<strong>China: HongyunHonghe Rated among Top 100 Innovative Enterprises</strong>

Source from:  TobaccoChina Online 06/27/2013

HongyunHonghe Tobacco Group in southwest China's tobacco-producing Yunnan Province – the largest Chinese tobacco manufacturer – has recently been rated among the Top 100 Chinese enterprises in terms of independent innovation for the year 2013, in a forum sponsored by China Society for Productivity.

Held by the Innovation Promotion Committee of China Society for Productivity, the 5th Chinese Enterprises Innovation Activity Day and the 2012 (13th) Chinese Enterprises Innovation Forum opened in Beijing on June 22.

At the forum, HongyunHonghe Board of Directors Chairman Yao Qingyan was granted the title of honor as an Outstanding Innovative Chinese Entrepreneur.

Since its creation in 2012, the Chinese Enterprises Innovation Forum has emerged as an important platform and channel for business circles to conduct mutual exchange and communication with high levels of the government, industrial organizations and academia, and has made positive contributions to promoting the process of innovation by Chinese enterprises.

In 2012, HongyunHonghe, in accordance with its planning for the work of technological innovation, strove to create a new image of its Yunyan cigarette brand with a low-tar style; usher in a new situation of international competition of brands; promote steady implementation of its plans for reducing the content of tar and other harmful substances in its cigarette products; actively develop "three major platforms" – an open platform for cooperation between the manufacturing sector, academia and research circles, a platform for research of technologies for blending flavors of cigarette products, and a platform for designated development of high-end human resources; and focus its energy on the research and development "five major technologies" – technology for raw materials guarantee, technology for reducing the content of tar and other harmful substances in cigarettes, process technology with unique characteristics, technology for blending the flavors of cigarettes and technology for cigarette materials research, to promote upgrading of hardware and technology on a full scale, and to strengthen the basic for scientific-technological innovation.

Meanwhile, HongyunHonghe, by launching an innovation campaign under the theme of "innovation by the entire staff and on a full scale", extensively developed cooperation in scientific-technological research and exchange, with valuable scientific-technological research achievements keeping emerging with highlights, and realized expansion of innovation in scientific-technological research and qualitative promotion.

In 2012, HongyunHonghe undertook 75 projects of scientific-technological research at various levels, with 10 of its research achievements winning rewards at various levels. In the year, the tobacco group was granted 65 patents and published 21 scientific-technological theses.  Enditem