Chongqing- Chongqing Molecular Water System Co., Ltd. (Molecular), a local high-tech enterprise, has continued innovating and accomplished high-tech's holy grail, getting onto Apple's supply chain. Molecular calls their philosophy "Fulfilling one thing in one lifetime."

Chongqing Molecular's ultrapure water production equipment. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

Molecular is a professional and experienced high-tech company in research, production, sales, and construction. 

Its products consist of five categories of water purifiers, including laboratory ultrapure water machines and industrial pure/ultrapure water systems.

Ultrapure water is highly purified with a super low level of impurities.

Found in 2003, Molecular is recognized as a high-tech enterprise by the PRC's Ministry of Science and Technology. It has three high-tech products recognized by Chongqing Science and Technology Commission.

In 2021, Molecular entered Apple Inc.'s supplier list. Apple is one of the world's most creative and valuable tech companies. Countless enterprises dreamt about cooperating with Apple, but Molecular did it.

Apple has an extremely high bar for its suppliers. Only those who stand out in their respective fields can be Apple's suppliers.

So how did Molecular stand out from the fierce market?

See demanding requirements as an opportunity

In 2007, an American client was looking for a specific product, yet all the suppliers were not qualified until the client found Molecular.

Meanwhile, the client posed a daunting challenge for Molecular.

Ma Bing, technology head of Molecular, said they wanted a kind of ultrapure water machine that could operate for 24 hours for six months without a stop.

This demanding requirement has beyond the industry standard. At that time, ultrapure water machines usually operated at regular intervals or maintenance after a month continuously working.

But Chongqing Molecular saw this challenge as an opportunity. According to Ma, Chongqing Molecular spent massive efforts on R&D, tests, and experiments and finally met the client's needs.

As this made Molecular rise to fame, Foxconn expressed interest in cooperation. Foxconn is a major supplier of Apple, so most of its considerations for a partner meet Apple's needs.

After a rigorous assessment, Molecular became a part of Foxconn's supply chain. Becoming a supplier of Foxconn meant a physical possibility to enter Apple's supply system.

Commitment to quality

Around 2007, China saw a rapid increase in ultrapure water producers. Producers jostled for the limited market, and a price battle broke out.

Price competition made cutting costs necessary. So, producers could not ensure the quality of the product.

"If a company cannot ensure product quality, there won't be a future," said Ma.

Thanks to Molecular's philosophy of "Fulfilling one thing in one lifetime," it focused on development amid difficult times.

From 2010 to 2011, companies that had quality issues were weeded out. However, Molecular saw an improvement in brand image and orders. Since 2011, its output value has grown by 30% each year.

Innovation makes the way

After that, Molecular shifted to pharmaceutical, medicine, new material, chip, and other industries with a higher standard for ultrapure water.

Molecular invests 6% of its annual revenue in research and development every year, higher than the industry average.

So far, it has upgraded its products six times, improved more than 600 links, and obtained over 100 patents.

"Thanks to continuous innovation, our technology has among the world's first-class," said Ma.

Innovation is endless. Molecular's recently released a new disinfectant series relying on its ultrapure water technologies, which smells refreshing and is harmless to the human body and environment.