Quzhou firm scoops national innovation & entreprenerual award

The headquarters of Quzhou-based Zhejiang Pfluon Chemical Industry Co. [Photo/pfluonpolymer.com]

Quzhou-based Zhejiang Pfluon Chemical Industry Co recently won the National Outstanding Enterprises Award at the China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, according to local media reports.

Founded in 2010, the Quzhou company is mainly engaged in the research and development (R&D), production and marketing of high-performance polymers such as polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) and polyether sulfone (PES).

In order to seek further development, the company set its sights on innovation and cooperation with the renowned Zhejiang University to develop a better non-stick coating - nano-containing ceramic coating.

The non-stock pans with Pfluon's newly developed non-stick coatings gave them leverage to compete with companies such as DuPont and Whitford from the United States on the international market.

After finding success in the non-stick coating field, the company targeted another new material – PEEK.

"PEEK boasts high tensile, high temperature resistance and anti-corrosion and is widely used in the military industry and mobile phone manufacturing," said Chen Jinke, vice-general manager of Pfluon. "However, its manufacturing technology has always been monopolized by foreign companies."

By cooperating with many universities and institutes, including the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the company has succeeded in developing the new material and applied it to non-stick coatings for the first time in the world.

It is this achievement in particular that has helped the company win the award at the nationwide competition.

Chen said that in this day and age, only by technological innovation can companies obtain further development.

The company now has 169 employees, 56 of whom are researchers, and it invests more than 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) in R&D each year.

According to Chen, Pfluon plans to scale up PEEK production in 2019 and apply it to smart phones.