The history of human scientific development fully proves that many shocking scientific inventions and discoveries originated by chance. However, inventions born by chance may change the lives of most people, and buckle straps are one of them.

        Adhesive tape, commonly known as "Velcro", is a commonly used item in daily life. This seemingly inconspicuous small object plays an undeniable role in our daily lives. As a convenient and practical adhesive material, Velcro brings a lot of convenience to our lives.

        In the Fenglin Industrial New Area of De'an County, Jiujiang City, there is a high-tech enterprise that produces velcro that has been repeatedly opened and closed 10000 times, but the hook shapes are still arranged neatly. Velcro like this can produce 200 meters per minute in the production workshop, with an annual output of up to 1 billion meters, ranking among the top in the province and even in the country. As a leader in the industry - Jiangxi Southern Nylon Adhesive Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Southern Adhesive), how did this "magician" achieve it?

▲Southern adhesive production workshop

▲Nylon fasteners under a microscope

●What kind of magic does Velcro contain?

"Due to its ease of use, Velcro has replaced buttons or zippers and has been used in various life scenarios that require adhesive bonding. From storage straps for charging cables to fixed stickers on the back of sofas, whether it is clothing, sports equipment, medical equipment, aerospace, and various daily necessities, Velcro plays an ordinary and indispensable role." Lou Yuyang, the general manager of Southern Adhesive, picked up different types of Velcro and introduced them to reporters.

Entering the exhibition hall of this "Magician" company, there is a wide variety of Velcro products on the wall, including flame retardant Velcro, special Velcro, non scratching Velcro, tear resistant Velcro, and shot hook Velcro. These Velcro stickers not only have strong adhesion, soft texture, and bright colors, but also have different characteristics such as heat resistance, cold resistance, durability, and corrosion resistance according to different usage scenarios. They can be washed and dry cleaned, and are widely used in medical, industrial, civilian and other fields.

Velcro is usually made of nylon, and in the first artificial heart transplant surgery, it even helped to fix the human heart together. Its stickiness comes from its structure. Velcro has two sides, male and female, with one side being a small and soft fiber called round hair, and the other side being a harder, hooked elastic fiber. The reporter observed the two straps of Velcro under a microscope and found that one strap contained a tiny loop, while the other strap had a tiny hook that could grip the loop and secure it firmly.

"Velcro has high strength and tight adhesion, and can be repeatedly glued, torn open, and then glued again, with the same performance as before. Our produced Velcro can be opened and closed ten thousand times, and the hook shape can still be arranged neatly, with the same performance. It can be used in conjunction with various adhesive soft materials (especially adhesive fabrics)." said Lou Yuyang.

"One click" dyeing promotes green development of enterprises

The production of Velcro requires multiple processes, including wire drawing, warping, ribbon weaving, printing and dyeing, cleaning, sizing, fuzzing, slitting, and packaging, making the process extremely complex. Among them, printing and dyeing is an important and indispensable link to ensure the intrinsic quality of textiles, endow them with color and function.

The original printing and dyeing enterprises had low production efficiency due to pollution and process reasons, but in the southern adhesive digital printing and dyeing workshop, the environment was clean. Entering the control room of the weighing system, the operator received the material order and scanned in front of the computer screen. After touching the screen button, they completed the automatic weighing and automation of the material with just one click. Then, the dye was automatically transported to the dyeing tank through a robotic arm... This process not only replaced manual mode, but also ensured accurate measurement, stable product quality, and achieved clean production.

"This is our introduction of the most advanced international automatic dye weighing and chemical conveying system, which does not require manual intervention during the weighing process and is fully automated by intelligent equipment." Lou Yuyang said that the quality of printing and dyeing technology is related to the technological, fashionable, and green development of the entire textile industry. In addition to green development, the acceleration of digital and intelligent transformation is also the future development direction of the textile industry.

Since 2023, Southern Adhesive has undergone three renovations, namely the energy-saving and emission reduction renovation of the dyeing production line, the change of the gluing machine from steam to electricity, and the change of the packaging production line from manual packaging to automatic packaging. In recent years, the company has been implementing the business philosophy of "transformation and upgrading" and the development strategy of creating mid to high end products, continuously developing various mid to high end products, enriching the structure, and enhancing the competitiveness of the enterprise.

Riding the "number" and climbing to a new peak in the adhesive industry

Behind the busy production line lies the secret of this company's revenue growth. With the continuous increase in demand for nylon buckles, enterprises are considering how to seize market opportunities. After visiting local digital transformation enterprises, southern buckle experts have decided to introduce funds, along with government subsidies of 320000 yuan, to carry out digital upgrading and transformation of production lines and finished product warehouses. This has achieved full automation management of production arrangements, greatly improving efficiency, and annual production capacity accounts for more than 30% of the high-end market share of the entire buckle industry.

"At the beginning of its investment and construction in Jiangxi, Southern Adhesive was designed and used the most advanced equipment and facilities in the industry. Currently, the machines of the company's 960 production lines are equipped with CNC and sensors for digital management. Therefore, in terms of machinery and equipment, Southern Adhesive is at the forefront of the industry," said Lou Yuyang.

Through digital transformation, Southern Adhesive has optimized the production process, improved product quality, and received numerous orders. With more orders, production capacity must also keep up. Since its establishment in De'an, Southern Adhesive has been using new equipment, materials, and processes to enhance production capacity, transform and upgrade, promoting the high-end, intelligent, and green development of nylon adhesive, and continuously exploring the path of developing new quality productivity. The new product research and development workshop established by the company has successfully developed a series of baby ejaculatory hooks, thus breaking the phenomenon of relying on foreign imports for this product. The product has successfully exported to more than 50 countries in Europe, America, Southeast Asia, and other countries.

With the rapid development of technology and the advancement of economic globalization, the position of modern warehousing and logistics in enterprises and supply chains is becoming increasingly important. When it comes to the intelligent three-dimensional warehouse in the south, the pallets are arranged in an orderly manner outside the inherent storage space. In the vast space, shuttle cars with variable size forks come and go, running non-stop. Between the horizontal and vertical intersections, large and small boxes are directly sent to the warehouse... It mainly consists of shelves, shuttle cars, stackers, scheduling control systems, and management systems, which achieve automated storage and retrieval of goods through computer control and network communication.

"The intelligent three-dimensional warehouse modern warehousing system we jointly built with Sany Heavy Industry integrates automation, intelligence, and information technology." Lou Yuyang said that the new three-dimensional warehouse has the characteristics of high-density storage, fast access, and intelligent management, which can effectively improve logistics efficiency and reduce operating costs. It will be officially put into use in May this year.

Next, Southern Adhesive will continue to increase research and development investment, accelerate digital transformation, vigorously develop new quality productivity, and design more Velcro for special fields, expanding more production lines to meet market demand.

Expert opinions:

The manufacturing industry cannot enhance its advantages without the sharp edge of "numbers"

The digitalization of the manufacturing industry has reached an urgent juncture, and immediate action and acceleration are necessary. To enhance its advantages, the manufacturing industry cannot do without the sharp edge of "digital". Faced with the booming new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, "enduring" is no longer enough, and "waiting" will only miss the opportunity.

As a traditional manufacturing enterprise, Southern Adhesive Button has accelerated its digital transformation, kept up with the development of the times, and vigorously developed new quality productivity, which is one of the important factors for its rapid development. Developing new productive forces requires comprehensive transformation and innovation leadership. While empowering development with new productive forces, various industries, fields, and entities should not be limited to their own transformation, but should combine their own transformation and development with comprehensive high-quality economic and social development, and explore and innovate from a global perspective.

——Professor Wu Qiang from Jiangsu Digital Economy Research Institute of Nanjing University

Wen/Wan Yu Jiangnan Urban Daily Full Media Reporter Chen Yangtu/Luo Xiankun

 

Editor: Tao Qinyi

First instance: Chen Yuanlu

Second instance: Chen Wenxiu

Final review: Zheng Ronglin