In 1935, China produced the first pencil, "Zhonghua Brand", English name: Chunghwa
China's pencil manufacturing factory was born in the 1930s. In 1932, the pencil factory run by British businessmen in Kowloon, Hong Kong was converted into the Dahua Pencil Factory with Chinese investment. It was the first pencil factory in China. In 1933, the Beijing China Pencil Company and the Shanghai Huawen Pencil Factory appeared one after another. Neither of these two factories was a full-scale manufacturer. And due to backward production technology, they have not been able to develop.
In 1933, Wu Genmei returned to China from Japan. Full of ideals of saving the country through industry, he initiated the raising of funds to build a pencil factory. He shouted loudly in the art of the scene: "Pencils occupy an important position in various stationery items and are closely related to primary school students. Checking the customs trade report, the number of pencils imported into our country last year (1932) amounted to 1.5 million gold units. Just a pencil This is what we are wary of, and why we feel the need to establish this kind of industry as soon as possible." "Although our country's only Tai Hwa Pencil Factory has been established in Kowloon, it is not enough to maintain this factory and boycott foreign goods. There is a great need to promote this kind of industry." Wu Genmei, together with several like-minded people such as Zhang Weishi and Guo Zichun, struggled to raise 50,000 yuan in funds and resolutely solved the problems of factories, technical equipment, raw materials, etc., and established China's first factory in Shanghai in 1935. An all-purpose pencil manufacturing factory that can manufacture lead, pencil board, pen holder and appearance processing by itself.
In old China, domestic pencils had to compete with foreign pencils and squeeze into the market, which was very difficult. Wu Genmei did not shrink back or be discouraged. In line with the anti-Japanese patriotic sentiments of the people at that time, a widespread trend of promoting domestic products was set off across the country. , named the factory "China Standard Domestic Pencil Factory Co., Ltd." (In 1942, the company was reorganized and renamed "China Standard Pencil Factory Co., Ltd.", referred to as "China Lead Company"). It claims that the factory's products are made by "Chinese technicians, Chinese raw materials, and Chinese capital." At the same time, the words "Chinese people use Chinese pencils" are printed on the pencils to stimulate the patriotic enthusiasm of compatriots and encourage Chinese people to use domestic pencils. With the support of the patriotic enthusiasm of the Chinese people, the products of the China Standard Domestic Pencil Factory gradually squeezed into the pencil market dominated by foreign pencils and gained a place. Later, after many efforts, the pencils were placed on the stationery counters of the three famous department stores, Yong'an, Xianshi, and Daxin, on Nanjing Road, the most prosperous street in Shanghai. This increased the product's value and popularity, established product credibility, and sales continued to increase. Not only has it gained a firm foothold in the Shanghai market, but it has also gradually expanded its sales area. Products are also found in remote areas such as Yunnan, Shaanxi, Xinjiang, and Southeast Asia (Southeast Asia), Thailand, and other regions.
In 1937, turbulence broke out at home and abroad. During the "July 7" Incident, Japanese imperialism launched a large-scale invasion of our country. The war soon spread to Shanghai, and the "August 7th Incident" broke out, where the Chinese military and civilians rose up to resist the Japanese aggression. During the "13" Songhu Anti-Japanese War, the pencil factory was located on the national border and fell under artillery fire and was forced to stop work. In order to prevent the company he had worked so hard to create from falling to his rivals, Wu Genmei, with the approval and support of his employees, responded to the National Government's Ministry of Economic Affairs' call for factory relocation and decided to demolish all factories to the rear of the mainland. The factory workers went all out under the threat of enemy artillery fire and moved to Wuhan for the first time. In 1938, he moved to Yichang. In 1939, when the company moved to Chongqing for the third time, the current in the Sichuan River was turbulent. The civilian ship carrying the machinery was in danger, and two-tenths of the equipment sank at the bottom of the river. After three moves, hardships and dangers, the pencil factory was finally established in Chongqing and became the only pencil factory in the rear area. While in Chongqing, the factory was bombed twice by Japanese planes, destroying workshops and warehouses and causing heavy losses. Under the power of the enemy, all the workers in the factory did not grovel or give in. They worked hard to make repairs, persisted in production, and shouldered the responsibilities of the only pencil factory in the rear area. During the eight years of the Anti-Japanese War, 51.414 million pencils made entirely of domestic products were manufactured and sold throughout the rear areas, alleviating the urgent need for cultural and writing supplies in the rear areas. At the same time, the affiliated China Standard Sawmill produced a large number of military wooden boxes that were urgently needed on the anti-enemy front lines, and the affiliated Zhonghe Chemical Factory produced a large number of chemical products needed for the military industry, doing its best to directly support the cause of the Anti-Japanese War.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, Wu Genmei returned to Shanghai to prepare for the resumption of the factory. In the first half of 1946, it was completed and started production. It was the first batch of Shanghai relocation factories to return to Shanghai from Chongqing to resume factory. one of the enterprises.
In the early days of the resumption of the factory, it faced the serious threat of large-scale dumping of American pencils and fierce competition from two powerful rivals, the Great Wall Pencil Factory and the Shanghai Pencil Factory, which were originally located in Shanghai. As a result, the production and operation of the factory fell into very difficult times. situation. In 1948, there was social unrest, inflation, and prices soaring indefinitely. After selling finished products, the factory could no longer replenish raw materials, so it had to drink poison to quench its thirst and take loans at high interest rates to maintain production, forming a vicious circle. The debt became increasingly heavy, and it was difficult to make ends meet. By 1949, the factory was in a state of semi-stop operation. The factory workers endured many hardships, endured pain and suffering, fought tenaciously, and finally preserved the factory intact, laying the foundation for the development of the pencil industry after the founding of New China.
When the rooster sang, the world was white. Shortly after the liberation of Shanghai in May 1949, China Lead Company, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the People's Government, made every effort to develop the pencil industry in New China. In September 1949, we actively responded to the call of the People's Government and invested in a set of pencil manufacturing equipment with a monthly production capacity of 20,000 ro and established a joint venture with the "Public-Private Partnership Harbin Enterprise Company" of Heilongjiang Province to establish the "Public-Private Partnership Harbin China Standard Pencil Company". This was the first joint venture between a private enterprise and a public-private partnership from outside Shanghai to build a factory. It caused a sensation in Shanghai at the time, and was reported specifically by Shanghai Business Daily. Harbin China Standard Pencil Company is still one of the largest enterprises in the national pencil industry.
In July 1950, China Lead Company was officially approved as a public-private partnership by the Financial and Economic Committee of the State Administration Council, becoming the first public-private partnership in the Shanghai light industry system. From then on, the company entered a new period of development and began a new journey.
After the joint venture, the socialist consciousness of the employees has been significantly improved. Seeing that the country has begun large-scale economic construction, the demand for drawing pencils used for engineering design and drawing has greatly increased, but China has never had complete specifications. Domestic drawing pencils are of excellent quality, so imported products such as expensive American “Venus” brand drawing pencils are widely used. The employees were excited and determined to change this situation and trial-produce high-quality drawing pencils. After hundreds of tests - improvements - tests again - improvements again, a high-quality "Zhonghua" brand 101 drawing pencil with complete specifications was finally produced in March 1954. After being launched on the market, it was well received by consumers, and drawing pencils from the United States, Germany, Japan and other countries disappeared from the Chinese market. The "Zhonghua" brand 101 drawing pencil is the only product in China that can compete with foreign drawing pencils and is unmatched by domestic products. It has epoch-making significance in the history of China's pencil industry.
In October 1954, the Shanghai Pencil Industry Joint Venture merged, and China Lead Company was renamed "Public-Private Partnership China Pencil Company No. 1". In June 1955, it was renamed "Public-Private Joint Venture China No. 1 Pencil Factory" (referred to as China No. 1 Pencil Factory). In January 1956, the state merged the “public-private joint venture China Pencil Factory No. 3” (originally the Great Wall Pencil Factory founded in 1937) into the China Lead Factory No. 1. Later, it was merged into "Wuhua Hardware and Stationery Manufacturing Factory" and 8 small owner units. Through industry reorganization, the scale of enterprises has been expanded, and the production economy has achieved unprecedented development. Output value and output increased exponentially. The total industrial output value in 1957 (calculated at constant prices in 1957) was 4.527 million yuan, an increase of 2.2 times in 1950; the output of pencils was 121.8898 million pieces, an increase of 2.18 times. The scale of the enterprise expanded exponentially. In 1957, the fixed assets (original value) were 828,000 yuan, an increase of 3.55 times over 1950; the number of employees was 691, an increase of 306 over 1950. The enterprise suffered losses before the joint venture. In March 1950, the total corporate liabilities reached RMB 4.5 billion, and capital turnover was extremely difficult. After the partnership, the debts were gradually paid off and losses were turned into profits. In 1957, the total profit and tax amounted to 1.639 million yuan, and the profit was 1.407 million yuan.
From 1958 to 1965, various political movements and mass movements were carried out in successive years, which to a certain extent disrupted enterprise management and production order.
Product quality fluctuates, and economic benefits fluctuate, which affects the company's development momentum. However, the overall production economy is still growing. Comparison of main economic indicators in 1965 with 1957: total industrial output value (calculated at constant prices in 1957) was 13.162 million yuan, an increase of 1.9 times; pencil output was 322.7753 million pieces, an increase of 1.64 times; total profits and taxes were 5.803 million yuan, an increase of 2.5 times; fixed Assets (original value) are 1.957 million yuan, an increase of 1.36 times.
During this period, two remarkable results were also achieved: First, starting from the mid-1950s, mass technological innovation and technological revolution movements were continued, and technical equipment was introduced from abroad to renovate old equipment and processes. carried out comprehensive reform and transformation. In 1956, the reform adopted a rotary drum core drying machine to replace the backward manual core drying process; in the 1960s, hundreds of technological innovation projects such as grinding heads and planing rod combined machines were successfully put into production. In addition, in 1956, a three-color printing machine was introduced from Japan to digest and reprint samples and was transformed into a four-color printing machine; in 1958, advanced equipment such as a 200-ton hydraulic core machine was introduced from West Germany, which changed the original backward technology and equipment. Exports Great Wall brand pencils and custom brand pencils. In 1959, he applied to register the "Xiang" brand trademark specifically for export products, mass-produced and exported "Xiang" brand pencils, and expanded the export volume. By 1965, the export product delivery volume reached 113 million pieces, accounting for more than one-third of the total pencil output, which played a pillar role in transforming my country from a pencil importing country into a major pencil exporting country.
The "Cultural Revolution" from 1966 to 1976 brought disaster to China Lead Factory. The party organization was paralyzed for a time. A series of so-called "struggle, criticism, and reform" actions not only made many people Being treated unfairly confuses people's thinking and frustrates the enthusiasm of the majority of employees. The so-called "streamlining of institutions" in 1968 abolished the original administrative agencies, completely disrupted the management system and work order, resulting in serious consequences of production chaos and economic stagnation.
In 1979, under the guidance of the line, principles, and policies of the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, China Lead Factory embarked on a historic step of reform and moved forward firmly. After restorative and constructive rectification from 1981 to 1983, the trauma in corporate management caused by the "Cultural Revolution" was basically healed.
In 1984, on the basis of consolidating the results of enterprise reorganization, we strengthened the construction of spiritual and material civilization, cultivated and promoted the enterprise spirit of "modest, simple, enterprising, and progressive", enhanced employees' sense of ownership, and improved employees' Team quality. The entire factory worked together and worked hard to eliminate "dirty, messy, and poor" conditions. The factory took on a new look. At the same time, it improved the level of corporate management, promoted product quality, and improved economic benefits. It won the "1984 Bureau-level Award" The honorable title of "Civilized Unit". All employees of the factory are working hard and never stop, aiming at the "three new" goals (further updating of equipment, further refurbishment of products, and further refreshing of efficiency), and the "three beauties" activities (beautiful living facilities, beautiful greening of the factory area, and beautiful souls of employees), continue Climb upward and achieve results. Since 1986, it has won the honorary title of "Shanghai Civilized Unit" for consecutive years.
After the implementation of the factory director responsibility system in August 1985, all employees of the factory resolutely implemented the spirit and requirements of "enterprises must actively reform their internal mechanisms" proposed by the Party Central Committee, promoted reforms, worked hard, and made the enterprise enter a leap forward. development period.
First, establish a market information-oriented product development system. In accordance with the business philosophy of high-end, large market, and new technology, a product development center was established to give full play to the comprehensive advantages of technology, technical equipment, and professional talents, and invested a small amount of capital. In addition to developing high-end, high value-added thermal transfer pencils, laser In addition to pencils, fluorescent pencils, etc., in 1986, we focused on the development of the "Alice" brand series of cosmetic pens, which filled the domestic gap and met the needs of people's continuous improvement in material and cultural life. In just four years, it has become the company's second largest "hit product." Become the only company in China that produces a series of pen-type cosmetics.
Second, establish a marketing system that focuses on international market competition.
Position the ultimate goal of competition in the international market, adopt measures such as consolidating industrial and trade relations and rely on main channels for exports; explore the agency system and seek new export channels; set up factories in the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone to develop multi-variety exports, and do everything possible to expand all types of mid- to high-end products. Products are exported and opened up to the international market, developing to more than 70 countries and regions in Europe, the United States, the Middle East, Central and South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Hong Kong. The annual foreign exchange earnings have reached a maximum of more than 6 million US dollars, taking a leading position in the national pen industry.
Third, in view of the weak production technology and equipment of old enterprises, we must step up technological transformation and technology introduction, and successively introduce more than 30 sets (sets) of technical equipment from West Germany and other countries to make every key process of pencil production more efficient. All have key professional equipment that reached the international advanced level in the early 1980s, and the automation and production efficiency of individual machines have been greatly improved. While introducing and transforming production equipment, we also planned to carry out the transformation and construction of key expansion projects of production infrastructure such as "Expansion of Fine Lead Core Workshop", "Pilot Workshop of Cosmetic Pens", "Introduction and Reproduction of Resin Fine Core Process Equipment", etc. Improving existing production conditions, improving product quality, and expanding production capacity will all have a positive impact.
Fourth, on the basis of basing ourselves on the factory and consolidating the base camp, we have extensively carried out horizontal economic alliances across regions, industries and different systems, and developed national joint ventures, state-owned enterprise joint ventures, Sino-foreign joint ventures, etc. The joint venture forms of three different systems have improved the ability of enterprises to adapt, develop and improve themselves, developed production, increased exports and achieved good social and economic benefits.
China Lead Factory actively deepened reforms and transformed its operating mechanism, which resulted in profound changes in the enterprise. It basically realized that "the product structure has changed from a single wooden pencil to a variety of products" and "the operating mechanism has changed from a production-oriented one to a multi-product one." There are four key shifts: "operational development type", "marketing concept from production-centered to economic benefits-centered", and "sales channels from single channel to multi-channel". There are 14 specifications of wooden pencils, with an annual production capacity of 530 million pieces; 2 series of cosmetic pencils, 37 varieties, with an annual production capacity of 20 million pieces; 3 series of mechanical pencils, 10 varieties, with an annual production capacity of 5 million pieces; fine pencils with an annual production capacity of 5 million pieces; It is a multi-category and multi-variety comprehensive manufacturing enterprise with 2 series of lead cores and 20 varieties, with an annual production capacity of 10%. The four major series of products are jointly operated.
In 1990, the entire factory covered an area of ??15,194 square meters and a construction area of ??20,566 square meters. It has 562 sets (sets) of various types of equipment. Fixed assets (original value) are 15.716 million yuan, and net value is 12.09 million yuan. The number of employees at the end of the year was 988. The total industrial output value (calculated at constant prices in 1990) is 66.933 million yuan. The overall labor productivity is 70,158 yuan/person, the total annual profit and tax is 20 million yuan, the profit is 13.045 million yuan, and the per capita profit and tax exceeds 20,000 yuan. The main economic indicators are always ranked first in the national pencil industry. It has become the enterprise with the largest scale, the highest output, the most varieties, the best efficiency and the best reputation in the country's pencil industry; it has also become a key enterprise in the country's light industry. In 1990, it was approved as the only national first-level enterprise in the pencil industry.
The company is not complacent just because it has won the title of a national first-class enterprise. With the deepening of economic system reform, it actively explores and deepens corporate reform, accelerates corporate development, and remains invincible in the fierce market competition. effective way to land. Based on the actual situation of the enterprise, we think and compare, choose the best, and decide to convert the state-owned enterprise into a joint-stock operating mechanism. After careful preparation and active work, in May 1992, the Shanghai Municipal People's Government approved the restructuring of China Pencil Factory No. 1 into China No. 1 Pencil Co., Ltd., a company integrating Chinese and foreign capital. The enterprise has entered another new period of vigorous development.
For more than half a century, China Lead Plant No. 1 has experienced ups and downs, full of hardships and disasters, struggles and struggles, setbacks and successes. The founders of China Lead Factory No. 1 and the majority of employees worked hard, worked hard, used wisdom and hard work to develop China's pencil industry, created great achievements one after another, and created monuments one after another. The glory of China Pencil Factory No. 1 will always shine in the history of China's pencil industry