Tianjin Packaging Association Unveils 2011 Roadmap Blending Innovation Drive with Stronger Services

2011 marks the opening year of the Twelfth Five-Year Development Plan for Tianjin's packaging industry, and the Tianjin Packaging Technology Association has set out its working approach for the year: uphold the Scientific Outlook on Development as the theme, take accelerated transformation of the economic growth model as the main line and deeper reform and opening up as the lever in order to promote relatively fast and steady economic growth; with the support of the leadership of the Economic and Information Commission, run the association conscientiously in line with its charter, keep strengthening its own capacity, and further play its bridging role through "technological innovation, management expansion and service guidance"; clarify the industry's development direction; and advance sustainable development in Tianjin's packaging sector through the practice of "transforming the mode, adjusting the structure, promoting transformation and seeking development."

Building on that approach, and drawing on the actual conditions of Tianjin's packaging industry together with the vision set out in the Tianjin Twelfth Five-Year packaging industry plan, the association has defined concrete goals with reform and innovation as the theme and the policy of "adjusting the structure, transforming the mode, promoting transformation and seeking development" as its guide. Starting from the existing specialized committees, it will steadily broaden the scope of external economic and technical information exchange and service activities, move closer to what companies actually need, and deliver technical consulting and services. Through investigation and research, it will continue to set up the plastic packaging committee and the environmental design committee, pooling efforts so that the association's work is solid, stable and strong. The main tasks for the year are as follows.

I. Uphold innovative development and accelerate economic transformation

Accelerating the transformation of the economic growth model ultimately depends on the strength of science, technology and innovation — technology-driven transformation and innovation-driven development. The association calls for technological, management, marketing and organizational innovation to be advanced across the board. The decisive element is raising independent innovation capability: treating it as a strategic anchor, working hard to lift the level of original innovation, vigorously strengthening integrated innovation as well as the ability to introduce, digest, absorb and re-innovate, and at the same time enhancing capacity for intellectual property creation, technology transfer and scaled-up production, so that innovation-led development drives the upgrading and transformation of the packaging industry.

In light of the current state of and development needs of the city's packaging industry, the association will focus on raising technical standards in four areas: 1. the level of pre-packaging and pre-press design and post-press die-cutting development; 2. energy and water conservation and environmental performance; 3. creative design and brand building; 4. information management. On that basis, development quality and industry competitiveness will keep improving, shifting the sector from a scale advantage toward a technology advantage. At the same time, larger enterprises pursuing scale development should establish municipal- and district-level enterprise technology centers, attract and cultivate innovative talent, increase R&D funding through multiple channels, and improve the material and equipment conditions for technological innovation.

The association will also refine and develop an innovation partnership led by enterprises and closely combining industry, academia and research, effectively integrating innovation elements from the Municipal Economic and Information Commission, the Municipal Science and Technology Commission, the Municipal Development and Reform Commission, the China Packaging Federation and the wider industry to raise the efficiency and effectiveness of innovation activities. This year it will continue to organize technology innovation work under the China Packaging Federation and the application for national high-tech projects. The key lies in tapping the technological stock held by enterprises and advanced domestic technologies: conducting in-depth research, staying closely connected to the realities of packaging companies, and building a project reserve database; implementing technology transfer and application, absorbing relevant R&D results at the right time, and supporting the growth of packaging enterprises.

At the same time, advanced and generic technologies should be promoted to avoid low-level, duplicated R&D and to accelerate technical upgrading and transformation across the whole industry.

The vision put forward by President Shi Wanpeng at the development forum of the Asian Packaging Conference deserves careful study and deep understanding across the industry: packaging should become an industry even more attentive to people's livelihood and more beneficial to it — as residents' material needs grow increasingly diverse, high-end and personalized, and given ethnic diversity and uneven regional development, there remains considerable room to develop domestic and external demand markets and considerable industrial opportunity; packaging should become an industry with greater innovative vitality and enterprise — modern packaging is a highly technology-integrated sector and also one rich in creative design, and innovation capability together with the support of new technologies, new materials and new equipment will provide an important foundation for the industry's technical upgrading and transformation and open broad application space for high-tech industries; and packaging should become a green industry with stronger circular-development characteristics — sitting close to the downstream of the production, distribution and consumption value chain, packaging occupies a distinctive link in achieving circular development and is an important force in opening up the resource regeneration industry.

It follows that packaging is an indispensable component of the national economic system, closely linked to many industries and sharing their rise and fall, and inextricably and permanently bound up with the production, distribution and consumption of livelihood-related goods such as food, medicines and consumer products — a sunrise industry with broad market prospects and enormous growth potential. The association urges the industry to connect with the realities of the city's packaging sector, to give careful thought to concrete measures for implementation, to further mobilize the industry to study and act on the spirit of the Fifth Plenary Session and the Central Economic Work Conference, to launch a new phase in the city's packaging industry under the Twelfth Five-Year Plan, and to step up the pace of economic transformation.

II. Further strengthening the association's own development

The association will further straighten out its work management system, strengthen its own capacity, and build an image of delivering the "three services" well. First, learning and ideological education for association staff will be strengthened so that awareness of the "three services" is genuinely enhanced, service attitudes are corrected and service quality is improved, while member oversight of the association's work is reinforced and members' opinions are solicited regularly. Second, the organizational work of the council will be strengthened. Over the past year, four specialized committees were established and more than 100 new members were recruited, making the association's ranks larger and its cohesion stronger. To meet the needs of its work, some council members, standing council members and vice presidents will be added or adjusted this year.

The association will adhere to running its affairs in accordance with its charter, further give play to the role of its vice presidents, standing council members and council members, and practice democratic decision-making. Chairmen's working meetings should be held more often and to a better standard going forward, with entrepreneur vice presidents invited to attend and deliberate more frequently, so as to fully mobilize everyone's enthusiasm, reflect the principle of entrepreneurs running the association, and make the Tianjin Packaging Technology Association a home for packaging enterprises. The association also hopes that, through everyone's efforts, more members will be recruited and the association will continue to grow and strengthen.

III. Strengthen services and open new horizons for the association's work

Service awareness within the association must be further strengthened so that the "three services" are delivered well. First, it will take the initiative to care about enterprises' development and actively provide information and consulting services, while regularly going into enterprises to understand their situation, promptly identify their difficulties and problems, and offer ideas and plans for their development. Second, difficulties and problems reported by enterprises will be promptly reviewed and tackled in a targeted way: matters that should be raised with relevant government departments will be reported without delay so as to secure government support and resolve them as quickly as possible, and matters that should be raised with related industries will also be communicated to those industries in good time with proper coordination.

Some issues may involve national macro policy or institutional and systemic questions that cannot be resolved immediately; even then, while doing a good job of explaining the situation, the association will actively put forward reasonable and well-grounded suggestions to the relevant national authorities, and must never remain indifferent or shelve them. The association is the home of packaging enterprises, and its staff should become close friends and capable assistants to entrepreneurs, sincerely doing good deeds and practical things for enterprises.

IV. Strengthen school-enterprise talent training and establish school-enterprise practical training bases

To supply the industry with practical talent, the association will strengthen school-enterprise cooperation and organize targeted talent cultivation mechanisms based on enterprises' needs. In connection with the implementation of new standards and regulations, specialized training will be carried out, such as hands-on operational training in areas including metal packaging containers and paper-based packaging; the association will urge and support the specialized committees in holding five sessions of classes as planned, as well as forums and lectures on relevant new technologies and new materials. In connection with enterprise management, two training sessions on planning and execution are also planned.

V. Promote cultural and creative industries and organize packaging design competitions well

In October 2011, Tianjin will serve as the main venue of the Asian Packaging Design Super League and will host the China North China Design Grand Prix. The association will actively organize and coordinate its design committee in carrying out this year's China North China Design Grand Prix and the Asian Packaging Design Super Grand Prix, fully mobilizing the enthusiasm of designers in the city's colleges and universities, enterprises, institutions and design companies, and establishing a dedicated body to plan and prepare carefully, striving to do better than in previous years and to achieve greater innovation.

VI. Improve Tianjin Packaging Network and expand external technical information exchange

The content of Tianjin Packaging Network, such as supply and demand information, will be further improved. First, content will be updated promptly and standardized rules for updating content and management measures will be formulated, so that the website can fully play its role in publicizing national policies, industry information, enterprise developments and industry progress. Second, a communication liaison mechanism will be established among packaging enterprises to build an organizational system for publicity and reporting. The association welcomes submissions from enterprises to jointly run Tianjin Packaging Network and the internal publication Tianjin Bohai Rim Packaging, which will be published soon, and also hopes for support from the industry's leading enterprises.

In 2011, the association will coordinate and organize the specialized committees to strengthen technical exchange activities with packaging associations in other provinces and cities and with peer enterprises, learning from the industry's advanced management and technical experience. Together with the Tianjin Sub-Council of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, it will organize members to attend the "19th German Düsseldorf Packaging Machinery Exhibition 2011" held in Germany in May, and to examine markets in selected European countries, exchange with foreign chambers of commerce and relevant associations, and visit packaging enterprises. Through such visits and inspections, the industry can keep abreast of current market dynamics and technology trends and seek partners in the fields of technology and trade. Going forward, the municipal "SME market development fund" policy will be used to subsidize the personnel costs of enterprises taking part in the delegation, and relevant packaging enterprises are encouraged to participate actively.

Tianjin's packaging industry achieved certain results and established a sound foundation during the Eleventh Five-Year period, and is now about to enter an even more brilliant period of development under the Twelfth Five-Year Plan. The recommendations on formulating the Twelfth Five-Year Plan, reviewed and approved at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, have drawn up a development blueprint for all sectors of China's national economy…