Refrigeration hub comes out of the cold

Minquan county, in Henan province, used to be an impoverished agricultural region with a large population and weak industrial foundations. Today it is a major player in China's refrigeration industry.

Nicknamed "China's Cool Valley", Minquan High-tech Zone features industries including machinery manufacturing, wine processing and its major business- refrigeration.

More than 80 refrigeration companies are in the zone and nearly half of the refrigeration trucks used in the country are produced in Minquan.

Ji Maichang, Party chief of Minquan and the head of the county government, said the area's refrigeration industry has gone through ups and downs.

Ji said in the 1980s, there were two big companies in the county - Minquan Winery and Bingxiong Group. Bingxiong, which means cold bear in Chinese, was the most famous refrigeration company in the county.

"Later the country's economy went through some changes and Bingxiong was shut down. But the dream for the refrigeration industry never faded away. We waited and prepared for the moment when it could start again," said Ji.

Former employees of Bingxiong found work at other refrigeration companies across the country and with the rise of living standards, refrigerators became a necessity.

"We asked the technicians and employees of Bingxiong to return to join the project of reviving Minquan's refrigeration industry," said Ji.

Today the industry is flourishing in the area and has attracted many investors.

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