Employees work on the production line of a surgical mask company in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, on Feb 14. (WANG HUABIN / CHINA DAILY)

As the country continues to battle the novel coronavirus, small and medium-sized enterprises in Zhejiang province have been busy normalizing their operations to pave the way for an anticipated pickup once the epidemic ends.

Profit is not our top priority at the moment. At a time of difficulty, we are just fulfilling our duty, which is to make sure that farmers have enough supplies for the busy season

Feng Quangang, supervisor of Quzhou Bangnongfeng Agricultural Products

To prepare for the upcoming busy spring plowing season, Quzhou Bangnongfeng Agricultural Products－a dealer of fertilizers, pesticides, agriculture equipment and chemical raw materials－resumed operations on Feb 13. All the company's 16 trucks and 23 employees are once again available for duty. In less than two weeks, the company has delivered and stored up a total of 900 metric tons of fertilizers and 950 tons of pesticides for the local market.

The timely return to full capacity can be largely attributed to the company's cooperation with over 100 domestic firms that Bangnongfeng has strengthened ties with over the past 11 years. However, some raw materials are still in short supply, said the company's supervisor Feng Quangang.

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"Hubei province is a key provider of phosphorus, which is widely used in fertilizers. It is yet not clear when the suppliers will resume operations," Feng said.

Although economic principles say that prices go up when supplies are inadequate, Feng has done just the opposite. Bangnongfeng has lowered prices by 15 percent on more than 40 percent of their products, which amounts to 2.4 million yuan (US$346,000).

The seemingly unorthodox behavior is paying off. By Feb 24, the company's sales revenue jumped 50 percent year-on-year. Last year, Bangnongfeng's annual revenue was 120 million yuan.

Technicians work at a plastic packaging equipment manufacturing plant affiliated with Demark Holding Group in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, on Feb 10. (TAN YUNFENG / CHINA DAILY)

"Profit is not our top priority at the moment. At a time of difficulty, we are just fulfilling our duty, which is to make sure that farmers have enough supplies for the busy season," Feng said.

According to the Department of Commerce of Zhejiang province, the province's total export volume reached 2.31 trillion yuan in 2019, up 9 percent year-on-year, which was the highest annual growth rate nationwide. The number of export-oriented companies in the province also grew 7.3 percent year-on-year to 82,960 by the end of last year. To sustain the development of these exporters, the local government introduced in February a number of favorable policies covering taxes, financing and market exploration.

"The Zhejiang government has been extremely supportive, as always. That is why local companies can take quick action," said Pan Jian, director of the president's office at Zoy Home Furnishing Co Ltd.

On Feb 16, Zoy sent a chartered bus to pick up its employees across Zhejiang province. By Feb 29, the company was operating at 70 percent capacity and 2,400 of its employees－equal to 80 percent of its total head count－had returned to work.

Listed on the A-share market's main board in 2018, Zoy sells its products to more than 100 countries and regions around the world, including the United States, Europe and Asia.

The company has not lowered its target this year despite the epidemic. The annual growth target remains at 50 percent in order to aim for 10-billion-yuan sales revenue in 2025, Pan said.

"Some companies may have to take the rest of the year to recover their losses. But we are confident we can recover by the end of March," he added.

The capital market seems to have as much confidence. When the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 7.72 percent on Feb 3－the first trading day after the unexpectedly extended Spring Festival－Zoy also saw its price drop by the daily limit of 10 percent to close at 21.32 yuan. But on March 10, its price closed at 24 yuan. In that sense, the loss has been recouped in a month.

The confidence of these export-oriented enterprises in Zhejiang is partly a result of their realistic attitudes. Cai Yongzhen, general manager of Huzhou Damon Suzuki Industrial Equipment, said they had to turn down several overseas orders in the past month because they couldn't keep up with clients' production schedules.

"The basic rule is not to incur losses for our clients. Of course we will bear some loss in that way, but it is within our control," Cai said.

She admitted that it was quite difficult to operate as usual when they set their machines running again on Feb 11. Parts and materials were in very limited supply. But with the help of the local government, such suppliers restarted operations the following week.

Given Huzhou Damon's recovered capacity, a US client which Damon has worked with for five years placed an order for 300,000 rollers in late February.

But that order is not the biggest achievement for Damon during the epidemic. An enterprise resource planning system, which can monitor 80 machines simultaneously, was launched before Spring Festival and continued test running throughout the holiday (Jan 24-Feb 2). The system largely improves automation and reduces unnecessary contact between people, which is of great help during the epidemic, Cai said.

According to the Zhejiang Provincial Economy and Information Technology Department, there were more than 2.22 million small and medium-sized enterprises in Zhejiang, making up 87.7 percent of the total number of companies registered in the province.

"SMEs are the source of energy of Zhejiang's economy, driving industrial upgrading and providing job opportunities," said Yue Yang, deputy head of the department.

In less than one month's time, Zhejiang Baiyi Garment Co Ltd, a down jacket designer and maker, converted its entire 13,000-square-meter factory space into assembly lines for surgical masks and protective clothing. By March 1, the assembly lines were able to churn out 5,000 protective garments every day. Lines with a daily capacity of 700,000 surgical masks started running on March 5.

"Our workshops are designed to be dustproof so our machines are advanced enough to produce protective clothing. But it takes us some time to upgrade the factory into a sterile environment and pass all the required examinations. It is not easy, but we want to make our contribution," said Wang Yaoshui, vice-president of Baiyi.

For Sun Chong, general manager of Zhoushan Yican Diary Co Ltd, a maker of office supplies and household appliances, the reason for converting his 1,200-square-meter plant into a mask production base is more personal.

"I tried to deliver 10,000 masks on my own from South Korea before the Spring Festival. It was so difficult. I had to plead with ground crews and asked help from passengers on the same flight to each help me carry one box per person," Sun said.

Yican has already invested 2 million yuan for two automated assembly lines combining manufacturing, packing and sterilizing. Each line can produce 100,000 N95 surgical masks every day. All of the company's 30 workers will be responsible for the production of masks for the time being.

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Over the past month, Sun has traveled twice to Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province. The first visit was to place orders and the second was to supervise the alignment of machines. The Zhejiang provincial government has helped a lot. Thanks to their official letter of permission, Yican was able to order the assembly line equipment, Sun added.

As for the company's original businesses, they will gradually resume production in April. But as for surgical masks, Sun said they will continue to produce them at least until the end of this year.

"It is not about money. It is about making joint efforts to help the country at a time of difficulty," he said.