A Single Component Chains Up a 10-Billion-Yuan Industrial Cluster
"Where there are cars, there are products made in Longquan." As the largest block-type industrial cluster in China's automotive air-conditioning sector, Longquan is home to over 200 automotive air-conditioning component enterprises, with a total industrial output value exceeding 10 billion yuan. It has become the fastest-growing, largest-scale and most promising characteristic pillar industry in Longquan City.
Activating stock through innovation, expanding increment through investment attraction, and increasing total volume through external expansion. At present, Longquan's automotive air-conditioning industry is riding the new energy wave and accelerating into the new energy vehicle (NEV) thermal management track. This booming characteristic industry is forging the "Longquan Model" for the leapfrog and high-quality development of a small mountainous city.
Small Parts Build a 10-Billion-Yuan Industrial Cluster
"The R&D investment ratio has increased from 3% to 5%, and the industrial park scale has expanded from 22 mu to 246 mu!" Talking about the development over the years, Chen Qinghua, Executive President of Santian Group Co., Ltd., was filled with pride. As one of the earliest founders of Longquan's automotive air-conditioning component (thermal management) industry, Chen Qinghua and his father have witnessed the entire development of the industry.
In the 1970s, the spring breeze of reform and opening up blew across the mountain city of Longquan. At that time, Chatian Town, which had inconvenient transportation, introduced technology from Yuyao and established Chafeng Hardware and Auto Parts Factory. Back then, a kilogram of pork cost about 1.44 yuan, while the skilled workers in the factory earned at least 45 yuan per month.
Although Chafeng Hardware and Auto Parts Factory only operated for a few short years due to various factors such as operation, management and sales, it cultivated a large number of technical backbones and sales personnel. With broadened horizons and open minds, in the tide of reform and opening up, the people of Chafeng began to "energize" the economy without hesitation. Helping each other among relatives and neighbors, they went to the market together, gradually forming a team of more than 2,000 people engaged in "hardware business". The brand of "Chafeng Hardware" thus rose to fame.
Chen Jisong, Chen Qinghua's father, was also from Chafeng. Back then, he took several hundred yuan saved by the family and joined the "hardware business" team. Carrying product catalogs and sample bags, he traveled to all parts of the country to promote and sell products. The hardworking and reliable "Old Chen" became a well-known figure in Chafeng's hardware sales, and his business thrived in Guangzhou.
Guangyuan Street, Guangji Street, Guangtong Street... Today, walking in the Return Project Zone of Zhejiang Longquan Economic Development Zone, one can see streets with the prefix "Guang" everywhere. Behind this lies the indissoluble bond between Longquan's automotive air-conditioning component industry and open cities like Guangzhou.
In those years, Longquan's "hardware business" team built two Longquan Auto Parts Cities in Guangzhou. The large team engaged in "hardware business" attracted many enterprises from surrounding areas such as Wenzhou and Rui'an to set up factories in Longquan, thus forming a production, trading and logistics distribution center for "hardware". Gradually, Longquan became a "bridgehead" for national hardware and auto parts.
"We had already set up an auto parts factory in Guangzhou, and in 2002, Longquan called on us to return to our hometown to start businesses, so many Longquan people came back together." According to Chen Qinghua, at that time, Longquan called for "second entrepreneurship", and an on-site meeting was held in Chatian Town with a series of policies issued. The call of their hometown touched the hearts of a group of Chatian people who were engaged in hardware business in Guangzhou. They wanted to bring back the automotive air-conditioning component market and industry built by Longquan people to develop in Longquan.
For a time, the automotive air-conditioning component industry set off an upsurge of "returning to Longquan". In the Return Project Zone of Zhejiang Longquan Industrial Park, factory buildings sprang up one after another, and auto parts enterprises rushed to put into production, forming the Longquan automotive air-conditioning component industrial cluster.
In recent years, our city has taken the automotive air-conditioning component industry as the main focus of industry, thoroughly implemented the "1+3" leading industrial chain cultivation action, and accelerated the development of the industry towards clustering and modernization. Longquan is fully advancing into the automotive thermal management track: mass production of Geely Automobile's thermal management products has been realized, Kebole's production capacity is continuously released, leading and driving the leap from "0 to 1" in the production of NEV thermal management assemblies. The automotive thermal management industry has successfully been included in the list of national characteristic industrial clusters for small and medium-sized enterprises, being the only one in Lishui.
"The clustered development of the industry has improved the labor productivity, resource utilization rate and collaborative innovation capacity of Longquan's auto parts industry, enhanced industrial competitiveness, and laid a solid foundation for the development of advanced manufacturing industry." A relevant person in charge of Zhejiang Longquan Economic Development Zone introduced that today's automotive air-conditioning component (thermal management) industry has developed into Longquan's largest pillar industry, gradually forming a characteristic industrial cluster with complete automotive air-conditioning component (thermal management) products, renowned brands, sound marketing networks and strong factor support.
At present, Longquan's automotive air-conditioning components (thermal management) are exported to more than 80 countries and regions around the world. Parallel flow condensers and evaporators produced in Longquan account for 50% of the national export volume, and pipe valves account for 90% of the domestic after-sales market share.
"Fortune Global 500" Drives Longquan to Lead the Market
"This production line is expected to complete installation and commissioning by the end of October this year." In recent days, in the production workshop of Geely Longquan Xiazhi Thermal Management System Co., Ltd., workers are installing and commissioning the second TC11 NEV air-conditioning compressor assembly production line, which will achieve the goal of an annual output of 600,000 sets of electric compressors, leading the market.
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group is a Fortune Global 500 enterprise. Its subsidiary Geely Auto Group is a world-leading automobile manufacturer integrating the design, R&D, production, sales and service of complete vehicles, powertrains and key components, with strong basic R&D capabilities and market competitiveness. In August 2023, Geely Group signed three major projects with Longquan, including NEV thermal management, battery swapping and an industrial investment fund for automotive technology, attracting worldwide attention!
"The settlement of Geely's project in Longquan is both a strategic decision and the best choice." Gan Jiayue, CEO of Geely Auto Group, said that Geely values Longquan's industrial advantages in auto parts. Xiong Shusheng, Dean of Longquan Industrial Innovation Research Institute and Professor of the College of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, also serves as the Deputy Director of the National Energy and Power Experimental Center, and is familiar with the distribution and regional differences of the national automotive air-conditioning industry. He said: "Although the scale of Longquan's automotive air-conditioning industrial cluster is not particularly large, it has clear characteristics, focusing on automotive air-conditioning and NEV thermal management systems, and making all components refined and perfect. Compared with Longquan, no other region has such a focused theme."
Geely Longquan Xiazhi Thermal Management System Co., Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Geely Auto Group, a Fortune Global 500 enterprise, with a total investment of 2.1 billion yuan. It focuses on the R&D and manufacturing of NEV thermal management systems and core assemblies. The product R&D, testing and manufacturing center (Phase I) project has been included in the list of 2025 Zhejiang Provincial Emerging Industrial Cluster Chain Strengthening and Complementing Projects.
Bing Huajian, the person in charge of the company, said that when selecting the site for the factory, they communicated with many places and were ultimately attracted by Longquan's high-quality business environment. As one of the model "major, good and high-quality" projects of "double recruitment and double introduction", the Geely Longquan Xiazhi project took only 16 months from signing to production, creating a new speed for the construction of industrial projects in Longquan.
In recent years, our city has anchored the goal of building a business environment that is "at the forefront in Lishui and first-class in the province", taken the NEV thermal management industry as the main track, adhered to industry as the foundation and industry as the priority, studied and formulated 10 key industrial chains such as auto parts. Leading cadres of the four major teams of Longquan City serve as "chain chiefs" to vigorously promote industrial chain investment promotion in the way of "industrial chain + chain chief system", leading and driving the leading industries to gather into chains and clusters to take shape. Focusing on the cultivation of the "1+3" industrial chains, we have accurately drawn industrial chain investment promotion maps, constructed a "two maps and two lists" model of "investment promotion map + mind map + key tracking list + project landing list", and promoted the extension, supplementation and strengthening of industrial chains.
In 2024, the construction project of Zhejiang Kebole NEV Thermal Management and Vehicle Control System Industrial Park was officially put into production, with a total investment of 200 million yuan. After completion, it can produce 300,000 NEV PTC heaters annually. Kebole is the first enterprise in Longquan engaged in the manufacturing of NEV thermal management assemblies, and also a leading enterprise in the national NEV thermal management and vehicle control system industry, accounting for 18% of the national NEV PTC industry's market supporting share. Its production marks a "zero breakthrough" in the production of NEV thermal management assemblies in Longquan.
In the process of project investment attraction and landing, government departments of our city have assigned special personnel to provide project construction services, tracked the progress of project construction throughout the whole process, and timely coordinated and handled various problems encountered to ensure the smooth progress of project construction. "The services of government departments are thoughtful and in place. Whenever we encounter difficulties and problems during construction, we can always find someone to solve them." Ye Weifeng, Chairman of Zhejiang Kebole New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., said that this has played a great role in the steady progress of project construction.
It is this modern and high-quality business environment that is pro-business and beneficial to businesses that makes many entrepreneurs who invest and start businesses in Longquan feel the warm experience of "no need to ask for help to handle affairs, no obstacles to starting a business", thus creating a hot spot for entrepreneurial investment that excites entrepreneurs.
A high-quality business environment is a strong competitiveness. According to statistics, since 2024, by concentrating efforts on attracting large and strong enterprises, our city has introduced 8 NEV thermal management industry projects with a total investment of 3.79 billion yuan. Among them, Zhejiang Zhongtai New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. invested 1.1 billion yuan in Longquan through chain-based investment promotion; Rui'an Hande Vehicle Components Co., Ltd. invested 1.1 billion yuan in Longquan to build an NEV ABS solenoid valve project, which can produce 7.5 million sets of NEV ABS solenoid valves annually after completion.
With a number of leading projects signed and landed, Longquan's auto parts industry has transformed from traditional automotive air-conditioning to NEV thermal management systems, products from components to system assemblies, and the market from maintenance and after-sales to complete vehicle supporting. Enterprises have deeply integrated into the collaborative supporting of the industrial chain, improving the development level of Longquan's auto parts (thermal management) industrial cluster.
New Quality Productive Forces Drive Industrial Leap
On June 3 this year, Longquan received the long-awaited good news: the provincial key laboratory applied for by Zhejiang University Longquan Industrial Innovation Research Institute in conjunction with Zhejiang University and Xiazhi Thermal Management Company was recognized by the Provincial Department of Science and Technology!
This is the only provincial key laboratory in mountainous and island counties of the province built on the basis of a local entity research institute, and also the first provincial key laboratory in Lishui led by a county-level institution. It has brought a strong engine for the development of new quality productive forces in Longquan's auto parts (thermal management) industry.
In recent years, our city has adhered to promoting industrial innovation through scientific and technological innovation, thoroughly implemented the "No.1 Development Project" for the innovation and upgrading of the digital economy, successively issued policies such as the "Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of Innovative Longquan and Cultivating and Developing New Quality Productive Forces", and established 3 entity research institutes including Zhejiang University Longquan Industrial Innovation Research Institute, fully promoting the tackling of industrial generic technologies and key technologies.
Relying on the advantages of the provincial science and technology mission group pilot, our city has collaborated with universities and research institutes such as Zhejiang University and Zhejiang A&F University to carry out research on key core technologies through methods such as "tackling key problems through open tender" and "city-university cooperation". In the past three years, a total of 6 projects have been included in the provincial "Pioneer & Leader + X" science and technology program projects.
"At present, the R290 thermal management system developed by the laboratory has made new breakthroughs, completed prototype trial production and Heihe winter calibration tests. Follow-up high-temperature, high-altitude and high-humidity tests will be carried out, and mass production on vehicles will be promoted in conjunction with Geely." Xiong Shusheng, Dean of Zhejiang University Longquan Industrial Innovation Research Institute and Director of the Provincial Key Laboratory of New Energy Vehicle Thermal Management, told reporters that the laboratory will focus on three research directions: "new theories and methods of thermal fluid science for low-carbon and environmentally friendly working fluids, intelligent design and structural innovation of core components, and performance evaluation and intelligent control technology of thermal management systems" to carry out original innovation and tackle key technologies. At the same time, aiming at the application of new refrigerants, it is actively striving to list Longquan as a pilot city for new environmentally friendly refrigerants.
To accurately serve the development of the auto parts industry, since 2009, our city has built the Zhejiang Longquan Automotive Air-Conditioning Industrial Innovation Service Complex, one of the first provincial-level industrial innovation service complexes in the province, realizing R&D and manufacturing of automotive air-conditioning in Longquan, testing and inspection in Longquan, and standard formulation in Longquan. The detection cycle of new products has been shortened by more than 60 days, the detection cost has been reduced by 60%, and more than 10 million yuan in detection fees are saved every year.
With the support of research institutes, a large number of enterprises have promoted transformation and upgrading through scientific and technological innovation, actively seized the development track of the thermal management industry, continuously expanded their brands and increased product added value, showing strong competitiveness in market competition.
Zhejiang Xinjin Air Conditioning Equipment Co., Ltd. laid out the new energy field early, achieving an output value of 360 million yuan in 2024, and currently NEV valve products account for 70% of the enterprise's production. In the first half of this year, the company's series of products such as electronic expansion valves have successfully shifted from the R&D stage to mass production, and the newly built 100,000-class clean workshop will be put into use soon, realizing the comprehensive upgrading of the production environment.
Zhejiang Jilisi Automotive Air Conditioning Co., Ltd. is advancing the R&D project of key technologies for high-efficiency basic heat exchange components for thermal management of NEV power "charging-storage-utilization" systems, committed to the independent design and development of high-efficiency and compact heat exchange component products, and achieving breakthroughs in typical micro-channel heat exchange components such as plate heat exchangers and parallel flow heat exchangers.
Zhejiang Hengruifeng New Energy Technology Co., Ltd.'s newly developed ACC gas-liquid separator, the first domestic high-capacity and high-performance NEV thermal management module in the segmented field, has been put into mass production and is favored by various OEMs. This product has gas-liquid separation capabilities such as efficient oil return, which can make the liquid entering the compressor purer, reduce internal wear and friction of the compressor, and improve the cooling effect of the passenger compartment.
Making every effort to promote the steady progress and improvement of the industrial economy, and taking the road of innovative development according to local conditions. Up to now, our city has successfully cultivated 5 national-level specialized, sophisticated, distinctive and innovative "little giant" enterprises (including 1 key "little giant"), 28 provincial-level specialized, sophisticated, distinctive and innovative enterprises, and 49 national high-tech enterprises; built 1 provincial-level "Future Factory" and 2 provincial-level digital workshops/smart factories. Santian Group has become the first large enterprise with an output value exceeding 1 billion yuan. Longquan's integration index of informatization and industrialization has jumped to the first place in Lishui.
Reporters: Ye Chilong, Sun Linji; Intern: Shen Zirui; Correspondent: Huang Haiying