IN its approximately 30 years of catering to corporate needs and promoting sustainable growth, Shanghai Xinzhuang Industrial Park in Minhang District has transitioned from its previous role of attracting investment and providing land for rental and purchase to a broader one of offering more diversified and tailor-made services for enterprises seeking development in Shanghai and beyond.

In 1995, Xinzhuang industrial park received approval as a municipal-level zone for business development. Over the course of about three decades, the industrial park has grown to become one of Shanghai’s top three economic and technological development zones, ranking third among the city’s total of 108, and it has maintained this ranking for five consecutive years.

“In the beginning we mainly focused on infusing foreign investment, hoping to attract foreign capital into renting our land and building factories here,” said Lin Yi, secretary of the Party working committee of the industrial park and executive deputy director of the management committee of the park. “Gradually our services extend to include support on market and policy analysis and platform construction to gather different players on the industrial chain, as well as on talent recruitment and factory house expansion.”

The growth and prospects of the park, for instance, have propelled Schunk Intec Precision Machinery (Shanghai) Co to evolve from a German family business’s overseas sales branch to a regional partner of Schunk global headquarters. By relying on tech localization and service-oriented smart manufacturing, Schunk SE & Co KG’s global development has been rewarded.

“Schunk China registered and settled into the park as a sales firm in 2009,” said Du Shangjian, general manager of Schunk Intec Precision Machinery (Shanghai) Co.

“It’s a common overseas expansion strategy for medium-sized family businesses in Europe in auto or refinery manufacturing segments to enter the Chinese market through launching a sales branch first,” Du added.

The machine tool and clamp tech giant, which primarily provides clamping solutions for the automobile, aerospace, medical care, energy, and traffic industries in China, has experienced exponential growth in the park over the past 15 years.

“From 2015 to 2020, an explosive growth occurred in China’s automation segment, and we expanded three of our sites of production, assembly, storage, and logistics here,” said Du. “Supported by the park, we selected another plot of land for a new factory in 2023 and moved inside this September. The site is now the Asia-Pacific operation center for Schunk that integrates both production, research, provision for technology solutions, and customer service,” Du added.

“The entire industrial park is a cluster of noted global manufacturing enterprises, such as Yamazaki Mazak and Okuma Global. Some are our collaborators, and some are clients,” said Du.

The Schunk new factory was built on the former site of a detergent manufacturer.

“We seek new economic growth on low-efficiency industrial land and categorize all of our lands into four levels according to their performances,” Lin explained. “Companies who fail to pass the performance assessment will possibly face the risks of having their land parcels withdrawn or transferred.”

When Schunk first moved into the park, its annual sales were about 15 million yuan (US$2.06 million), whereas in 2023 it soared to a record 360 million yuan. Du expects the company’s annual sales to grow at double digits in the next five years, with a focus on automatic PCB (printed circuit board) router machines, a pivotal technology in the auto industry.

About 600 foreign enterprises, covering segments such as biomedicine, automobiles, new materials, and refinery chemicals, contributed to the park’s 71 percent tax revenue and 76 percent industrial output. These enterprises are represented by companies such as Colorcon, Straumann, ITW (Illinois Tool Works), Faurecia, ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Evonik, and Solvay.

The gross output value of all above-designated-size industrial enterprises in 2023 and the total sales volume last year were 101.9 billion yuan and 104 billion yuan, respectively.

“Corporate assistants at our park will oversee and provide customized services for the launch of key projects. For some important segments, such as the automobile, biomedicine, and green and low-carbon energy, we’ve set up special industrial leagues to connect players along the whole industrial chains and boost cooperation among businesses, and academic and research institutions,” Lin said.

A hydrogen industrial alliance was set up in the park in November 2022, with its 25 members including Faurecia, Air Liquide, Shanghai Electric Hydrogen, Huadian Energy, CRRC Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co, Antai College of Economics and Management at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology.

The establishment of the alliance took place against the backdrop of an ever-increasing maturity in low-carbon and hydrogen clean power research and its widespread application.

An embryonic hydrogen industrial chain, encompassing manufacturing, storage, transportation, and usage, is also taking shape in the park.

Faurecia, under FORVIA Group, the world’s 7th-largest automotive technology supplier, inaugurated Faurecia Hydrogen Solutions Holding Co in Shanghai this year. Faurecia established its China headquarters in 2008 and moved to the industrial park in March 2013.

“Hydrogen is a real clean energy, and developing hydrogen power is strategically important,” said Ma Chuan, president of Faurecia China. “The hydrogen industrial alliance serves as a platform that facilitates the exchange of ideas and resources. It connects all players on the industrial chain, allowing them to discuss tech and seek cooperation and business opportunities. Hydrogen power is an embryonic and burgeoning segment, and we need to support each other.”

In November 2023, Faurecia inaugurated its new headquarters building in the industrial park.

Covering an area of over 1,000 square meters and able to accommodate approximately 400 employees, the building was designed to achieve the decarbonization goal of reducing carbon emissions and saving energy and water resources.

Estée Lauder, a Minhang-based cosmetics giant, has been in the Chinese market for more than three decades since it opened its first cosmetic counter in the Chinese mainland at the then Huating Isetan department store in downtown Shanghai in 1993.

Witnessing a significant increase in domestic consumption over the years, the company decided in 2020 to move its entire supply chain in China into the industrial park.

The project occupies a land area of 66,631 square meters and involves an investment of 1.212 billion yuan.

“We decided to establish the supply chain project in the industrial park due to its favorable geographical location as it is a municipal-level industrial zone nearest to the downtown area,” said an official with the company. “It is just a 20-minute drive from the Hongqiao International Transportation Hub and a 45-minute drive from the Pudong airport.”

“Since our company moved into the park, it has assisted us in setting up our bonded warehouses and provided tailored services for bonded logistics and labeling. The industrial park coordinated the construction of our warehouses while we were integrating our supply chain,” the official said.