Strategic cooperation between Liard and Hebei Steel Valley: The market breakthrough battle behind th

In the wave of accelerating digital transformation of traditional industries, display technology, as the core carrier of visualization, is becoming an important enabler of industrial upgrading. On July 2, the strategic signing ceremony between Liard and Hebei Ganggu IOT Technology Co., Ltd.(hereinafter referred to as Hebei Ganggu) injected new imagination into the intelligent development of steel industry. The two sides plan to carry out all-round cooperation in the fields of intelligent manufacturing, smart supply chain and digital transformation. This is not only an important step for Liard to expand industry application scenarios, but also reflects the strategic adjustment of this veteran display company under the pressure of market competition in 2024. The overtaking of competitor Zhouming Technology in the industry status is prompting it to accelerate its search for new growth poles.​

The core picture of cross-border cooperation: technological empowerment and complementary resources

The conclusion of this strategic cooperation is based on the common vision of both parties for the digital transformation of the steel industry. At the signing ceremony, Lu Lidan, vice president of sales of Liard Group, made it clear that he would provide customized display solutions for Hebei Steel Valley to help create an intelligent and visual steel industry service platform. Specifically, cooperation will focus on three core dimensions:

The first is the deep implementation of customized display technology. Relying on Liard's technical accumulation in the field of LED display, it provides high-stability and high-definition visualization systems for steel production workshops, supply chain management centers and other scenarios, realizing real-time dynamic presentation of production data and logistics information, and improving decision-making efficiency.​

The second is the joint construction and sharing of technical teams. The two sides plan to jointly form a professional technical team to explore new models for digital transformation of the steel industry through data sharing, technical exchanges and joint research and development. This technology + industry integration model aims to solve the problem of technical implementation difficulties faced by traditional steel companies in intelligent transformation.​

The third is the complementary advantages of market resources. Hebei Steel Valley has rich industrial resources and regional influence in the steel industry. The North China steel industry clusters it covers provide broad application scenarios for Liard's display technology; while Liard's technical strength can help Hebei Steel Valley Enhance its competitiveness in the fields of smart supply chains and intelligent manufacturing.​

Ni Xiaoming, director and senior vice president of Hebei Steel Valley, highly recognized Liard's product quality and service at the signing ceremony. He believed that the cooperation between the two parties would achieve resource optimization and integration and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results in all-round cooperation. Behind this evaluation lies the urgent need for digital technology by traditional industrial enterprises. As a pillar industry of the national economy, the intelligent transformation of the steel industry is not only related to the improvement of production efficiency, but also the key to achieving green and low-carbon development.​

The Real Pressure of Market Competition: Strategic Breakout after Being Overtaken

Liard's cross-border layout of the steel industry is closely related to the market competitive pressure it faces. As a veteran company that has been deeply involved in the display field for 30 years, Liard has long occupied the first position in the global market share of LED display products. However, the industry changes overtaken by Zhouming Technology in 2024 have forced it to accelerate its search for new growth points.​

Industry data shows that the global LED display market will be approximately 66.3 billion yuan in 2024, and the growth rate will slow down to 6.4%. The market has entered the stock game stage from incremental competition. Zhouming Technology has surpassed Liard through rapid breakthroughs in new technology fields such as Mini LED and COB, as well as aggressive expansion in overseas markets. Problems such as Liard's loss of 850 million yuan in 2024 and decline in domestic performance further highlight the growth bottleneck of its traditional business.​

In this context, expanding industrial scenarios has become an important strategic choice for Liard. As a typical asset-heavy and energy-intensive industry, the steel industry's digital transformation involves many aspects such as production monitoring, supply chain management, and energy consumption monitoring. There is strong demand for display technology. Through cooperation with Hebei Steel Valley, Liard attempts to extend display solutions from traditional cultural and sports venues, commercial advertising and other scenarios to the field of industrial intelligence, creating a new business growth curve.​

Third-party industry analysts pointed out: Liard's accumulation in display technology is beyond doubt, but cross-border entry into the steel industry faces two major challenges: first, the deep understanding of the industry's Know-How, the special environment of steel production has extremely high requirements for display equipment. High temperature resistance and interference resistance; second, competition from peers, Zhouming, Lehman and other companies are also accelerating the layout of the industrial display market, and Liard has no first-mover advantage. rdquo;​

Third-party perspective: Opportunities and hidden concerns for cooperation

Regarding the strategic cooperation between Liard and Hebei Steel Valley, industry evaluations are polarized. Supporting views believe that this is a wise move for Liard to break out of the hype of the display industry. The digital transformation market of the steel industry is huge. According to data from China Iron and Steel Industry Association, the market size of the intelligent transformation of steel companies will exceed 100 billion yuan in 2025 alone. If Liard can open up a gap with this cooperation, it is expected to occupy a place in the industrial display field.​

But doubts also exist. An observer who has long been concerned about industrial digitalization said: Display technology is only a superficial part of the intelligent transformation of the steel industry. The real core lies in the underlying architecture such as data mid-station and industrial software. If Liard only stays at the level of providing display equipment, it will be difficult to form a competitive barrier and it will be easily replaced by lower-priced peers. rdquo;​

In addition, Liard's financial situation has also raised concerns. The losses in 2024 will limit its investment in R & D, while the demand for customization in the industrial display field is high and requires continuous technology iteration. Some investors are worried that when traditional businesses are under pressure, cross-border layout may disperse resources and aggravate the company's operational risks.​

Market competition in Hebei also cannot be ignored. Zhouming Technology has been in the industrial display market in North China for many years and has established cooperative relationships with many steel companies. If Liard wants to implement technology in the Hebei Steel Valley project and replicate it and promote it to more steel companies, it needs to surpass its competitors in terms of product customization and service response speed.​

Future Outlook: Looking for answers in the integration of technology and industry

The cooperation between Liard and Hebei Steel Valley is essentially a collision between display technology and traditional industries. If it can proceed smoothly, it may provide visual samples for the digital transformation of the steel industry. For example, high-resolution LED screens can present the distribution of high-furnace temperature fields in real time, or XR virtual technology can simulate supply chain optimization solutions. These applications will enhance the level of intelligence in steel production.​

However, to achieve long-term development, Liard needs to solve three core issues: first, technical adaptability, developing special display equipment for the high temperature and dusty environment of steel workshops; second, industry ecological construction, combining industrial software and Internet of Things enterprises, providing integrated solutions of display + data + algorithms; third, cost control, lowering the threshold for intelligent transformation of steel enterprises on the premise of ensuring technical performance.​

The achievement of this strategic cooperation is only the first step in the Long March of thousands of miles. The subsequent project implementation effect, technology iteration speed, and market replication capabilities will determine whether this cross-border cooperation can become the key to Liard's reversal of the market decline. For Liard, under the industry pattern overtaken by Zhouming Technology, every strategic layout is related to the hope of recovering lost ground. The digital battlefield of the steel industry may be a new examination ground for it to prove its strength.​

As industrial digitalization experts said: The intelligent transformation of traditional enterprises requires the deep integration of enterprises that understand technology and industry. The success of the cooperation between Liard and Hebei Steel Valley does not depend on how strong the signing is, but whether the pain points of steel companies can be truly solved. If this can be achieved, even if the market is temporarily lagging behind, it can rise again with its differentiated advantages. rdquo;​