Shenzhen is emerging as a hotbed of experimentation in electronics, primarily because of the available hardware construction opportunities. The city offers local and overseas companies a dizzying array of hardware builders who can put together anything for anybody with a good electronic idea. CCTV reporter Wu Lei visited some of the innovators and brings us this report.
In an office building in Shenzhen, Tony Belmontes is busy assembling a new bicycle handle bar. Since the beginning of 2013, he and his partners have worked here designing and manufacturing this lighting integrated handle bar. He said one of the major reasons for their settling here is the convenience of sourcing all the hardware components they need.
This innovative handle bar is Bluetooth and GPS enabled, bringing high convenience and safety to its riders. They have sold over 1,000 Helios bars to customers worldwide. In recent years, an increasing number of hardware startups like Tony’s have moved to Shenzhen, the world capital of electronics. They can source all the necessary components like screws, cables and circuit boards here on Huaqiangbei Road, which has dozens of shopping malls for electronics.
With a full industrial line of electronics, the city has also attracted many foreign sourcing companies. Liam Casey founded PCH International in Shenzhen in 1996 to source components for electronics makers. The company later added packaging, logistics and manufacturing to its portfolio. Today the firm can also provide electronics manufacturing by design.
The company hopes to offer customers and startups what in essence is a portal to a massive manufacturing infrastructure in China. As most of the planet’s digital devices are assembled in factories here, the platforms and the ecosystems will attract more hardware startups and hopefully transform the city into a Chinese version of Silicon Valley.