Huaqiang Appliance Group Co Ltd, a major household appliance manufacturer in Guangdong province, plans to further increase its competitiveness through innovation in the years to come.

"Innovation is the key to Huaqiang's expansion at home and abroad, and the group is making great efforts to develop quality products to boost its sales," said Lu Xizhang, chairman of the company, which is based in Zhanjiang.

The company plans to invest more than 80 million yuan ($12.8 million) to help digitalize its management and production equipment and upgrade technology for its second-phase development that began last year.

Huaqiang Group based in Zhanjiang is a major household appliance manufacturer in Guangdong province, with its high-quality and award-winning products sold throughout the world.

Huaqiang signed cooperation contracts with Guangdong Ocean University and Lingnan Normal University in recent years.

"Huaqiang will accelerate its research and development for more high-tech products by cooperating with local universities and research institutes," Lu said.

The group is investing more than 10 million yuan annually in R&D and importing new technologies and equipment to upgrade its production, Lu said.

Huaqiang spent more than 30 million yuan recruiting and training talented researchers in the past years, he added.

To boost sales, the company also plans to increase its cooperation with e-commerce giants such as Alibaba and JD.com, Lu said. He added that it would couple traditional sales channels with e-commerce platforms to increase its market presence at home and abroad.

The group will focus on Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South America, regions Lu said had great potential in the near future.

Lu added that his company would further expand its global presence by grasping opportunities brought about by the country's One Belt, One Road initiative.

"The initiative will certainly benefit our overseas expansion, as Zhanjiang has already established close ties with the nations along the ancient Maritime Silk Road," Lu said.

Last year, the company's exports amounted to about $8 million, with sales to the Middle East, Europe, Asia and South America recording rapid growth.

The company sold 406.37 million yuan worth of products in 2014, up 11 percent from 2013.

It established more than 3,000 sales and service outlets nationwide.

Huaqiang was established in 1988 and has developed into one of the three largest household appliance manufacturers in the country.

The company mainly produces electric rice cookers, electric pressure cookers, electric kettles, cooker hoods, gas cookers and electric water heaters.

Huaqiang has won several domestic and international prizes for its products over the years.

zhengcaixiong@chinadaily.com.cn