With A ‘membrane’ Power, Casting High-end Membrane China's Intellectual Brands

Foreword: On 10th November 2023, Dr. Lin Xiaofeng of Suzhou Puxi Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. was interviewed by a reporter from Modern Suzhou magazine.

--------- reporter Zhang Leyu

After graduating from the University of Strasbourg with a PhD in materials science, Lin Xiaofeng has been thinking about how to create value for the society by applying what he has learnt, and in 2016, he took part in the 'Win in Suzhou' International Elite Entrepreneurship Competition in Paris by chance. This competition made him focus on the domestic membrane material industry.
It was then that the gears of fate began to turn, and his relationship with SIP was buried. In the following half a year, he travelled around China for his entrepreneurial dream and came into contact with many cities, including Shenzhen, Nanjing, Suzhou, Xiamen and so on, and finally, he chose SIP and put down his roots in Suzhou Nano City.

 

01  Anchoring on the high-end track, seeking dislocation development

Lin Xiaofeng got the idea of starting his own business in the 'Winning in Suzhou' International Elite Entrepreneurship Competition, and because of the help of the French Association of Overseas Overseas Educated Entrepreneurs (AFOSE), the organiser of the competition, Lin Xiaofeng came to Suzhou for a visit. In his opinion, many inspections are just a walk in the park, and can't get to know a city deeply in a short time, but unexpectedly, Lin Xiaofeng saw the professionalism, strength and potential of the park in the investment personnel of the park, and thus was full of expectations for this place.
'The final clap decision to start a business in the Park, there are several other important factors, one is that we really like the city of Suzhou, and the second is that the entrepreneurial environment of Suzhou Industrial Park, supporting services compared with other cities are unique, the Park's overall entrepreneurial environment, the upstream and downstream industrial chain supporting, for entrepreneurs is very ideal. Looking back now, our judgement at that time was correct.'
February 17, 2017, this day for Lin Xiaofeng, is a day that will be remembered for a lifetime. On this day, Suzhou Proshare Environmental Protection Technology Co. Recalling the establishment of the beginning of the start-up team of only three people, each person is wearing several jobs, Lin Xiaofeng is both R & D and take care of the production, assembly, everything has to be personally involved.
At that time, the domestic membrane industry demand was huge, a large number of enterprises emerged, most of them quoted foreign technology, serious homogeneous competition. Under the vicious price war, the gross profit of membrane products is getting lower and lower, and the phenomenon of 'bad money driving out good money' has arisen. At the same time, these enterprises can not keep up with the investment in research and development, the gap between the development of domestic membrane materials technology and foreign countries is also getting bigger and bigger. Therefore, at the beginning of the founding, Proshare environmental protection on the target of high-end special membrane materials, scientific and technological innovation as a starting point, ploughing technology research and development, although the initial investment in a long time, but Lin Xiaofeng is confident that the formation of mismatched development with other companies.

02  Breaking the technology monopoly and realising domestic substitution

The sparrow is small, but all the organs are complete. Suzhou Nano City, Northwest District, a building of more than 500 square metres of space, assuming the Puxi environmental protection laboratory, plant, office and other different functions. It is also in these ordinary offices, Lin Xiaofeng and his team continue to complete the technology, breakthroughs in a number of key bottlenecks in technology, so that the domestic high-end special membranes in the market steadily occupy a place.
In 2018, Proshare Environmental Protection was established in just over a year, and its independent research and development and design of the first domestic TFN nanocomposite film coating production line was completed and took the lead in mass production, becoming one of the few international suppliers of speciality membranes. Among them, the performance of highly selective nanofiltration composite membranes and high-end special separation membranes has reached the international leading level, accelerating China's high-end membrane technology to break the foreign monopoly and achieve localisation substitution.
In 2019, Proshare Environmental's new generation of TFN membrane products successfully replaced the monopoly products of oligopolistic companies such as Suez, and became the preferred brand for domestic substitution, including a number of listed environmental engineering companies. It can be said that Lin Xiaofeng started from zero, with professionalism and dedication to write a prelude to the research and development and industrialisation of polymer film materials technology, and achieved a new height of high-end membrane China Intelligent Manufacturing.
After seven years of exploration and cultivation, now Proshare environmental protection operation has long been on track, but also in the domestic and international markets gradually emerged, serving Sinopec and other customers, to achieve a cumulative total of nearly 100 million yuan in sales. The company now covers an area of more than 3,000 square metres, with a team of more than 30 people stationed in Suzhou Nano City, in addition to more than 30 sales staff laid out in various parts of the country.

03  Cohesive innovation synergy and deep industrial integration

To build industrial innovation clusters, industry is the driving force, city is the space and people are the main body. There is such a nano-industry cluster near Central, will be like Lin Xiaofeng such industrial talent gathered together, in this physical space, entrepreneurs often get together to communicate, collision of cooperation sparks. Take the next door to Suzhou Suna Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. for example, the physical distance allows everyone to know each other's needs, Proshare environmental protection and Suna Optoelectronics naturally reached a good working relationship.
It is also in Suzhou Nano City, such a 'family', Proshare environmental protection have the opportunity to participate in the China International Nanotechnology Industry Expo, during the meeting, Suzhou Nano City actively for the enterprise matchmaking, to the Proshare environmental protection and Haier R & D Department to provide the opportunity for exchanges and cooperation.
Lin Xiaofeng frankly, in the Suzhou Industrial Park, a large ecological circle, Proshare environmental protection has benefited a lot. In contact with the park's many biomedical enterprises, in 2022, Proshare environmental protection set up a biomedical business unit for biomedical frontier enterprises and its provision of customised product services, which will be the next Proshare environmental protection focus on the layout of the direction.
High-end speciality membranes are widely used, from small household water purification, industrial zero discharge, pure water purification, seawater desalination, special separation and so on are involved. At present, Proshare environmental protection mainly to large engineering companies, environmental protection companies to provide membrane solutions, through the membrane materials, membrane technology, membrane applications and other overall service output, to help enterprises in different industries to achieve the lowest energy consumption of wastewater treatment and reuse and empower the separation and purification of production processes.

04  Cities gather energy and have the ability to build a 'blessed place for talents'

To keep people in the city, to people to develop the city. In the past few years, Lin Xiaofeng has deeply felt the importance of domestic talent, and he has also been selected for the National Major Talent Project Introduction Plan, Jiangsu Province 'High-level Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent Introduction Plan', Gusu Innovation and Entrepreneurship Leader and Jinji Lake Leader Talent Plan, etc. As an entrepreneur, these titles are not only honours but also real help for Lin Xiaofeng.
As an entrepreneur, these titles are not only honours for Lin Xiaofeng, but also real help. When Lin Xiaofeng first returned to China, he said that he was not familiar with the place, he did not have his own social circle, and he did not have much spare time except for the laboratory. Talent Office of the park organised a talent basketball team, regularly organised talents to play basketball together, basketball, we will also exchange the problems encountered in the process of entrepreneurship.
In order to solve the worries of the returnees, the park employment of returnees whose children can be enrolled in the SIP children's school of returnees, in addition, the leading talent and their relatives in the medical treatment is also a lot of convenience. Lin Xiaofeng also told the reporter: 'I live in the vicinity of Nano City, and it's very convenient to commute every day, it's about 20 minutes by car, and it's even faster if you go to work by bicycle, you can get to the company in 10 minutes, and it takes only half an hour to walk. None of us like to be stuck in traffic every day, and an efficient life is more suitable for entrepreneurs.'
In the past few years of living and working in the park, Lin Xiaofeng has felt the extraordinary charm of the park in the integration of industry, city and people. He said, 'Proshare's growth is inseparable from the park's favourable innovation soil. The development and construction here is based on the Singapore model, which is especially friendly to overseas returnees; at the same time, the park also has a perfect industry upstream and downstream support and talent resources. We hope to use this as a base to continuously expand and strengthen the brand, adhere to the original intention, driven by technological innovation, continue to improve product quality, and the ultimate service to play the high-end film China's intellectual brand.'