"Orders have increased again, and we have to keep adding molds!" On February 9, Liu Ming, project manager of the silicone ice pier shell of Zhongsheng in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, told reporters that in the past day since the start of construction, the factory has received more orders for the shell of the ice pier of Fujian enterprises, and the current orders have exceeded 400,000.
In the face of the hot ice pier boom, at present, Zhongsheng Silicone has planned to continue to increase investment and increase production capacity on the basis of the original expansion of production line molds, and will open 80 new sets of molds. According to Liu Ming, a set of molds can produce 800 a day, and in the next 10 days, after the newly opened molds are put into production, the factory can produce more than 30,000 ice pier shells per day.
When will the ice piers ordered by netizens be shipped?
In the face of netizens' doubts, Liu Ming introduced that the raw materials ordered by the company have arrived, the production line has been restarted, and the newly produced "ice shell" is expected to be sent to downstream enterprises tomorrow. At the same time, Liu Ming stressed that it is believed that with the new mold put into production soon, the ice pier dolls will continue to be supplied.
Behind the "ice pier" of Guangdong Intelligent Manufacturing: one mold can press two "pier" shells, and 200,000 orders are stepping up production
Who is the "top stream" these days?
Without him, the ice pier. This cute face, smiling Beijing Winter Olympics mascot in the past two days has set off a "ice pier" boom at home and abroad, sold out online, offline queues, many netizens have left messages hoping that the official will replenish as soon as possible, looking forward to the early implementation of "one household and one pier".
The "ice pier" has a panda image and an ice crystal shell, and the image of the snow panda perfectly combines the beauty and technology of ice and snow sports. In terms of production, the birth of an ice pier was separated from the production of silicone shell and the production of plush dolls. After the manufacturer finishes making the shell, it is sent to the plush factory for assembly, sold to the retailer, and finally to the consumer.
Recently, the reporter visited Zhongsheng silicone located in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, which is one of the production places of the ice pier doll "ice sugar coat" - silicone shell, with the rush to buy the ice pier, the current factory employees have quickly returned to work to prepare for production, non-stop for the whole people "ice pier" boom to continue production.
"As soon as the start of construction, quickly order raw materials!" Factory project manager Liu Ming these days busy on the ground, it is understood that Zhongsheng silicone before the Spring Festival to take 200,000 orders, at present, the manufacturer has prepared to expand the production line, increase the ice pier "ice shell" coat mold, as soon as possible to meet the market order demand.
One mold makes two "piers" and currently produces 800 per day
On the morning of the 8th, the firecrackers outside the factory of Dongguan Zhongsheng Silicone Rubber Products Co., Ltd. sounded, and the R&D and production enterprises of the silicone shell of the ice pier pier officially resumed work! The factory was busy with one thing: to resume production as soon as possible and to make the shell of the "ice pier".
"The whole company is proud to participate in the production of the mascot of the Winter Olympics. We're not saying we're making money in business, we're out of a sense of honor. Liu Ming excitedly said that in 2019, Dongguan Zhongsheng silicone became a research and development manufacturer of the silicone shell of the Winter Olympic mascot "Ice Pier", and quickly began mold development after receiving the task.
According to Liu Ming, in order to achieve the large-scale production of the silicone shell of the ice pier, it is necessary to first make a precise mold, wash and wipe the mold, and then polish it, and then put the silicone on the mold and send it into the machine for shaping. The process of demoulding should be very delicate and not damaged. After completion, the Olympic rings and rainbow bars must be integrated into the product.
In the workshop of the factory, two sets of hundreds of pounds of ice pier shell molds are "lying" on the machine tool, just waiting for the raw materials to be in place, they can press the silicone shell non-stop. But the size of the silicone shell of the ice pier is larger, different from other small products, a mold can produce dozens of products, a set of ice pier molds can only produce two ice shells at a time, Liu Ming told reporters, a machine does not stop working, two sets of molds can only do up to 800 ice shells a day.
On January 22, the last batch of ice shells in the factory was delivered, with a total of about 50,000 pieces. But before the Spring Festival, the factory suddenly received an order for 200,000 silicone shells of ice piers, a huge order volume that caught the factory off guard.
"It will be over on the 20th, and we must hurry up!" Liu Ming said frankly that the Spring Festival is not over, and he answers the phone every day at home, "Now it is not about how many orders to place, but how much the other party can do." ”
For the call for "one pier for everyone" in the market, Liu Ming admitted that the supply is in short supply at all, and can only be made in large quantities immediately. During the Chinese New Year, more than 20 employees of the factory have worked overtime to produce ice piers. In order to meet the market demand, the factory is expected to increase the number of molds from two to 30 in recent days, while speeding up mold production. It is understood that such a large-scale mold production generally takes 15 days to 20 days, and the factory is conducting technical discussions, expecting to compress the production time of this mold to 8 days to 10 days.
It is understood that the production of hundreds of ice shells plus the printing of patterns took about half a day. It is sent to a plush factory for assembly and then to a retailer. An ice pier also takes at least 2 days from production to final consumer orientation.
Five schemes were designed before and after the shell production, making the pier "stand firm" as the first problem
In September 2019, after the Winter Olympic Organizing Committee identified the mascot "Ice Pier", it was necessary to make the product public to consumers for the first time in November. In the end, in the production of the product shell, the silicone shell came out on top.
Li Yingui, founder of Zhongsheng Silicone, once told the media: "This is the first time in the history of the Winter Olympic mascot to use a silicone shell, and Dongguan enterprises have successfully won orders, which also proves the strong strength of Dongguan manufacturing." According to reports, there are three main reasons for the successful breakthrough of the silicone shell: first, the material is transparent; second, the feel is better; third, it can reach the level of environmentally friendly food.
Although the company has rich production experience, due to the first production of Winter Olympic products, it is still such a large size of silicone shell, mold structure design, mold opening, mold trial, debugging, production, ice ribbon production, raw material materials are a very difficult challenge for the company.
In order to make the shell more transparent, Zhongsheng silicone uses high-permeable materials, while paying attention to the outer layer of anti-scratching, which puts forward high requirements for the silicone process.
To implement the design from the drawings to the reality, the production personnel must first solve the problem of "standing up" the ice pier. This seems to be very simple, but according to Liu Ming, the first time the doll easily fell down, and then added hard bottom material, in the continuous exploration of adjustment to find the most appropriate balance point, "the empty shell should be able to stand, the doll should be more standing after wearing." ”
The most difficult process of shell making is the "ice ribbon" on the shell. The shape of the head shell of the ice pier is taken from the ice and snow sports helmet, decorated with a multicolored aura, inspired by the "ice ribbon" of the National Speed Skating Hall of the Beijing Winter Olympics, and the flowing bright color lines symbolize the track of ice and snow sports and 5G high technology.
Liu Ming recalled that the first time the mold was opened, although the silicone shell was made, the research and development of this circle of ice ribbon made the team helpless for a while. Faced with the upcoming mascot launch, the Beijing Winter Olympics team asked the factory to come up with a solution within a day. In an emergency, the production staff made them by hand overnight, and glued the finished ribbons with glue. This is also the first version of the "Ice Ribbon".
At present, the final version of the "ice ribbon" seen on the market is printed. Since the "ice ribbon" is surrounded by five colors, and the printing is generally carried out in a plane, it is not difficult to accurately print the ice ribbon to the corresponding position. Liu Ming told reporters that no printing plant in the market in the early stage of production could directly print the ice ribbon. Later, after continuous polishing with the printing plant, a relatively mature technology was developed.
From the first edition to the final edition, technicians have tried 5 versions of the ice ribbon production scheme. This circle of small ribbon production, to the final final production, went through nearly a month.
"Polishing over and over again can make the ribbon on the shell look brighter and more transparent from the front." Liu Ming told reporters that Zhongsheng silicone has previously produced more food-grade silicone products, such as children's tableware, and the silicone shell of the ice pier is also strictly produced in accordance with food-grade materials. Watching the final finished product so popular with children, I was satisfied as a silicone worker myself.
Manufacturer employees also encounter "a pier is difficult to find", "one household and one pier" will not be a dream
When the reporter walked into the production factory, like the majority of consumers, they were looking forward to whether they could buy an "ice pier" here. Surprisingly, there were only two ice piers in the factory as production samples. Liu Ming laughed and said that he "couldn't buy it" either.
During the Chinese New Year, Liu Ming, who "made clothes" for the ice pier, has been "repeatedly bombarded" by many relatives, friends and customers at home and abroad, looking forward to a pier. "Some of our customers are abroad, including Japan, the United States and other countries, asking if they can buy me, they look at my circle of friends and know that I am making this product." Liu Ming laughed and said that not only himself, colleagues up and down the company have been repeatedly asked by relatives and friends about whether they can buy it in recent days, but the fact is that Zhongsheng silicone as a manufacturer of "ice pier" silicone sleeves does not have the right to sell, Liu Ming himself does not have an ice pier, "now it is so hot." ”
From the Japanese reporter who lifted his clothes to show the host the 6 ice pier badges he wore when broadcasting the dynamics in front of the Olympic Games, to the Prince of Monaco who hoped to take two "ice piers" home and give them to his twin children, the "ice piers" became the international "top stream", which is the epitome of the heat of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Passion, never to fail. The Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee has made it clear that the popularity of the Winter Olympics will not decline with the end of the competition, and the sales period of the Winter Olympic licensed goods will continue until the end of June.
Manufacturers across the country are stepping up their efforts, and the expectation of "one household and one pier" is being responded to bit by bit.
Source South+
Edited by Xiao Xiaojun
Editor-in-charge Li Yan
Producer Liu Zhu
Proofreading Yu Fanghua
Click here to see for more friends to see!