Industrial diamonds help Zhecheng sparkle

Zhecheng county in Henan province is one of the hubs for the production of industrial diamond products in China.

Area transformed into successful industrial zone

Zhecheng county, in the eastern part of Henan province, is home to one of China's hubs for diamond powder production.

In the 1980s the diamond powder business was dominated by family mills.

"Later some people got rich and set up companies, some left the county to work in large corporations to learn skills and technologies. This laid good foundations for the development of Zhecheng's diamond powder industry," said Liang Hui, Party chief of the county.

Industrial diamond products are the major business in Zhecheng County Industrial Zone, which is recognized as one of the most competitive development zones in Henan province.

According to Li Ping, director of the county's publicity department, the Zhecheng industrial zone has two major parks covering extremely hard materials and medical products industries.

The Party chief said that in order to develop a full-fledged industrial cluster, the government invested more than 3 billion yuan ($489.1 million) in infrastructure and set up special teams to support and mentor companies.

In the zone, major infrastructure facilities include service centers, a sewage treatment plant, a training center for employees, a diamond testing center and dormitories.

There are 139 companies in the area and 59 are specialized in extremely hard materials, said Liang.

"The focus on diamond products is an advantage. The area has been transformed from a site for small family workshops into an industrial zone with recognized achievements in innovation and technology," he said.

The government set up a 20 million-yuan "innovation fund" to encourage companies to work on research, development and introduce new technologies, said the Party chief.

There are also a range of cooperation projects with university and research institutions including 16 education and R&D centers.

The area is home to a number of high-tech companies, two provincial laboratories and one provincial-level incubator.