On November 24, the Guangdong Laser and Additive Manufacturing SME Industrial Cluster Development Promotion Conference and Guangzhou Laser and Additive Manufacturing Industry Undertaking Zone Promotion Event were held at the Longxi Avenue Park in the Hailongwei Science and Innovation Zone, Liwan, Guangzhou. On the same day, witnessed by responsible persons from provincial, municipal and district governments, Academician Leng Jinsong of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and more than 100 industry representatives, the logo of the "Guangzhou Laser and Additive Manufacturing Industrial Park" was lit up, marking its official opening.

In 2024, the scale of Liwan District's laser and additive manufacturing industrial cluster reached nearly 6 billion yuan, and it was listed as a "Provincial-Level Featured Industrial Cluster for SMEs". As the core undertaking zone for Guangdong Province's additive manufacturing industry layout, it is Guangzhou's first and only provincial-level laser and additive manufacturing industrial park, and one of the key carriers of Guangzhou Liwan Industrial Park – the city's first provincial-level industrial park. It is also a benchmark project for Liwan District to implement the "100-Billion, 10-Thousand, 1-Thousand Project" and the first high-standard modern urban industrial park independently invested, developed, constructed and operated by a district-owned state-owned enterprise in Liwan.

During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, Liwan aims to push the scale of its laser and additive manufacturing industry to 10 billion yuan, striving to build a globally influential highland for consumer-oriented intelligent manufacturing. The opening of the Guangzhou Laser and Additive Manufacturing Industrial Park will inject strong momentum into the high-quality development of Liwan's consumer-grade 3D printing intelligent manufacturing track during this period.

▎Liwan's Landmark "Industry Going Upstairs" Carrier: High Standards Reflected in Every Detail

Large open spaces, high floor heights, heavy-load floors, extra-large elevators, semi-indoor truck parking spaces, and spacious corridors accommodating small work vehicles... Walking into the Guangzhou Laser and Additive Manufacturing Industrial Park, the concept of "Industry Going Upstairs" is vividly materialized.

Located in the Longxi Avenue Park of Hailongwei Science and Innovation Zone, Guangzhou, the park has a total investment of 1.38 billion yuan, covers an area of 38,900 square meters, and a total construction area of approximately 187,000 square meters. Focusing on cutting-edge fields such as laser and additive manufacturing, intelligent equipment, and next-generation information technology, it plans to build three functional sectors: R&D and office, production and manufacturing, and living services.

Liu Yu, Chairman of Liwan Development Group Co., Ltd., stated: "In recent years, Liwan has promoted the return of modern urban industry. Under the strategic framework of Liwan's '1283' modern industrial system, we have built a high-quality park relying on the relatively mature laser and additive manufacturing industry existing in the district."

Wu Wei, Deputy General Manager of Chuangneng Company under Liwan Development Group, introduced the park's operation. The park consists of five buildings (A, B, C, D, E), three of which are high-standard industrial workshops. With a maximum single-floor area of 5,900 square meters, floor height of 8 meters, and load-bearing capacity of 3 tons, they fully meet the needs of modern urban industry moving upstairs. "More than half of the settled enterprises are laser and additive manufacturing companies," Wu Wei said. Power outages during production can cause significant losses to the laser and additive manufacturing industry. To address this, the park has invested 50 million yuan in building a "dual-circuit" power supply network. In case of sudden power outages, it can switch to the other power line in nearly zero seconds. This is one of the few parks in Guangzhou and the first in Liwan District equipped with such a system. In addition, the first floors of the three workshops are reserved for truck parking, ensuring cargo loading and unloading regardless of weather conditions. Corridors are built between workshops for convenient access, the freight elevators have a load-bearing capacity of 3 tons, and the corridors above the second floor are spacious enough for small work vehicles to enter. The park is also equipped with supporting facilities such as an intelligent canteen, shared meeting rooms, and talent apartments.

"Location is our core advantage. The park is one of the few high-standard workshops in Guangzhou's central urban area and is located in the core area of the Guangzhou-Foshan Pole," Wu Wei admitted. Previously, some local enterprises in Liwan intended to move after growing stronger due to unmet demand for production space. However, with the completion of this industrial park, they have obtained new, sufficient, and high-quality workshop space, ultimately choosing to stay.

"Having rooted in Liwan for many years, we have applied 3D printing technology to the dental field and have grown into a leading enterprise in the industry. We are also actively expanding applications in the industrial equipment field, with an annual turnover growth rate exceeding 30% in recent years, indicating a period of rapid development," said Xie Zhuo, Sales Director of Guangzhou Ruitong Additive Technology Co., Ltd., a settled enterprise. The company's previous workshop in Dongsha could not meet the needs of its development, but moving out of Liwan would lead to the loss of talents. Therefore, they rented over 10,000 square meters of workshop space in the park and plan to move in by the end of the year.

▎Initial Formation of Industrial Agglomeration Ecosystem: Comprehensive Soft Services Empower Enterprise Growth

The "Industry Going Upstairs" park is not only an upgrade of hardware but also provides full support of soft services and a full-chain industrial ecosystem: production workshops are located in brand-new and clean buildings, with production and R&D in close proximity; "upstairs and downstairs" are also "upstream and downstream", as different enterprises form an efficient "vertical supply chain" and become close business partners... Currently, the park has attracted 9 enterprises (including 1 scientific research platform), such as the Guangzhou Future Additive Manufacturing Research Institute led by Academician Leng Jinsong with in-depth participation of the Harbin Institute of Technology team, Ruitong Additive, Ruixintong, Kepa, Guozhi Laser, Fanlian, and Jiayan. The park's occupancy rate has reached 30%, and the annual output value is expected to reach 1 billion yuan when fully occupied.

Liu Yu stated that the park not only provides physical space for settled enterprises but also offers soft services in terms of technological R&D, industrial transformation, talent support, policy matching, tax incentives, and rent subsidies. Wu Wei added that the laser and additive manufacturing industry is still in a growth stage, and the park will empower the growth of SMEs. For example, it provides EIA consulting services for settled enterprises, connects them with financial institutions to address capital needs, and collaborates with district-level human resources and social security bureaus and employment centers to link with technical schools and vocational colleges to solve the "recruitment difficulty" issue, providing in-depth and personalized services for enterprises.

At this conference, a number of cutting-edge technologies and solutions focusing on the consumer-oriented track were unveiled. In the session of "'100-Billion, 10-Thousand, 1-Thousand Project' Empowers Additive Manufacturing Industry Application Scenario Release", Guangzhou Industrial Investment Holdings Group Co., Ltd. launched China's first third-party service platform for quality and reliability testing of additive manufacturing equipment and core components, providing key support for the large-scale market application of consumer-grade products. The Guangzhou Future Additive Manufacturing Research Institute shared the latest R&D progress in intelligent orthopedics and intelligent molds, which can be applied to high-end equipment manufacturing in fields such as biomedicine, shape memory materials, aerospace, and rail transit, offering new ideas for manufacturing production.

In addition, several enterprises successively released innovative products. A number of benchmark enterprises covering the upstream, midstream, and downstream of the laser and additive manufacturing field, including Beijing AVIC Materials & Technology Co., Ltd., Guangdong Hanbang Laser Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai Yipu 3D Printing Technology Co., Ltd., Suzhou Bolai New Materials Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Xihe Additive Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai Rongyue Electronics Co., Ltd., and local enterprises such as Guangzhou Ruitong Additive, Guangzhou Jiehe Electronics, and Guangzhou Qianhui Information, collectively released their latest products in new materials, 3D printing equipment, and high-precision forming.

These new processes, materials, and applications close to the consumer market not only reflect enterprises' strong technological commercialization capabilities but also demonstrate the huge potential and market vitality of laser and additive manufacturing technology entering the consumer sector, highlighting Liwan's agglomeration advantage in the consumer-grade additive manufacturing track.

Wei Lu, Senior Manager of the Operations Department of Shanghai Yipu 3D Printing Technology Co., Ltd., was showcasing the company's R&D 3D printed shoes. "This shoe weighs less than 100 grams, with light weight and good elasticity. Moreover, 3D printing enables mold-free, mass production with greatly improved flexibility, shortening the production cycle and reducing R&D costs. Compared with traditional production methods, it is more adaptable to the rapid industrial upgrading and iteration," she introduced. The company participated in the exhibition to explore cooperation opportunities and intends to bring its cutting-edge technologies to Liwan, Guangzhou, which has a complete industrial chain and strong policy support.

▎Promoting the Laser and Additive Manufacturing Cluster to Reach 10 Billion Yuan Scale

The launch of the Guangzhou Laser and Additive Manufacturing Industrial Park is rooted in Liwan District's profound industrial accumulation and clear strategic layout. Liwan has gathered more than 60 enterprises in the industrial chain, including 21 national high-tech enterprises and 8 provincial-level specialized, refined, characteristic, and innovative enterprises, accounting for more than half of the city's similar enterprises, covering a complete ecological chain of materials, core components, equipment manufacturing, and application services. Meanwhile, in June 2024, the Guangzhou Liwan Industrial Park, with a total area of 526 hectares, was approved by the Guangdong Provincial Government as Guangzhou's first provincial-level industrial park, gradually forming a functional layout of "one core, three districts + reserve area". By the end of 2024, the park had 112 high-tech enterprises, 46 specialized, refined, characteristic, and innovative SMEs, 166 technology-based SMEs, and 83 innovative SMEs, providing broad space for the market-oriented development of the consumer-grade laser and additive manufacturing industrial cluster.

It is understood that Liwan District has established an industrial development fund with a total scale of 1 billion yuan and a special fund for the laser and additive manufacturing industry. "Taking the industrial park as a fulcrum, we will deepen cooperation with universities and scientific research institutes, build a full-chain ecosystem of 'policy-fund-talent-service', and create a preferred destination for the transformation of national innovative achievements," said a responsible person from Liwan District. In the future, Liwan will focus on attracting leading enterprises in the consumer-grade 3D printing industrial chain, promoting the industrial cluster to reach 10 billion yuan scale.

Centered on the Guangzhou Future Additive Manufacturing Research Institute, Liwan will cooperate with universities and scientific research institutions to build a collaborative innovation system, focusing on breaking through key technologies such as intelligent materials and multi-functional 3D printing, and promoting the large-scale application of technologies in consumer scenarios such as personalized medical care, smart wearables, creative home furnishings, and cultural and creative tourism. Meanwhile, in terms of innovation platform construction and industrial collaborative development, it will strengthen the "government-chain leader-park" collaborative mechanism, focus on the consumer-grade terminal market, and introduce leading enterprises in fields such as smart hardware and customized consumer goods, building an industrial ecosystem with sustained innovation capabilities.

▎Guangzhou Liwan: Promoting Industrial Development Through Carrier Construction, 49 Industrial Carrier Projects Completed in Three Years

In recent years, in accordance with Guangzhou's "12218" industrial layout and combining its own advantages, Liwan District has determined the leading industrial direction of "focusing on modern urban industry, with the coordinated development of producer services and modern commerce and trade" on the basis of in-depth research, which has been refined into the "1283" modern industrial system.

Taking carrier construction as the starting point, Liwan District has thoroughly implemented the three-year action plan for industrial carrier construction, vigorously promoted the construction of modern parks, and continuously stimulated the development momentum of industrial platforms. The former scattered industrial land has been transformed into modern industrial parks. From 2022 to 2024, the district completed 49 industrial carrier projects with a construction area of approximately 2 million square meters, providing strong support for building a modern industrial system. Characteristic and advantageous industries such as laser and additive manufacturing, modern traditional Chinese medicine and high-end medical devices, and fashionable consumer goods have gathered and developed here, with remarkable results in industrial carrier construction, injecting strong momentum into the high-quality development of the regional economy.

At the intersection of Dongxin Expressway and Huancheng Expressway, the Liby Science and Technology Park, a new park full of modern design sense, has been open for more than half a year. Li Jian, General Manager of the Liby Science and Technology Park Project, introduced that the park's occupancy rate has reached 68%, gathering more than 50 enterprises, including key leading enterprises such as Anguang Electronics and Nanjing Guyi Chemical. Liby's R&D center will also settle in the park in the future, which is expected to form a full industrial chain covering daily chemicals, artificial intelligence, electronic information, etc., empowering Liwan's industrial upgrading and the new quality productive forces of the entire incubation industrial platform. "In the current situation, the park's occupancy rate has increased by 20% against the trend. The most important factor is that the park enables settled enterprises to access more upstream and downstream resources and establish business cooperation with Liby, contributing to the profitability and development of the enterprises," Li Jian said. As a leading entity manufacturing enterprise, Liby better understands the needs of entity manufacturing enterprises in operation, R&D, and production. "In addition to basic property services, we also provide industrial chain docking and investment and financing services, such as helping start-ups obtain financial support and supporting the growth of Guangzhou's daily chemical enterprises and new material industries."

Guangzhou Anguang Electronics Technology Co., Ltd. ("Anguang Electronics") moved its headquarters to Liby Science and Technology Park on October 1 this year, integrating R&D, production, and office. The production here is quiet, with zero distance from R&D. "Our workshop is engaged in light production, mainly programming chips," introduced Liu Jun, General Manager. Anguang Electronics is an "invisible champion" in the field of remote control ICs and a provincial-level specialized, refined, characteristic, and innovative enterprise. It is understood that more than 95% of remote control ICs worldwide are produced in China, and Anguang Electronics' annual global sales of remote control ICs reach 400-500 million pieces, ranking first in the world, with an annual output value of 100-200 million yuan. Liu Jun said that Anguang Electronics is an enterprise growing up locally in Liwan, with factories in Anhui and Zhejiang. It has always chosen to locate its headquarters in Guangzhou because its customers are concentrated in Dongguan, Zhongshan, Foshan Shunde, Zhuhai, and other places, and Guangzhou can "balance east and west". "After nearly 20 years of development, the company has upgraded every ten years. Liby Science and Technology Park has a beautiful environment and convenient transportation, adjacent to Nanjiao Station of Guangzhou Metro Line 22. Despite the fierce industry competition, we hope to realize our growth plan for the next ten years in Liby Science and Technology Park."

This year, Liwan District continues to promote the construction of 56 industrial carrier projects with a construction area of 5.4413 million square meters. Among them, it vigorously promotes the construction of high-standard industrial workshops. Projects such as the Guangzhou Laser and Additive Manufacturing Industrial Park, Dongze Zhihui Park, Pearl River Piano Culture and Technology Industry Building, and Mincheng Interconnected Digital Economy Building will be completed within the year, adding approximately 350,000 square meters of construction area.

Text/Reporter Wu Duo from Guangzhou Daily New Huacheng

Photos/Reporter Wu Duo from Guangzhou Daily New Huacheng, Correspondent Li Xuan

Editor Shi Xiufu from Guangzhou Daily New Huacheng