(Profile Photo/VCG)

What we mentioned here is Hangzhou Match Factory, the only hundred-year-old national enterprise in China's match industry.

In 1909, Hangzhou Guanghua Match Factory, the former Hangzhou Match Factory, was founded by Haiyue Bridge in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou City. On April 16 this year, "Match Making Skills" as a traditional skill, was officially identified as the seventh batch of Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative Projects in Shangcheng District. The good news excited Hu Wuyin, the Head of the factory, who worked hard for a long time.

Today, there are few matches on the market and it has become so rare thing that it is even gradually strange to young people. In order not to let matches disappear in memory, Hu Wuyin hopes to set up a match museum, which is dedicated to telling stories about Hangzhou Match Factory.

In 2003, at the invitation of his family, Hu began to know the Factory.

In 2006, Hu Wuyin officially became the Head of Hangzhou Match Factory. This is the period of rich accumulation for development and also the last period of glory of the Factory.

In 2008, the Match Factory was hit by the financial crisis.

Around 2010, Hu needs to make a difficult choice—to shut down either the one factory in Qiandao Lake or the one in Anhui Qimen.

Hu Wuyin cannot give up the word "Hangzhou ", and finally Qiandao Lake Plant, Hangzhou Match Factory survived.

Intensive study in chemistry and rich business experience helped Hu Wuyin stand up again.

"There is still a great demand for matches abroad. "But they have a high demand for the making technics," Hu said. The key to a match is the match head, which involves the mix of a variety of additives." Self-taught chemical knowledge enabled Hu Wuyin to adjust the match production technics.

In this way, export has become the main profit growth point of Hangzhou Match Factory.

Hu Wuyin has also studied consumer psychology. He found that the cultural creative products are very popular among many young people.

In addition, he proposed the strategy "To cooperate and help each other for difficult time", namely turning match factories from competitors to partners, integrating resource advantages and becoming each other's regional brand agents.

This has achieved some effects. While the industry is still in chill winter.

Next, Hu Wuyin decided to expand the middle-end market of the match, change packaging, increase added cultural value of the product, and produce a safer and eco-friendly match.

(Compiled by Ye Ke, Fu Xiaoyun)