Exclusive Interview with Zhejiang Weigang Technology Co., Ltd.
Currently, a new wave of technological revolution is accelerating, and new qualitative productivity has become the core driving force for high-quality development. The traditional printing industry is taking advantage of this momentum to accelerate transformation and upgrading. From technological iteration to model innovation, from market expansion to green practices, the industry is brimming with innovative energy. To explore the vibrant practices of the printing industry in technological breakthroughs, production model changes, and cross-industry integration, and to distill transferrable transformation experiences that can inject new momentum into high-quality industry development, the organizers of the China International All-in-Print Exhibition have planned a special column called "New-Quality Printing Enterprises."
In this issue, we feature an exclusive interview with Zhou Bingsong, Chairman of Zhejiang Weigang Technology Co., Ltd. He has led the company to break overseas monopolies through technological breakthroughs, guide industry standards through standard-setting, and, with a global perspective and green practices, has explored a solid path for Chinese printing machines to move from "following" to "leading."
Forging a Benchmark in Printing Machines with the Original Spirit of Industry
Leading the Future of the Industry with Innovative Vision
--Exclusive Interview with Zhou Bingsong, Chairman of Zhejiang Weigang Technology Co., Ltd.
Amid the wave of transforming from 'Made in China' to 'Intelligent Manufacturing in China,' Zhou Bingsong, chairman of Zhejiang Weigang Technology Co., Ltd., has dedicated over thirty years to the printing machinery field, writing a chapter of transitioning from a technological follower to an industry leader. From breaking overseas monopolies to setting industry standards, he has led Weigang Technology to reshape the landscape of China's label printing machine industry with solid achievements, injecting strong momentum into the development of the industry through innovative practices.
Thirty years of honing: from technological breakthrough to industry leadership
In the early 1980s, in the workshop of Ruian Printing Machinery Factory No. 5, a thin young man squatted in front of the roaring equipment and measured every mechanical error with a caliper. This technician would not have imagined that in 30 years, he would lead China's label printing machine industry to break through the European and American technology blockade, making "WEIGANG" a Chinese symbol in the global printing machine market.
Back in 2008, Zhou Bingsong resolutely launched the intermittent PS offset printing machine, breaking the long-term monopoly of foreign equipment in the field of label printing in one fell swoop and igniting the spark of Made in China in the industry. With its dedication to technological innovation and adherence to product quality, Weigang Technology has gradually grown into a leader in the label industry, helping China's printing industry develop by leaps and bounds, and making "Made in China" win the respect of the global printing market.
At present, in the production workshop of Weigang Technology, a printing equipment marked with the word "WEIGANG" is being debugged and will be sent to all parts of the world. Behind this are the dazzling report cards handed over by Zhou Bingsong and the team. In 2024, Weigang Technology achieved operating income of 489 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.35%; the total net profit was 90.1839 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.29%, and still maintained a high-quality growth trend in the context of the overall cost pressure of the industry.
In the domestic market, the domestic market share and sales revenue of the "automatic web trademark printing machine" and "unit flexographic printing machine" produced by Weigang Technology rank first in the industry, serving more than 8,500 global enterprises, becoming a veritable "champion in the subdivision". In the global market, Weigang Technology's products have been exported to more than 100 countries and regions around the world, and agents have been set up in 19 countries and regions to build a marketing service network covering the world. From food label printing factories in Southeast Asia to daily chemical packaging companies in Europe, more and more international customers choose Weigang Technology's "Made in China" printing equipment, which is inseparable from the internationalization strategy promoted by Zhou Bingsong, which fully demonstrates the global competitiveness of Chinese printing machine brands.
The foundation of this performance stems from Zhou Bingsong's ultimate pursuit of technological innovation. In 2019, the combined high-speed full-rotary (sleeve) offset printing machine independently developed by Weigang Technology was rated as the country's first set of products, breaking the monopoly of foreign enterprises in the field of high-end wide-format packaging and printing equipment in one fell swoop, and injecting strong impetus into the breakthrough of China's printing equipment manufacturing industry. In the face of the market's eager expectations, Zhou Bingsong made an unexpected decision - resolutely launched an eight-year quality iteration plan, suspended large-scale promotion, only did small-batch production, and silently carried out fixed-point tests against the "pre-mass production verification" logic of the automotive industry. The team followed the road test standard of one million kilometers of automobiles, formulated a three-dimensional solution of "extreme working conditions, long-term load, and multi-material adaptation", and quietly cooperated with three leading enterprises to carry out more than 5,000 batches of printing verification. In the end, all the test machines were given feedback of "reaching the standard at start-up and long-term zero failure", which confirmed his vision of polishing products with automotive-grade standards. Behind this choice is the quality concept of "the first set is not the end, but the starting point of high quality", which also opens the road for it to polish products with extreme ingenuity.
The R&D team focuses on the five core directions of ink circuit system, waterway structure, transfer stability, dual-mode switching, and wide expansion, and uses thousands of experiments to solve the pain points of the industry. In response to the problem of uneven ink color of the first set of equipment, the team disassembled and reconstructed the ink roller system, introduced servo motor drive and PLC dynamic ink volume compensation technology, which increased the ink response speed by 40% and shortened the adjustment time of the ink path from 45 minutes to 20 minutes. In order to solve the stubborn problem of "water bar", a planetary water transmission dampening waterway was developed to realize micron-level control of water roller pressure.
Today, the overprinting accuracy of the upgraded all-rotary offset printing machine is stable at ±0.05mm, the pass rate is 99.8%, and the average trouble-free operation time is more than 800 hours, and all indicators are comparable to the world's first-class. At the 2026 Full Printing Exhibition, Weigang Technology will launch this offset printing equipment specially built for the packaging industry in the world! As a product to fill the domestic technology gap, it will rewrite the global pattern of the packaging offset printing field with international performance and more competitive cost.
Industry contribution: Leading the development of the industry with standard setting and green practices
"Chinese printing machines cannot always just follow others and do 'fill-in-the-blank' tasks; they must learn to tackle 'application problems.'" This is a phrase that Zhou Bingsong often repeats. Over the years, he has actively promoted industry standardization, leading and participating in the drafting of five national standards, nine industry standards, and two local standards, including the 'Modular Flexographic Printing Machine' and 'Digital Direct Flexographic Plate-Making Machine.' He has helped shift the industry from 'experience-based manufacturing' to 'data-driven manufacturing,' setting a quality benchmark for China's label printing machine sector. Additionally, Zhou Bingsong has promoted the establishment of an industry-university-research collaboration system, founded the Chengwei Academy, and worked with universities such as Zhejiang University of Technology on joint R&D. This has cultivated a multidisciplinary technical team in mechanical, electronic, and software fields, providing a stream of professional talent and contributing to the overall technological advancement of the industry.
In the field of green manufacturing, Weigang Technology is even at the forefront. In 2024, thanks to its outstanding achievements in green production, resource conservation, and sustainable development, Weigang Technology was successfully selected as a national green factory. The company has established a comprehensive green manufacturing system, with certifications in quality, environmental management, occupational health and safety, and energy management systems. Renewable energy accounts for 51.4% of its energy use, saving 966,000 kWh annually. During production, Weigang Technology uses water-based inks to reduce hazardous waste downstream, employs modular design to extend equipment lifespan by 40%, achieves an 8% material reduction, and each modular offset press can reduce hazardous waste emissions by 12 tons per year for customers, actively promoting green and low-carbon development in the industry.
Industry Outlook: Drawing a blueprint for future development with foresight and vision.
In the face of new opportunities and challenges in the development of the industry, Zhou Bingsong has a clear understanding and unique insights. He pointed out: "The per capita consumption of Chinese labels is only 1/4 of Europe's, which is not a shortcoming, but a blue ocean. With the deepening of consumption upgrading and digital transformation, the label printing industry will usher in greater room for development. In his view, the future development of the industry will show three major trends: one is the deep integration of digitalization and traditional printing, the second is that green manufacturing has become the consensus of the industry, and the third is the increasingly fierce global competition.
Based on this judgment, Zhou Bingsong formulated a clear development strategy for Weigang Technology. In terms of technology research and development, the company's R&D investment in 2024 will reach 34.2313 million yuan, and R&D expenses will account for 7.05% of operating income.
Zhou Bingsong believes that under the future industrial pattern, the printing industry is no longer just about being able to print. The market will have higher requirements for the printing process, and the upper and lower limits of the printing process will be increased. Whether it is a printing manufacturer or an equipment manufacturer, most of the added value of future business comes from process technology. Secondly, in the context of global economic integration, if our country's printing industry wants to be more competitive in the global market, the brand internationalization strategy will also be the next step for our country's printing enterprises to complete. On the road to continuously integrate with the international market, China's printing industry needs to strengthen brand building, enhance brand awareness, and continue to maintain the good reputation of China's printing industry, so that we can have an advantage in the international market competition for a long time.
"What China's labeling industry needs is not followers, but rule-makers." Zhou Bingsong's words were loud. In his strategic blueprint, Weigang Technology's leadership is not only limited to the field of label printing machines, but also to march towards the higher track of wide format packaging - in the face of the current situation that the development of domestic wide format offset printing equipment is constrained by technical bottlenecks, he is determined to lead the team to overcome technical difficulties, carry the banner of China's wide format offset printing equipment, and fill the gap in the industry. In the future, Weigang Technology will continue to play the role of an industry leader, while deepening the leap from "manufacturing" to "intelligent manufacturing" in the field of labels, while taking wide format packaging equipment as a new fulcrum to promote China's printing press from "Chinese brand" to "world brand". He firmly believes that as long as the dual main lines of innovation-driven and green development are anchored, not only to keep the championship position in the label track, but also to break new ground in the wide format field, China's printing equipment industry will be able to occupy a more core position in the global market and win more respect and voice for China's printing press.
From exploring technology in the workshop of Ruian Town, to knocking on the door of China's labeling equipment listing and becoming the "first stock in the industry"; From breaking the monopoly of foreign label printing machine technology, to leading the formulation of industry standards, and then to pointing to the field of wide packaging - in more than 30 years, Zhou Bingsong has not only led Weigang Technology to achieve the transformation from "chasing" to "leading", but also interpreted the industrial feelings and responsibilities of entrepreneurs in the printing industry with actions. Nowadays, standing at a new starting point, Weigang Technology is moving forward bravely towards the goal of "building a national brand and being a world-class printing solution leader" with a more high-spirited attitude, writing a new chapter for the high-quality development of China's printing equipment industry.