Chinese Cigarette Paper Maker Puts Upgraded Production Line into Operation

Source from:  Mudanjiang Daily newspaper 07/30/2007

Mudanjiang Hengfeng Paper Co., Ltd. in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province - the largest cigarette paper making enterprise in China - put into operation on July 23 a technically upgraded production line capable of producing 6,000 tons of high-grade cigarette paper annually, as part of a large-scale technical transformation project. The upgraded production line will be able generate an extra 27 million yuan (3.6 million U.S. dollars) in sales income for Hengfeng Paper each year, including 8.93 million yuan (1.18 million U.S. dollars) in profits and 2.76 million yuan (363,000 U.S. dollars) in taxes. According to sources with Hengfeng Paper, the production line had been installed at Hengfeng Paper in the late 1980s. In 1999, Hengfeng Paper conducted a first technical transformation of the production line, contributing to relatively greatly improving the quality of its products. Then, the production line became capable of producing medium- high-grade cigarette paper as required by the market at that time, with the output doubling. However, as the market had increasingly higher demand for the quality of cigarette paper, particularly the various types of veined cigarette paper and anti-counterfeiting cigarette paper, the production line turned unable to meet the growing market demand. Sources with the tobacco industry predicted that with steady increases in the variety of cigarette products manufactured by the tobacco industry and also with steady improvement of the quality of cigarette products in China, high-grade cigarette products enjoy broad prospects for future marketing, with vast potential for further development. Meanwhile, Hengfeng Paper boasts advanced production technology and rich experience in production management. Besides, the company has always enjoyed good sales. Therefore, the leadership of Hengfeng Paper considered that further technical transformation or upgrade of the production line would not only bring about a higher economic efficiency, but would also enable it to produce high-grade cigarette paper in substitution for expensive imports. Under such a circumstance, Hengfeng Paper decided to raise 50 million yuan (6.6 million U.S. dollars) in funding for a second technical transformation or upgrade of the production line. On April 28, the production line was suspended from operation for technical transformation or upgrade. In the process of technical transformation, Hengfeng Paper particularly invited French experts to the company to made on-site installation and testing. The new equipment installed in the technical transformation or upgrade of the production line was imported from Germany and the United States. Enditem