Baoji Titanium

Baoji's titanium production and processing volume accounted for 65% of the country and 33% of the world. In 2019, Baoji's advanced structural materials industry cluster entered the first batch of national strategic emerging industrial cluster development projects, marking the inclusion of "Baoji Titanium" into the national strategy.

In recent years, high-end titanium products have been in short supply, and the titanium industry is favored by capital. It mainly invests in basic areas such as metal composite materials and titanium alloy smelting and forging production lines, making Baoji an important base for advanced materials and stronger equipment.

"Foreign Titanium" will not shake Baoji's status as "China Titanium Valley" for the time being. The reason is that at present, all other places are "single-point breakthroughs" and have not formed a comprehensive and overall advantage in the industrial chain. The advantage of Baoji's titanium processing center has not changed.

This year, the municipal party committee and the municipal government decided to build a key industrial chain around the city’s advantageous industries and emerging industries. The titanium and titanium alloy industrial chain has become the top priority. Hui Jincai, secretary of the municipal party committee, will serve as the leader of the industrial cluster, and Wu Yong, member of the Standing Committee of the municipal party committee and director of the Propaganda Department Exceeding the length of the industrial chain, focusing on the implementation of the "Eight Major Projects", to promote Baoji from "China Titanium Valley" to "World Titanium Capital".

Titanium alloy manned spherical shell developed by Baoti Group

▲Titanium alloy manned spherical shell developed by Baoti Group

From the "Deep Sea Warrior" with a dive depth of 4,500 meters to the "Struggle" with a new record of 10,909 meters for China's manned deep diving, the titanium alloy manned spherical shell developed by Baoti Group serves as the core of the manned submersible. The components signify that my country's deep-sea manned detection equipment has achieved a historic leap from "running side by side" with the world to "leading". This is another "masterpiece" of "Baoji Titanium" as an "industry pioneer".

In the stockyard of Yixin Titanium Industry Company, there is still a pile of waste materials. It is the unqualified titanium material that was voluntarily recalled from Norway Akersolution, a Fortune 500 company. Now this pile of materials is like a background, which has witnessed Yixin. The step-by-step upgrading of the quality management system is being favored by the new Fortune 500 companies.

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Inside Baotai Industrial Park

▲In Baotai Industrial Park (Photo: Li Nan)

As the world’s largest gathering area for the development of the titanium industry, Baoji presents the myth of titanium wealth every day. You can think of it as a wave in the development of the titanium industry, but they are even more important for Baoji to build the "China Titanium Valley" and "world". The vigorous and upward force of "Tidu".

Baoji's titanium production and processing volume accounted for 65% of the country’s total and 33% of the world’s total. In 2019, Baoji’s advanced structural materials industry cluster entered the first batch of national strategic emerging industrial cluster development projects, marking the inclusion of “Baoji Titanium” into the national strategy. Its advantages are beyond doubt. As a key area, Baoji has been given a new historical mission in the titanium and titanium alloy industry chain promotion plan laid out across the province this year. So, how can Baoji take advantage of the trend and occupy a favorable "niche" in the high-end titanium alloy and civilian titanium market? Recently, the reporter visited various parties and conducted research.

Products stored in the strip factory in Baotai Industrial Park

▲The products stored in the strip factory in Baotai Industrial Park.

The "Past and Present" of "Baoji Titanium"

Titanium is a representative of "gentle and firm" in the metal kingdom. As a material with low density, high strength, and corrosion resistance, titanium has outstanding application advantages in light-weight, high-strength, and severe high and low temperature changes. It is known as "Space metal" and "ocean metal" are important strategic metal materials in the 21st century.

The world's titanium industrial production began in 1948. The landmark event was that DuPont of the United States produced 2 tons of sponge titanium using the magnesium reduction method. The application of titanium began in the 1950s, starting from the aerospace industry in the United States, the Soviet Union and other countries. With the rapid development of the aerospace industry in our country, it is necessary to produce "lightweight, high-strength, high-temperature and corrosion-resistant" titanium alloys to solve the bottleneck problem, so Baoti Group, established in 1965, took on this important task.

Baoti Group showcases the wide range of applications of titanium products

▲Bao Titanium Group demonstrates the wide range of applications of titanium products

Historical opportunity selected Baoji to allow the titanium industry to take root in this land. Baoti Group immediately undertook the production, development and trial production of most of the domestic titanium processing materials after its completion, making China the fourth country with a complete titanium industrial system after the United States, Russia and Japan.

For more than 50 years, Baoti Group has undertaken more than 8,000 trial production tasks of new materials for China’s material manufacturing and cutting-edge technology. The 4500-meter titanium deep-sea vehicle manned spherical shell produced here has broken the European and American deep-sea exploration Technological monopoly; precision-forged titanium alloy materials help the vehicles to be fast and fast; new-type titanium materials allow China's large aircraft to soar in the clouds...

Large titanium equipment

▲Large titanium equipment

The development history of Baoti is the history of riding the wind and waves of the "responsibility of the country". It is precisely because of a series of "ice-breaking journeys" in the titanium field, such as anchoring the direction, cultivating technology, and opening up the market. A private enterprise that sprouts like small trees and grasses.

In the tide of reform and opening up, private titanium companies in Baoji have experienced a journey from barbaric growth to refined growth. Guo Jianfeng, general manager of Baoji Ouyuan New Metal Technology Co., Ltd., was an early group of people who caught up with the "sales of titanium materials to make money". He told reporters: "The titanium market was'crazy' in 2008. There is a paragraph describing Maying Town. People do business and negotiate the price with customers at noon. In the afternoon, the price of titanium material rose by several hundred yuan per ton, and the boss regretted that the price was set too fast. At that time, people who sold titanium materials easily made tens of millions of yuan a year. "

Titanium product display

▲Titanium product display (Photo: Zhao Binrui and Xie Keqiang)

Unpredictable, unpredictable, unpredictable weather is the market normal. With the continuous influx of processing companies and the increasing demands of the market on the processing technology, output, and quality of titanium products, a group of companies that are obsessed with sales and do not study technology are gradually eliminated by the market, and some The enterprise is constantly pursuing technology, and the more vigorous, the better.

"The plant you see now is the third place I changed!" In the high-end equipment industrial park of Baoji High-tech Zone, the reporter saw Xu Cheng, general manager of Baoji Jinhaiyuan Titanium Standard Parts Products Co., Ltd., his factory was clean. It is neat and tidy, showing the demeanor of industrial aesthetics. The materials can be traced from storage to processing. It is normal for the finished product rate to reach 100%. Such meticulous management is not a "overnight" effort.

Workers are processing titanium forgings

▲Workers are processing titanium forgings

When the titanium industry was booming around 2000, Xu Cheng set up a small factory to do titanium processing. In 2006, a Japanese customer visited the factory and found that their product processing procedures were not standardized, lacked technical standards, materials were piled up everywhere, and even the toilets were smelly, saying that they could not cooperate.

Xu Cheng didn't want to lose foreign orders. He started from training the quality of skilled workers, to equipment improvement, process control, rectification one by one, and even the toilet was refurbished twice. By the third year, they will be able to produce qualified products for Japanese companies, and they will have stable international orders in the eighth year. Xu Cheng believes that this kind of experience is worthwhile: fasteners are known as "the rice of industry". Fasteners are used in any manufacturing industry. What Jin Haiyuan is proud of is that the company's products use Baotai's 4,500 meters manned depth. On submersible vehicles and 10,000-meter-class manned submersibles, and the company is now the world's largest fastener stocker German Würth, and the United States quick button company's cooperative enterprises, its competitiveness is different from the past.

Large-size thin-walled ring product display

▲Product display of large-size thin-walled ring

Private enterprises such as Jin Haiyuan are today a typical representative of Baoji Titanium Enterprises' persistence and resilience. Facts have proved that after several rounds of market cyclical fluctuations in the titanium industry, companies that are able to prepare "winter clothes" when the market is good, and those companies that have survived difficulties when the market is bad are all powerful private enterprises left behind by the "big waves".

According to the reporter's investigation, some companies have opened up new territory in product serialization; some companies only make standard parts and become well-known suppliers in the industry; some companies specialize in serving foreign companies and manufacture various titanium processed parts; Although some companies continue to use old equipment, but the cost is well controlled, there is still market space; some companies have become invisible champions in a certain segment of the outdoor product market...

Workers are inspecting plates

▲Workers are inspecting plates

At present, there are more than 590 titanium production and processing enterprises in Baoji, including 104 regulated enterprises (more than half of the country), 26 enterprises with a value of more than 100 million yuan, and 1 enterprise with a value of more than 20 billion yuan. In 2020, the production and processing capacity of Baoji Titanium is about 50,000 tons, Baotai has 21,300 tons, and private enterprises have 28,300 tons. Baotai's absolute leadership is evident.

After more than 50 years of accumulation, the Baoji titanium industry has formed a unique industrial "landscape": The country’s largest leading enterprise, Baoti, has achieved more than 600 scientific and technological achievements here. Baoji Titanium is available for research on submersibles from 4500 meters to 10909 meters. It has the most complete industrial chain in the country and can produce more than 5,000 specifications of materials; it has the right to speak in the industry and is the high ground for the formulation of national titanium industry standards. The country’s important titanium testing institutions and research institutions are gathered in Baoji.

"China Titanium Valley" is striding forward to "World Titanium Capital"

In recent years, the titanium industry has been favored by capital, and Baoji's investment boom began in 2018. Several business executives told reporters: "The supply of foreign titanium ore resources has become scarce, and the domestic demand for titanium dioxide and titanium metal has increased. The output of sponge titanium products is increasing and the price is rising. New equipment and new processes can be used. Catch up with this wave of development!"

Customer-to-business certification product quality

▲Customer-to-business certification product quality

At present, the demand for high-end titanium materials in downstream applications such as aerospace, ships, etc. is increasing. Like Baoti Group, its existing high-end titanium products are in short supply. In order to meet market demand, the group plans to invest 5 billion yuan from 2020. To 6 billion yuan, implement projects such as the upgrading and capacity expansion of titanium sponge, the development of titanium ore resources, and the technological transformation of the upgrading and capacity expansion of marine engineering equipment manufacturing. Among them, high-performance titanium and titanium alloy sheet industry upgrading projects are widely optimistic.

In February 2021, the additional issuance project of Baoti Co., Ltd. was officially implemented, mainly for the construction of high-end titanium alloy material production lines and testing centers. After the project is put into operation, it is expected that the company's titanium product production capacity is expected to exceed 30,000 tons in 2023.

Titanium belt display

▲Titanium belt display

The civilian product market has given capital more room for imagination. At present, the cooking appliances and daily-use hardware industries have mature products and have a consumer base, which is attracting more people to pay attention to titanium products.

This year, a large number of "titanium" super projects have started construction in Baoji, focusing on Baoji's industrial ambition to build "China Titanium Valley" and "World Titanium Capital", as well as the titanium industry's ability to produce and process and gather elements. In particular, Zhengwei International Group, a Fortune 500 company, was attracted by Baoji's complete titanium industry cluster and the advantages of the entire industrial chain. The materials industry park, the Northwest headquarters of Zhengwei and the three supporting sub-projects strive to optimize and upgrade the supply of the element platform with Baoji Titanium Industry, and promote the integration of Baoji Titanium Industry into the global industrial chain supply chain.

Large titanium equipment

▲Large titanium equipment

In addition, including the investment of 1 billion yuan in metal composite materials and titanium alloy smelting and forging production line construction projects, it is necessary to realize the entire industrial chain of metal composite materials, closed intelligent production and manufacturing; and the high-end investment of Baoji Topuda Titanium Industry Co., Ltd. The whole industry chain project of titanium and titanium alloy products for equipment, the newly developed "Titanium Kou" series of titanium daily necessities project by Baoji Jucheng Titanium Industry Co., Ltd., and the "Shaanxi Hercules Aviation Industrial Park Technology" under construction by Baoji Goxinxinglong Titanium Industry Co., Ltd. Projects, etc., have made new developments in improving technology and supplementing production capacity.

Baoji plans to reserve 60 projects in the library, with a total investment of 29.92 billion yuan, which will promote the development of titanium industry clusters and parks. These titanium and new materials industry projects will help "China Titanium Valley" integrate into the global industrial chain supply chain and move towards the "world titanium capital", realizing the transformation from an industrial cluster to an industrial community.

Civil titanium products

▲Civilian titanium products (Photo: Zhou Shuli)

Reflections on the "Pain of Apple Silk"

Now that the market is good, companies are busy with projects, but while chasing the heat, they must also make a calm judgment and avoid blind investment. In the mind of the person in charge of the titanium company, the "pain of apple silk" cannot be forgotten. Eight years ago, the screws used in Apple mobile phones were made of titanium alloy. At that time, an order from a screw processing company to Baoji was more than a dozen tons, while private companies only sold dozens of tons a year.

Titanium equipment production line

▲The first line of titanium equipment production (Photo: Kou Minghu)

Companies that have been doing titanium wire instantly became "sweet and sweet". Customers demand as many products as there are. The market is "thirsty". This triggered Baoji Titanium Enterprises to quickly install new wire equipment, and everyone flocked to supply them, resulting in titanium wire Production continues to increase, and customers go from "hungry for food" to "picking the bones in the egg": it turned out to be paid first before picking up the goods, turning into payment on delivery, and then returning the payment after use and returning the goods at every turn. Companies that are late to install equipment and lose millions or tens of millions of dollars abound.

According to analysis by Qi Haigang, executive chairman of the Titanium Industry Information Council, this heavy blow has exposed the problems of low technology, low innovation capabilities, and low quality in the Baoji titanium industry, except for the leading and key enterprises in the titanium industry. The big market opportunity is coming, and many companies can't catch it.

Titanium products displayed at the Titanium Expo

▲Titanium products displayed at the Titanium Expo (Photo: Zhao Binrui and Xie Keqiang)

A technical manager of Baotai told the reporter that there is infinite knowledge of physics and chemistry to be drilled in the world of materials. Researchers are required to understand the breakthroughs, and the processing should be done according to the direction of use of each material. Process research and design of links. Obtaining a relatively scientific value requires countless trips to and from the laboratory and workshop, and it takes a lot of time and money to achieve it.

Excellent materials are the prerequisite for all industrial manufacturing to remain excellent. Industry emphasizes technological accumulation, and German manufacturing is strong. The reason is that companies have thoroughly researched a product from R&D to production, and can be rigorously manufactured for hundreds of years to maintain its longevity. Several business executives believe that private enterprises do not want to produce high-quality products, but they lack their own R&D capabilities and technical guidance. They only do rough processing and earn processing fees, and cannot drill into deeper areas.

A private company in Baoji is issuing a new batch of titanium products

▲A private enterprise in Baoji is issuing a new batch of titanium products (Photo: Kou Minghu)

In recent years, through the continuous policy guidance of the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government and the support of R&D institutions, Baoji has successfully introduced the Shaanxi Branch of the National Numerical Control System Engineering Technology Research Center, the Intelligent Manufacturing Innovation Center, the Rapid Manufacturing National Engineering Research Center, and the Baoji Innovation Center. The Baoji Special Aircraft Engineering Research Institute and other national R&D centers have realized the rapid flow of talents and technical services, and greatly enhanced their innovation capabilities. Baoji, Tsinghua University, Xi’an Jiaotong University and other universities as well as foreign research institutes such as Russia, the United States, Germany and other foreign research institutes have implemented more than 30 R&D projects, and have successively obtained a number of representatives in the fields of nuclear power transmission equipment, manned submersible spherical shells, and deep-sea materials. Major scientific and technological achievements of the world's advanced level.

Will "foreign titanium" shake Baoji's status?

In recent years, the investment and development of the titanium industry in other places is also worthy of attention. The foreign investment phenomenon of private enterprises in Baoji began around 2018. According to the Baoji Titanium Industry Association and relevant company leaders, since 2019, more than 10 companies including Titanium Metal Composite Materials and Innet Medical Titanium have successively invested in and built factories in Panzhihua City, Sichuan Province, and even relocated their entire factories to Panzhihua.

Titanium equipment production line

▲The first line of titanium equipment production (Photo: Kou Minghu)

The reason for their outward investment is mainly in Baoji.