With her tilted head, closed eyes, bubble-blowing pose, and retro Chinese-inspired look, “Nanci” has captured the hearts of many young consumers.
Behind this popular IP is ROBOTIME, a company that has grown from a newcomer in injection molding into a leading trendy toy brand in just seven years. Along the way, Haitian has been a trusted partner in its manufacturing journey.
Founded in 2007, ROBOTIME has built steady momentum over nearly two decades. Its three brands — Rolife, ROKR, and Rowood — offer a wide range of creative lifestyle products, including blind boxes, assembly kits, and wooden DIY collectibles. Original IPs such as Nanci, Suri, and Tao Ruanruan have gained strong popularity with designs rooted in Chinese aesthetics.
Nanci, launched in 2019, is one of the most recognizable characters. Her debut series reimagined iconic women from Chinese history, followed by collections inspired by the 24 Solar Terms, classical poetry, and traditional culture.
By blending Chinese heritage with designer collectibles, ROBOTIME has created products that resonate with young consumers while bringing traditional culture into everyday collecting and sharing.
For IP-driven collectibles, supply chain reliability is critical. During the blind box boom of 2021–2022, ROBOTIME faced surging demand amid pandemic-related disruptions.
At a critical moment, Haitian stepped in. “Within ten days, Haitian delivered 20 to 30 machines to us,” recalled Mr. Wu, head of ROBOTIME Huai’an production base. “Once the machines arrived, Haitian engineers worked overnight on installation and commissioning. When local service resources were stretched, Haitian brought in support from other regions.”
This rapid response helped ROBOTIME maintain stable supply through a major demand peak.
The appeal of blind box collectibles lies largely in their refined appearance. Even a tiny black spot can affect the consumer experience and damage an IP’s reputation. For manufacturers, unstable equipment or unsuitable processes can increase defects, scrap rates, and management costs.
Haitian helped address this challenge with high-rigidity platens, fully closed-loop injection control, and HT·XTEND functions. With repeatability within 0.1%, stable dimensional accuracy, uniform plasticizing, and consistent injection performance, the machines help reduce black spots and impurities. The result is clean, refined product quality that supports ROBOTIME’s large-scale blind box production.
ROBOTIME’s partnership with Haitian began in 2019, when the company purchased a couple of machines for trial production of injection-molded parts for its miniature house kit. After evaluating Haitian’s expertise, market leadership, and service responsiveness, ROBOTIME expanded its investment.
Today, its factory operates 184 Haitian machines, including MA/G、MA/SE series, and Zhafir electric models. These machines support production across Rolife blind boxes and plush toys, ROKR assembly products, and miniature house kit components made from PVC, ABS, PP, and PS.
ROBOTIME expects deeper support in dedicated screws and barrels for materials such as PVC, local spare parts availability, process guidance for material changes, and continued development in automation, intelligent manufacturing, and digitalization.
Designer toy IPs continue to evolve, but for ROBOTIME, stable injection molding remains the foundation for sustainable growth.
Over seven years, ROBOTIME has scaled its production with 184 Haitian machines at the core of its operations. Behind that growth, Haitian has been more than a supplier — providing responsive support, technical expertise, and a reliable manufacturing foundation for ROBOTIME’s growth.The next time a collector opens a Nanci blind box, the delicate face inside will reflect not only ROBOTIME’s creative design, but also Haitian’s manufacturing strength.