From a small factory in Hainan to more than 30 production bases in 16 provinces across the country, with a market share of over 20%, ORG is one of the most typical samples to explore the development of China’s modern packaging industry.
On September 9 - 10, experts from national associations and research institutions such as the China Cuisine Association, the China Food Industry Association, the Prefabricated Food Branch of the China Light Industry Federation, the China Packaging Federation, the China Food Fermentation Industry Research Institute, and the General Logistics Equipment Research Institute, as well as scholars from well-known universities such as Jinan University, Wuhan University, and Taizhou University, as well as leaders of institutions such as Kotler Consulting Group, Media leaders such as “Sustainable Development Economic Guide” visited the headquarters of ORG Huairou to explore and discuss about “innovation, spillover, and sustainability” in the packaging industry.
It is Mao Xinping, academician of the CAE Member’s expectation to ORG that innovation, spillover and sustainability will lead China’s metal packaging industry to the world.
Mao Xinping, academician of CAE Member
The metal packaging industry is currently facing an important period of transformation and upgrading, requiring continuous innovation, transformation, and development.
Zhou Yuan, Vice Chairman of ORG, pointed out in his speech that seeking solutions for the high-quality development of the packaging industry and providing suggestions for ORG in the new historical development cycle is the main purpose of this expert activity.
Speech by Zhou Yuan, Vice Chairman of ORG
The New Growth Strategy of Technology and Greenness
After 30 years of hard work and entrepreneurship, ORG has grown into a comprehensive packaging solution provider that integrates brand planning, packaging design and manufacturing, filling services, and information assisted marketing.
So far, ORG has also grown into one of the top metal packaging companies in Asia.
Chen Yufei, Senior Vice President of ORG Technology, introduced the company’s achievements based on the newly disclosed financial report: ORG, as the first listed company in the industry, is in a leading position in the metal packaging industry. It is a private enterprise in the manufacturing industry, ranking 467. In 2022, the revenue was 14 billion yuan, and in the first half of 2023, the revenue was over 7 billion yuan. It is expected to reach a new level for the entire year.
Chen Yufei, Senior Vice President and General Manager of R&D Center of ORG
Technology and greenness are new requirements put forward by attending experts for the packaging industry. In fact, this is also the core keyword for ORG to create a second growth curve in recent years.
From the earliest introduction of powder coating technology in the country, ORG established cooperation with Red Bull. The application of DR materials has put ORG in a leading position in the tomato can market. The application of shaped milk powder cans in Feihe has helped ORG establish a foothold in the milk powder can market. DWI aluminum bottles and cans have formed strategic cooperation between ORG and Budweiser. The coated iron bowls and cans also allow ORG to have a place in the pre made vegetable market.
A series of cases destined the development of ORG to be closely related to the technology and green genes rooted in strategy.
Liu Youqian, Secretary General of the Prefabricated Food Branch of the China Light Industry Federation and Chairman of the China Canning Industry Association, Yu Zhihong, President and Editor in Chief of the Sustainable Development Economic Guide, He Jinfeng, Director of the Military Food Research Office of the Rear Military Supplies Equipment Research Institute, Wang Zhiwei, Dean of the School of Packaging Engineering at Jinan University, and Hu Lianchun, former General Manager of Dongyang Steel Sheet Shanghai Trading Co., Ltd., all mentioned the application prospects of coated iron in the sharing. This is also a recognition of ORG’s continuous technological research and development over the past decade, breaking the bottleneck situation, and actively establishing its own intellectual property system.
Liu Youqian, Secretary General of the Prefabricated Food Branch of the China Light Industry Federation and Chairman of the China Canning Industry Association
Zhou Yuan pointed out that the corporate spirit of ORG is “striving, innovation, honesty, and harmony”, which is also a requirement for ORG’s future development. While adhering to its original business, ORG is also exploring the field of new energy, researching and innovating the practical application of coated iron, investing in upstream and downstream enterprises, and expanding its overseas industry layout. In the future, ORG will actively embrace new historical opportunities in the field of big health and big consumption, and create a “second growth curve” with technology and green as the core. With a sustainable development perspective, ORG will open up a new chapter in the history of high-quality development.
Only with strategic determination can there be industrial vitality
2024 will mark the 30th anniversary of ORG’s establishment. Starting from a single canning business, ORG will gradually become the first brand of China’s comprehensive packaging solution provider, and have embarked on a development path different from that of the overseas packaging industry.
Guan Yuxiang, Founder of ORG, Exchanges with Experts
The strategic determination to focus on the advantages of the main packaging industry in the development of ORG is indispensable.
Since its establishment, ORG has continuously expanded its product categories and carried out brand strategy implementation plans. After entering the capital market, it has continuously consolidated its leading position and expanded its business areas through capital means such as mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments in COFCO Packaging and Yongxin Co., Ltd.
In terms of main business, ORG has more than 30 global production bases with a production capacity of over 20 billion cans, achieving extensive strategic cooperation with leading domestic food and beverage enterprises. Relying on the main business of metal packaging, ORG’s newly developed new energy battery shell samples have passed testing and will begin preparing for mass production.
The two fields of pre made vegetables and canned food are another growth direction proposed by the attending experts based on ORG’s industrial endowment and after analyzing ORG’s pulse.
Yang Liu, President of China Cuisine Association, pointed out that ORG should seize the opportunity and set sail again to promote the integration and development of metal packaging and the catering industry. “The delivery market continues to grow steadily, with a total of 646 million online delivery users and a per capita online consumption expenditure of 790 yuan. There is a high demand for packaged lunch boxes, providing packaging companies with broad market opportunities.”
Yang Liu, President of China Cuisine Association
This is an important driving force in the consumer and health arena, especially as consumers’ demands for taste, safety, and health continue to rise. ORG’s endowment advantages in the field of metal packaging, as well as its innovative marketing channels and private traffic operations around “one can, one code”, may usher in huge industrial opportunities.
Liu Youqian, Chairman of the China Canning Industry Association, pointed out that in 2022, the market size of the entire packaging industry will reach 1200 billion yuan, with the food industry accounting for 60% and metal packaging accounting for only 15% of the food industry. He believes that metal packaging has great potential in the canned food industry and proposes five trends: soft metal packaging replacing traditional metal packaging; The technology of coated iron is generally promising; the trend of high-end, personalized, and customized is obvious; the trend of intelligence and digitization is significant; sustainability needs to be strengthened.
In terms of solving the problems of metal tank quality preservation and corrosion prevention, coating corrosion prevention, and salt storage, ORG, which has technical reserves, not only has advantages but also needs to continuously provide better solutions.
Chances and opportunity emerge as the times require
In the blue consumption and health trend, traditional tin cans, aluminum foil composite bags, plastic bags, plastic boxes, oxide plated composite bags, aluminum plastic boxes, composite shallow plates and other products will compete with coated iron on the same stage.
Whether and how coated iron, as a new technology, can withstand the test of industrial development, is another important issue raised by the attending experts.
Prior to this, ORG continued to increase its research and development investment in this field. The latest data shows that it has obtained 40 authorized patents in the field of coated iron packaging materials and application technology, including 17 invention patents and 23 utility model and design patents. ORG also served as the main drafting unit and participated in the national standard preparation work of the “General Rules for the Quality of Coated Iron and Aluminum for Food Containers”.
Wang Zhiwei, Dean of the School of Packaging Engineering at Jinan University, believes that metal packaging has six advantages in the field of food contactable materials: high mechanical performance (ductility), high sealing, high barrier (preventing sunlight, gas and water), high texture, high automation manufacturing, and high recycling.
Wang Zhiwei, Dean of the School of Packaging Engineering at Jinan University
Therefore, metal packaging is gradually expanding from general food, beverages, and beer to prefabricated food, more fast-moving consumer goods, special food and emergency food, and military food.
He Jinfeng, Director of the Military Food Research Office of the General Logistics Equipment Research Institute, pointed out that tin cans have problems such as outer wall corrosion, weld corrosion, bisphenol A, and short shelf life. Coated iron has great advantages in military food, and there is a long way to go before coated iron replaces tinplate.
Zhou Yunjie, Chairman of ORG, and He Jinfeng, Director of the Military Food Research Office of the General Logistics Equipment Research Institute
Hu Lianchun, the former general manager of Dongyang Steel Sheet Shanghai Trading Co., Ltd., believes that coated iron exhibits significant innovative value in six aspects: safety and hygiene, aroma retention, solving corrosion problems, manufacturing environmental protection, can making efficiency, and equipment uniformity.
Hu Lianchun, former General Manager of Dongyang Steel Sheet Shanghai Trading Co., Ltd
Therefore, the attending experts suggest that in the military food packaging market, fully use coated iron instead of tinplate, leverage the advantages of ORG coated iron, and promote the application of related products for the National Science and Technology Progress Award. At the same time, the company is researching a batch of distinctive coated iron cans and conducting storage and transportation experiments to accumulate data. At the same time, the company has developed a batch of large capacity 3kg rectangular coated iron cans.
From an industrial perspective, replacing tinplate with coated iron is ORG’s historical mission, and leveraging ORG’s packaging advantages is a new historical opportunity.
Follow the path of sustainable development
Whether it is prefabricated vegetables or canned goods, the combination with metal packaging is quite in line with the concept of “China Packaging 4.0 System” mentioned by Ke Shenghai, Dean of the School of Art and Design at Taizhou University.
Ke Shenghai, Dean of the School of Art and Design at Taizhou University
This concept contains multiple theories such as intelligent packaging value system, digital intelligent packaging, material intelligent packaging, and structural intelligent packaging.
Maintaining industry composure and seeking new growth poles from advantages is only the first answer sheet that the packaging industry needs to complete; standing at the height of historical development, how to promote the practical implementation of sustainable development requirements in the industry is more related to the development of “famous industrial brands” and “century old stores”.
Wu Hongjun, Deputy Secretary General of the China Packaging Federation
Wu Hongjun, Deputy Secretary General of the China Packaging Federation, pointed out that the 14th Five Year Plan of China Packaging Federation mentions a major strategy called sustainable development strategy. This is also the “assignment” assigned by industry associations to industry leaders.
Yu Zhihong, President and Editor in Chief of the Journal of Sustainable Development Economics
Yu Zhihong pointed out in this analysis that innovation and sustainable development are closely related, and sustainable development is a global consensus, as well as addressing climate change. Many customers of packaging demand sustainable development. SDG is the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and the sustainable goals are not complex, they are low-carbon, green, and resource recovery.
In fact, from the perspective of large customers in the packaging industry such as ORG, taking Budweiser and Coca Cola as examples, one of their core values is “no waste in the world”.
From the product side, the ORG Two Piece Can Business Unit provides easy to pull cans for Budweiser Beer. Currently, the lightweight cans can reach 9.5g and 330mL; According to the plan, ORG will achieve a global lead of 9.3g and 330mL within three years, which will effectively improve economic benefits and, more importantly, establish closer strategic alignment with our partners.
According to ORG’s previous deployment, we have responded to the efforts of Taikoo Cola to promote some carbon measurement work and promised to have a carbon reduction goal; ORG and Budweiser conducted carbon emission calculations at their Foshan and Xianning factories, preparing in advance for the next steps of carbon reduction, carbon neutrality, and other work.
Earlier, the “Companion Recycling” project led by Zhou Yunjie, Chairman of ORG, effectively promoted the upgrading of metal tank recycling in both social and economic dimensions through the promotion of model cases, and effectively promoted sustainable industrial development.
Zhou Yunjie, Chairman of ORG, Visits Companion Recycling
Qiu Kai, Deputy Director of the Standards and Digitalization Department of the China Food Fermentation Industry Research Institute, pointed out that it is recommended that ORG combine one can, one code, with recycling to ensure the quality of recycling and make it an industry standard. “The recycling industry chain for aluminum cans has been established. The green cycle standard system for food standard enterprises needs to be established, providing a set of green supply chains, a set of service standards, and evaluation standards. Leading enterprises are engaged in standardization, which leads and regulates the development of the industry.”
Qiu Kai, Deputy Director of Standards and Digitalization Department of China Food Fermentation Industry Research Institute
In terms of packaging and printing, with the organic integration of printing electronics and intelligent packaging, the introduction of electronic devices in the packaging manufacturing process has rapidly promoted the development of intelligent packaging, which has become an inevitable path for high-quality and sustainable development of the industry.
Define Industrial Responsibility from Historical Development
Cao Hu, a global partner of Kotler Consulting Group, provides targeted advice on how ORG can implement its brand growth strategy in the next three to five years, in conjunction with global industry development. He believes that core businesses should be fed back through extended business (overflow business).
Cao Hu, Global Partner of Kotler Consulting Group
In fact, the series of self-branded products launched by ORG are the mutual achievement of “packaging” and “fast moving consumer goods”: before large-scale use, coated iron was introduced to thousands of households with ORG’s self-branded prefabricated dishes.
ORG provides innovative design of new bowl and pot shaped “confession cans” products – “Run Cong Tang”, “tangerine peel lotus seed and red bean soup”
After visiting the ORG Packaging History Museum, the attending experts suggested that design should be done on the basis of understanding technology.
Wang Zhiwei, Dean of the School of Packaging Engineering at Jinan University, Ke Shenghai, Dean of the School of Art and Design at Taizhou University, and Wu Wei, Director of the Department of Printing and Packaging at Wuhan University, proposed suggestions for talent development and think tank construction.
Wu Wei, Director of the Department of Printing and Packaging at Wuhan University
For example, experts suggest that ORG establish a packaging think tank. Talents who are based on packaging, embrace the motherland, and face the world, focusing on the entire packaging chain, and he also suggest ORG set up scholarships nationwide. It can not only connect with globally renowned corporate executives, but also help young people establish confidence in packaging.
At present, there are more than 60 schools and over 4000 undergraduate students specializing in packaging in China. ORG can utilize targeted training from universities, research institutes, industry associations, and other institutions to select and educate talents.
Talent development is undoubtedly one of the most important issues in industrial development. Cultivating talents is not only for enterprises, but also for history.
During the seminar, ORG invited participating experts to visit the ORG Packaging History Museum. This is the first museum initiated by an industry enterprise for construction.
It is precisely based on the historical evolution of the industry for thousands of years that the current development of the industry is more profound: from the method of locally sourced packaging thousands of years ago to the emergence of pottery packaging in the Stone Age, and then to bronze packaging, iron packaging, porcelain packaging, gold and silver packaging, etc.; From importing modern packaging methods and technologies from China to creating a moat for its own industrial development, history is like a drop in the ocean, leaving practitioners with a heavy historical responsibility.
The attending experts also suggested that ORG should invest more energy in the development of industry standards. Currently, most ISO printing standards worldwide are formulated by Japan and Germany, with fewer in China; In addition, the US FDA first regulates food safety, and then other regulations such as recycling standards. Domestic food safety standards must also be established first, and other standards can be formulated based on this premise. Leading domestic enterprises play a crucial role in this process.
