve the common industry challenges, including a single product structure and insufficient research and development investment, Chen Hongzhuan said that the company plans to establish a bamboo industry research institute with universities, focusing on key technologies such as bamboo modification and intelligent manufacturing. It aims to increase the added value of bamboo products by more than 30% and promote the high-end and intelligent development of the bamboo industry.

 

 

Chinese source: czxww