Industrial park transforms into innovation hub

While many people enjoy the fast communication afforded by 4G smart phones, very few know that Forstar S&T Co's radio frequency connector plays a key role in the communication process.

Forstar's technology is also used widely in satellite and missile control systems.

Located in the Xi'an High-tech Industries Development Zone, Forstar has grown from a five-person team to a leading company in related industries and tells a success story of proprietary innovation.

Established in 1998, the company focuses on designing and manufacturing high performance coaxial connectors, cables and cable assemblies for multiple radio frequency transmission applications. It was the first Asian company to issue International Electro-technical Commission standards for RF transmission applications, and now it has six IEC standards, ranking it top among its industrial peers in China.

Guo Jianxiong, founder and general manager of Forstar, said that the proprietary innovation was what led his company to achieve rapid and steady development.

Forstar is not the only beneficiary of proprietary innovation in the zone.

Iwncomm Co, a network security access developer and provider in the zone, has more than 600 high-quality patents.

Xi'an Sinochip Semiconductors Co, another company in the zone engaged in designing developing dynamic random access memory, has great influence in the field of dynamic memory due to its self-dependent innovation capacities.

"Our zone encourages creation and innovation to inject vigor into science and technology progress," said Zhao Hongzhuan, a member of the standing committee of Xi'an Party committee and Party chief of the working committee of the zone's administration committee.

Since the zone was established in 1991, it has made full use of local scientific and educational resources by relying on self-dependent innovation. It has created a success path for an inland high-tech zone to achieve leapfrog development.

With the promotion of innovative ideas, the zone has become one of the most important innovation centers in China, attracting 5,954 firms to the zone in 2014.

Twenty-four engineering or technological centers were established in the zone in 2014. Three new industrial alliances were founded and 65 companies were identified as high-tech enterprises last year.

The zone is home to more than 30,000 high-tech enterprises, ranking second among all high-tech development zones in China.

"All these high-tech enterprises and their achievements are full of great demonstrative significance and reference value for innovation promotion," Zhao said.

Forstar, for instance, has made great progress with its self-dependent innovation, with 160 patents, as well as more than 20 national-level and provincial-level technological achievements.

"Thanks to innovation promotion, our products are sold to more than 20 countries and regions and our company is in the leading position in the RF coaxial connector industry in the world," Guo said.

"Our achievements are closely related to the guidance and support made by the high-tech zone," the general manager said. "The zone encourages us to achieve international standards, national standards and industrial standards. Every international standard we achieve can earn a 500,000 yuan ($78,451) reward from the zone."

Huang Zhenhai, deputy general manager of Iwncomm, said the zone supported the company with preferential policies in taxation, personnel and office environment, to provide better conditions to promote innovation.

According to An Jianli, director of the zone's administration committee, the zone established 28 national-level industrial bases or industrial demonstration bases for software, integrated circuit, medicine, new materials and environmental protection.

It is home to more than 200 key laboratories, engineering and technology centers, of which 30 are of national level.

"We have attracted 120 well-known research and development centers set up by domestic and foreign enterprises, including 48 institutions set up by those among the world's top 500 companies," An said.

Currently, the zone has 1,100 enterprises identified as high-tech businesses by the government.

More than 300 national and provincial rewards have been granted to projects developed by local enterprises.

"The enterprises also created 16 international standards, 360 national standards and more than 300 industrial standards, and reaped a large number of major scientific and technological achievements," the director said.

Zhao said that the zone has designed a program to cultivate 100 enterprises that are "small in size but giant in R&D capacity" as part of efforts to promote the expansion of the local high-tech industry and make innovation a new driving power for its sustained economic growth.

Contact the writers at luhongyan@chinadaily.com.cn and malie@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/29/2015 page7)