A workshop operated by Zhejiang Beilaishi Baby products Co Ltd based in Huangyan district, Taizhou. [Photo/taizhou.com.cn]

The cost of making baby tubs for Zhejiang Beilaishi Baby products Co Ltd based in Huangyan district, Taizhou has decreased by 20 percent thanks to a recent technical upgrading.

According to Sun Yu, sales manager at the company, making a baby tub used to require six screws at a cost of three yuan ($0.43), but now, with the application of ultrasonic welding technology, the cost has dropped to 0.05 yuan, and the products look better to boot.

The change was made possible due to the company's partnership with the robotics institute funded by the Harbin Institute of Technology in Taizhou.

The improved production efficiency, which is nearly 30 percent higher than the past, has also helped the company, which primarily focuses on overseas markets, secure an order of five-million-yuan-worth of baby tubs placed by a domestic dairy brand in July. 

The robotics institute is one of more than 80 innovation service providers introduced by the local authorities to fuel the local molding industry. 

Fang Chong, a staff member at the research institute, said the institute had helped four companies in Huangyan complete smart transformation in the first half of this year and revealed that they will next work to promote warehouse upgrading.

Molds and plastics is a pillar industry in Huangyan. The district now houses more than 3,000 related enterprises, which have an annual output value of over 50 billion yuan, official data show.