En route to fast growth
Demand for new roads means that one very specialised manufacturer will rarely be short of fresh openings for business.
From the growth of the earliest civilisations to modern nation building and infrastructure development, road building has always been essential to a nation's coherency and its ability to grow, and there has always been a special place in history for the builders of roads.
For Zhejiang Metong Road Construction Machinery, a Hangzhou-based company with a research and development base and a manufacturer of asphalt distribution machinery, China's infrastructure boom has provided the perfect opportunity to become one of the nation's top construction machinery producers and a force overseas. Metong looks poised to grow into a global road-surfacing force as the demand for new roads is spurred on by China's "Develop the West" campaign and new infrastructure building in the developing world, and as new roads age and need resurfacing.
Born from two of the earliest state-owned enterprises in Zhejiang province for road building, the Zhejiang Road Materials Company and Zhejiang Road Machinery Factory, Metong later partnered asphalt equipment manufacturer American Phoenix to emerge as one of the leaders in its field. It has ranked as one of China's top 50 construction machinery producers for the past five years and each year it continues to expand its stake in the domestic and export markets.
Specialising in the production of micro-surfacing machines, chip sealers, asphalt distributors, road maintenance trucks and rubber asphalt plants, Metong's reliable quality and reasonable prices have made its products popular throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America. From municipal engineering to airport, bridge and tunnel construction, Metong's machines are helping to connect communities and smooth links.
"We stay ahead of the pack through our consistent emphasis on research and development," says sales director Hou Jun. "We have our own internal research and development centre, which garners technical support from key universities, such as Zhejiang University, Zhejiang University of Technology and Chang'An University, and makes products with the best technology available."
Metong's intelligent asphalt distributor uses computerised temperature controls in order to apply many types of asphalt. Similarly, its asphalt sprayers can precisely record the volume of asphalt sprayed for a given surface area of road.
"We also import key components from leading international suppliers such as Siemens, Schneider and Riello, and implement strict international quality management systems. Plus we offer comprehensive installation and instructional help for all our clients," Hou says.
Metong holds more than 10 domestic patents, has ISO 9001 certification, leads the field in customer satisfaction, produces in excess of 500 units per year and offers original equipment manufacturer services.
"We are a specialised manufacturer," Hou says. "We aim to keep doing what we do best and to keep improving each year."
As the need for building new roads, and maintaining old roads, shows no signs of abating, Metong is looking at an ever-increasing world of opportunities.
