From One Returning Entrepreneur to an Industrial Ecosystem: How the Suma Park Transformed

Deep News58 minutes ago

A decision made in 2017 by Yue Caimin, who had spent years working in Shanghai, to relocate his factory from Fengxian back to his hometown of Suzhou, was met with widespread skepticism. At the time, the industrial infrastructure in northern Anhui was almost non-existent, raising doubts about the feasibility of his return.

Nearly a decade later, Anhui Dushun has evolved from a small factory with just over 50 employees into a leading enterprise with an output value exceeding 300 million yuan and a workforce of 450. This "returning goose" has sparked a chain reaction within the Suzhou-Ma'anshan Modern Industrial Park, attracting over 20 upstream and downstream supporting enterprises and securing a signed agreement from Sungrow Hydrogen, a subsidiary of the new energy giant Sungrow Power Supply. A high-end pressure vessel-centric industrial cluster, continuously extending into hydrogen energy equipment, is quietly taking shape in the park.

Shifting from being a mere landlord to acting as a partner, the Suma Park has transformed its role from management to service. It addresses what enterprises lack and plans what the industry needs. This conceptual change from providing policies to building an ecosystem has allowed Suma Park to carve out its own position in the revitalization map of northern Anhui.

From a Single Returning Goose to a Flock Following

"The return was indeed fraught with difficulties—funds, talent, and supporting facilities were all very weak," recalled Yue Caimin, Chairman of Dushun Group, about the initial struggles after settling in. "The pressure was immense, and I had no idea which direction to take."

In 2020, Dushun received a large order and urgently needed working capital, but the land and factory title deeds were not yet finalized. The Suma Park urgently coordinated with a guarantee company, included the enterprise in a financial "whitelist," and quickly facilitated a 10 million yuan loan through government credit, helping the company stabilize the order and mitigate risk. "Without that money, that order would have fallen through," Yue Caimin remarked emotionally.

The real key to making the enterprise "stay and grow" was the park's precise and efficient service system. The Suma Park implements a project guarantee mechanism led by team members, providing comprehensive coverage for over 100 projects under construction or in operation. The average processing time for administrative approval items has been reduced by 80%. Large-scale spring recruitment drives, on-campus direct hiring, and live-streamed job fairs—all coordinated online and offline—effectively address labor shortages.

A superior business environment is the best calling card for attracting investment. Yue Caimin proactively took on the role of an "honorary investment promoter," bringing upstream and downstream partners to Suma Park for on-site inspections. Enterprises like Anyiji (Shanghai), Xincheng Fluid, Furite, Daike, and Xiakai subsequently settled in. These include both peers and friends Yue made during his years in Shanghai and new partners drawn by the need for industrial chain support. The business owners hail from Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Hubei, and Shandong, with about half from the Yangtze River Delta region. The park now hosts over 20 equipment manufacturing enterprises, forming a pressure vessel industrial cluster centered on 13 core companies.

"Initially, they rented standard factory buildings, but now several have purchased land to build their own," Yue Caimin said with evident satisfaction as he watched his "circle of friends" grow. "Dushun's demonstration effect is very strong," noted an official from the Suma Park Investment Promotion Department. "Once a leading enterprise arrives, upstream and downstream companies follow, and the industrial chain forms quickly."

From Leading Goose to the Arrival of a Giant

The energy of this "circle of friends" extends even further. In June 2026, Sungrow Hydrogen's "Gas-Liquid Separation and Purification System Manufacturing Project" was officially signed and settled in Suma Park.

According to reports, this project is a key step for Sungrow Hydrogen to perfect its industrial chain and solidify local supporting capabilities. Once operational, it will create synergy with existing new energy equipment enterprises in the park, connecting the entire "hydrogen production-storage-utilization" value chain. This will drive the park's high-end equipment manufacturing industry from traditional general equipment towards specialized hydrogen energy high-end equipment, effectively lengthening the industrial chain, enhancing the value chain, and improving the supply chain.

The reason Sungrow Power Supply, a domestic new energy leader, chose Suma Park for its hydrogen division lies in the deep coupling of the industrial chain. Sungrow Hydrogen requires a large number of high-end pressure vessels for its hydrogen production equipment, and Dushun has been involved since the R&D phase of Sungrow Hydrogen, manufacturing multiple first-of-a-kind prototypes. This trust and collaboration, established during the R&D stage, made Suma Park the first choice for Sungrow Power Supply.

High-end equipment manufacturing is one of the core pillar industries that Suma Park is focusing on cultivating. It has initially achieved large-scale production capacity for key components like hydrogen pressure vessels, high-end tanks, and equipment racks. The growth trajectory of the high-end equipment manufacturing industry is a vivid example of the park's philosophy of "attracting investment through existing businesses and extending the chain." From one enterprise to a cluster, from traditional manufacturing to the new energy track, the industrial chain continuously extends and increases in value.

The Service Efficiency Behind a "12-Day" Settlement

If the agglomeration of the industrial chain is a result of market choices, then the service efficiency throughout the entire process is the institutional guarantee that makes it all possible.

In June of this year, Suzhou Youer Group's high-protein plant food export processing base project settled in Suma Park. The timeline was remarkable: factory inspection on June 5th, park follow-up visit on June 10th, contract signing, registration, and lease finalized in one day on June 17th, and decoration starting on June 18th. From initial contact to "handing over the keys," the entire process took just 12 days, setting a new record for the fastest settlement in the park. This was backed by a full-chain service capability, including dedicated guarantee officers for full-process assistance, "instant approval" for administrative items, and "immediate selection and use" of standard factory buildings.

This service efficiency was even more profoundly demonstrated during the construction of Shanying Paper. The project settled in the park in 2021. In the winter of 2023, a heavy snowstorm blocked transport roads. The park organized machinery that very same day to clear the snow overnight. During the flood season that same year, the water level of the Xinbian River surged, nearly overflowing the Shengli Canal adjacent to the factory. Park officials arrived on-site immediately, organizing round-the-clock drainage efforts. "From park construction to road and water connections, not a single issue was evaded by the government," the official remarked.

By September 2025, two production lines of Shanying Paper were operational, generating an output value of over 300 million yuan that year. Output is expected to jump to 1.5-2 billion yuan in 2026. Over 90% of the company's nearly 500 employees are local residents. It has also partnered with local vocational schools to establish a "Shanying Class" for order-based training.

A broader service system continues to operate effectively in the park's daily operations. In 2025, the park resolved 64 various enterprise-related issues, assisted 33 enterprises in securing 248 million yuan in financing, and helped companies recruit 1,950 workers. The park also regularly conducts a special "Visiting Enterprises and Villages" campaign, with leading officials at or above the county/department level leading teams to key enterprises. They precisely identify enterprise needs through a three-pronged approach of "discussion forums, workshop visits, and phone inquiries." Shifting from "the government providing pre-set options" to "enterprises placing orders," and from "individual efforts" to "coordinated operations," Suma Park is elevating its business environment from "convenient service" to "value empowerment."

An Industrial Blueprint Drawn on a Blank Canvas

From a single enterprise to a group of enterprises, from industrial agglomeration to service empowerment, Suma Park has traversed a path of transformation from nothing to something, from weak to strong.

Looking back at its development history, the park's industrial development has gone through three clear stages. Founded in 2012, it first leveraged Suzhou's advantages as a major agricultural city to develop food deep processing. From 2018 onwards, leveraging Suzhou's traditional industrial base and workforce, equipment manufacturing became the second pillar industry. By 2020, with the settlement of two billion-yuan projects by Taisheng and Shanying Paper, papermaking became the third pillar industry. Today, in addition to these three major industries, the park is actively laying out three emerging niche sectors: new energy, new materials, and automotive parts, forming a "3+3" industrial system. In the first half of this year, the park signed 30 new projects, 17 of which were worth over 100 million yuan, with a start-up rate of 66.7%.

The data reflects the change: to date, the park has hosted over 7,800 market entities, including 69 large-scale industrial enterprises and 48 high-tech enterprises. In 2025, the park's industrial output value for large-scale enterprises surpassed 12 billion yuan, with the agglomeration degree of the three main industries reaching 67.4%. In the 2025 single-item assessment of 126 provincial-level and above development zones in Anhui, the park ranked 21st.

An even more significant change is happening with the people. The park's permanent population has grown from virtually zero at its founding to approximately 90,000—50,000 are original residents from managed administrative villages, and 40,000 are new citizens attracted by the industries. The Suzhou branch of Zhejiang University First Hospital is already operational, and the Suma Sports and Cultural Center is under construction, with the initial form of a livable and business-friendly industrial new town taking shape.

"The comprehensive revitalization of northern Anhui and the goal of 'two accelerations and one catch-up' are not just slogans; they must be implemented in every project and every enterprise," said Zhang Zhongxin, Director of the Suma Park Management Committee. "For us, it means building up the industry, optimizing the environment, and making services tangible so that enterprises are willing to come, stay, and grow."

From a single "returning goose" to a flock taking flight, from a barren wasteland to an industrial new town, Suma Park has spent thirteen years proving a fundamental point: industrial revitalization relies not on stacking preferential policies, but on precise industrial positioning, sincere business services, and solid ecosystem building. As Yue Caimin stated, "When the government provides excellent service, enterprises are naturally willing to come. When they come and can develop, it brings even more enterprises. It's a positive cycle."

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