Henan Rainstorm Hits Packaging and Printing Hard: Flooded Plants, Idled Equipment and Industry Relief Donations

In recent days, the disaster in Henan, especially in Zhengzhou, has dominated public attention. A once-in-a-thousand-years rainstorm swept through Zhengzhou, Xinxiang, Gongyi, Anyang, Xuchang and many other places, causing casualties, flooded factories and severe damage to infrastructure — a catastrophe that is deeply painful and unsettling.

Packaging and printing enterprises suffer heavy losses

For packaging and printing companies in Zhengzhou and nearby areas, this flood disaster has been nothing short of a calamity of the highest order.

Workshops and warehouses had been holding large quantities of raw materials, semi-finished goods and finished products. When the rainstorm hit, these items could not be moved in a short time, leaving materials and equipment at many factories soaked in water, with losses difficult to estimate.

Henan Xinhua Printing Group Co., Ltd., located in Jinshui District, Zhengzhou, was hit relatively hard. Zhang Weiyuan, Executive Director of the company, told reporters that water in the entire plant area reached 1 meter deep, some semi-finished products and paper were damaged, and first-floor equipment was soaked and needed specialists from the relevant manufacturers to commission it; production could only start after the equipment was confirmed dry. Fortunately, more than 200 employees worked through the night in the dark to rescue textbooks, recovering part of the losses, but after the equipment was soaked, production was still forced to stop.

Video posted by netizens showed that paper rolls at a paper mill in Xinmi, Henan, were washed out by the flood; fortunately, personnel had already been evacuated.

In this flood, most packaging and printing enterprises in the disaster area suffered property losses. Better-known companies include Henan Yinjinda Color Printing, Lucky Huaguang Zhengzhou Branch, Dahe Printing and Tianfeng Industrial, among others.

In recent years, the economies of various provinces and cities have gradually concentrated in provincial capitals, drawing large-scale industry into and around those capitals. This rainstorm happened to fall on Zhengzhou, further amplifying the disaster losses.

Private and foreign enterprises donate actively, becoming a mainstay of relief

As soon as the disaster occurred, many well-known domestic companies — including Tencent, Alibaba, Meituan, JD.com, Baidu, Xiaomi, OPPO, VIVO, ByteDance, POP MART, SF Express, ANTA, Amap, Hillhouse Capital, Muyuan Foods, Shuanghui Group, Mixue Bingcheng, FAW Group, Chery, Shagang Group and Sina — extended a helping hand to Henan at the first opportunity. Among those donating RMB 100 million, including corporate foundations, were the Tencent Charity Foundation, Alibaba Foundation, Beijing ByteDance Charity Foundation, Alipay Charity Foundation, Meituan Charity Foundation, Foxconn Industrial Internet (Foxconn), Pinduoduo, Didi Charity Foundation and Liaoning Fangda Group.

In the packaging and printing industry, some more profitable enterprises also gave generously to aid Henan from afar. As of now, industry companies that have donated to the Henan disaster area include:

On July 21, Jihong Group decided to donate RMB 500,000 to support flood control, emergency rescue and disaster relief work in Henan.

On July 21, Sinar Mas Group APP (China) donated a batch of daily necessities, including tissues, disinfectant wipes and sanitary pads, to the Shanghai Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese to aid Henan, seeking to guarantee the basic living needs of people affected by the disaster.

Through the China Women's Development Foundation and the Zhengzhou Charity Federation, Hengan Group donated sanitary pads, tissues, wet wipes and diapers worth a total of RMB 10 million to the Henan disaster area.

Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Limited contacted the China Charity Federation to donate RMB 20 million to the Henan flood disaster area, supporting emergency rescue operations and post-disaster reconstruction.

However, because in recent years the packaging and printing industry has been squeezed both by soaring upstream raw material prices and by downstream customers driving prices down, its operating condition is precarious. Therefore, industry enterprises should donate within their means rather than pretending to be wealthy...

Appendix: An incomplete list of corporate donations nationwide

The following list, as of 11:00 a.m. on July 22, 2021, covers enterprises across the country that donated to support the Henan disaster area; we hope the people of Henan will remember these companies' names.

Wind and rain are heartless, but there is love in the world. We salute all frontline rescue officers, soldiers and workers! We are grateful for support from all directions! The sons and daughters of China pull together to overcome difficulties! Stay strong, Henan!

—Reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn); original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-377860.html