Jinchuan Group aims to become a world-class company and accelerates the promotion of brands to go global

The first "hard dish":

Witness to the Rebirth of the Golden Camel "Nickel" Plate

We express our gratitude to Jinchuan for its contributions to the aerospace industry of our country, "said an authoritative expert in the field of aerospace materials in China at a technical exchange meeting.

Jinchuan Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Jinchuan Group) Jintuo brand electrolytic nickel is the first choice for the development of the aerospace industry. For many years, Jinchuan electrolytic nickel material has been applied to spacecraft, making important contributions to sending one spacecraft after another of our country to the vast universe.

Entering the new century, electrolytic nickel from multinational companies such as Inco and Sumitomo from countries such as Finland and Norway has entered the Chinese market. In the fierce market competition, Jintuo brand electrolytic nickel faces challenges from similar products in the international market. The advantages of foreign brands in terms of quality and price have brought unprecedented impact to Jinchuan brand.

Faced with new challenges, Jinchuan Group Nickel Smelter has gathered the strength of all cadres and employees to set off again. The successful development and application of Jintuo brand electrolytic nickel production integration device has witnessed the rebirth of Jintuo brand.

In the production process of electrolytic nickel, the height difference between the cathode and anode solutions in the electrolytic cell is an important factor affecting the quality of nickel plates. To solve this problem, Chai Guoliang, a craftsman from Longyuan, a model worker from Gansu Province, and a leading talent from Jinchuan Group, thinks about it every day. He has observed the electrolytic cell for countless times, but has never come up with a good solution. Just as he was feeling disheartened, Chai Guoliang picked up a bottle of mineral water with ease. As he drank the water, he saw the slanting angle below the bottle mouth, and his eyes lit up. The next day, Chai Guoliang proposed an idea to invent a seemingly extremely simple, "small" body and "large" function liquid level regulator, which can achieve precise control of the liquid level in the electrolytic cell. At present, the liquid level regulator is installed at the edge of each electrolytic cell, making it easy and convenient for employees to operate, playing a decisive role in controlling the growth of electrolytic nickel and the quality of nickel plates.

At the product distribution center of Jinchuan Nickel Smelter, there are packages of clean and tidy large nickel plates, small boxes of nickel, and barrels of nickel. As a processing and packaging unit for end products, the product distribution center is responsible for the cutting, processing, packaging, and shipping of nickel products such as large plate nickel and small piece nickel. The quality of products and packaging directly affects the economic benefits and brand image of enterprises.

From the initial nickel plate punching, nickel strip punching and packaging to the current process of shaping, compressing steel straps, and wrapping with plastic film, we are presented with neat and well protected large plate nickel bags and beautifully packaged small box nickel bags. "Gao Minggang, a staff member of Jinchuan Product Distribution Center, witnessed the cutting, processing, and packaging of nickel products from pure manual operation to automated operation.

The Jinchuan Product Distribution Center relies on technological progress and innovation to develop and build a fully automated system for nickel product cutting, packaging, storage and transportation. It has one world advanced small nickel cutting and packaging unit and one domestic first electrolytic nickel plate cutting and packaging unit, becoming the largest nickel copper automatic three-dimensional warehouse in Asia with more than 10000 cargo spaces.

Dressed in pure white plastic film jackets, Jinchuan employees who stick to the production line, with a persistent spirit of "the cuckoo still cries blood at midnight, and cannot return without believing in the east wind", meticulously handle every step of receiving, sorting, cutting, weighing, packaging, coding, warehousing, and shipping, allowing Jinchuan electrolytic nickel with the "JINTUOGRADE1" logo to enter the hearts of customers.

Jinchuan always focuses on the quality of electrolytic nickel products and is committed to building a world-class product brand. Over the past 60 years of wind and rain, the company has been constantly imprinting the footsteps of improving quality management. In 1995, Jintuo brand electrolytic nickel was registered on the London Metal Exchange (LME) in the UK, marking the recognition of Jinchuan electrolytic nickel products in the international market; In 1997, the Jintuo brand trademark was recognized as a well-known trademark in China, becoming the only brand in the national raw material industry to receive this honor at that time; In 2008, Jinchuan won the highest national quality honor - the National Quality Award; In 2011, Jinchuan Group won the China Industrial Award again, and the high-quality Jintuo brand electrolytic nickel has become a unique and sustained value commitment to its target customers.

The second "hard dish":

Technological innovation unleashes the "cobalt" power of Jinchuan

Our product positioning has always been very clear, moving from replacing imports to leading technology, "said Wang Shuliang, General Manager of Lanzhou Jinchuan New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Jinchuan Technology).

Promote the integration and cluster development of strategic emerging industries, and build a new generation of growth engines such as information technology, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, new energy, new materials, high-end equipment, and green environmental protection. The 14th Five Year Plan of Gansu Province proposes to create an important national new material industry base as an important layout for cultivating strategic emerging industries, striving to achieve the transformation from a province with a large base of basic raw materials to a province with a large base of new materials.

As early as November 2020, the General Office of the State Council released the "Development Plan for the New Energy Vehicle Industry (2021-2035)". By 2025, it is expected that the demand for ternary precursors in China will reach 1.54 million tons, and the production of lithium cobalt oxide cathode materials will reach 74400 tons. However, in the complex and ever-changing market environment of cobalt prices, Jinchuan Cobalt still faces many difficulties in building its own brand and enhancing its competitiveness. Jinchuan Technology has made every effort to start a new round of strategic layout in the field of new materials, hoping to seize the opportunity in the dividends of new energy policies.

Going deep into Jinchuan Technology Materials Factory, the factory is spacious and tidy. Workers hold flashlights, remove lids, carefully observe the color of the solution in the box, and coordinate parameters with the central control room at any time. Recently, there have been fluctuations in the quality of multiple batches of electrodeposited cobalt. Although the chemical indicators are all qualified, the surface of the board has been densely raised, and some of the boards have even blackened. Once the cobalt boards with substandard appearance quality flow out, it will seriously affect the brand image, "said Zhou Linhua, the director of Jinchuan Technology Materials Factory 1.

The first material factory of the company urgently established an electroplated cobalt appearance quality improvement team, from the decision-making level to the technical research and development team, workshop team leader, and then to frontline production and operation personnel, to gather together and overcome difficulties. We closely monitor the entire production process, conducting inspections on personnel, machines, materials, methods, environment, and testing one by one. At the same time, we implement a multi shift system, with personnel on duty 24 hours a day, continuously conducting experiments and identifying problems, in order to avoid missing any clues that may cause product problems, "said Lu Xiaofang, the head of the Jinchuan Technology Materials Technology Group.

Finally, after everyone's joint efforts, it was determined that the high content of cobalt chloride oil in the raw material was the "culprit" causing the quality fluctuation of cobalt electrowinning this time. The company's technical personnel have taken a series of effective measures to reduce the oil content of cobalt chloride into the back-end electrowinning process to ensure raw material security.

After seeing the bright metallic luster and orderly electroplated cobalt plate, everyone felt as happy as seeing a newborn baby, "said Lu Xiaofang.

This is a microcosm of Jinchuan Technology's efforts to build its own brand and enhance its core competitiveness. Relying on the nickel and cobalt resource advantages and innovative research and development of Jinchuan Group, the production of Jinchuan Technology's ternary precursor is expected to be about 55000 tons in 2022, of which about 20% of the products are directly exported to countries such as Japan and South Korea, and applied to the production of new energy vehicles by leading global automotive companies.

In the future, we need to further optimize our strategic layout, enhance brand awareness, take a green and low-carbon path, tap into the potential of the 'internal circulation' of the economy, take the national '14th Five Year Plan' in the field of new energy as the direction, accelerate the pace of transformation and upgrading, continue to promote production and sales linkage, build a 'research, production and sales' industrial chain collaborative innovation system, and take multiple measures in fine management, technological innovation, quality optimization, marketing models, and other aspects to polish our products Card Wang Shuliang said.

Jinchuan Technology's Jintuo brand electrolytic cobalt, cobalt tetroxide, ternary precursor and other products are sold to regions such as Beijing, Tianjin, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and some of them are sold to foreign markets, proving the possibility of improving enterprise competitiveness through brand building and laying the foundation for the company's future development of a complete industrial chain from comprehensive utilization of nickel and cobalt resources to terminal battery materials.

The third "hard dish":

"Jinchuan Machinery" Appears on the International Stage

On August 6, 2023, Jinchuan Group Nidu Industrial Company successfully shipped the first batch of 9 Jinchuan Machinery 30 ton mining trucks customized for Russian Far East Mining Company.

The 30 ton mining truck is a new product in the Jinchuan Machinery series of underground trackless equipment. This product has been developed and manufactured since 2022, with a price of over 3 million yuan per unit. This new car is customized according to the personalized needs of customers, highlighting the characteristics of safety, stability, and intelligent environmental protection, representing the confidence of Jinchuan Machinery's underground trackless equipment to go global.

In 2005, Krushen, the business representative of Gehar Special Vehicle Company in Germany, came to Jinchuan Group for the first time as a director of the German side of the joint venture company to participate in the board of directors of the joint venture company. At that time, the underground trackless equipment manufacturing of Jinchuan Group was in its early stages and urgently needed to introduce advanced foreign technology. Therefore, the company has decided to establish a joint venture with German Gehar Special Vehicle Company to establish Jinge Mining Vehicle Manufacturing Company.

When Krushen walked into the structural parts workshop and saw the outdated production line, he shook his head and said, "No, your structural parts are not up to standard, all spare parts should be provided by us." He took out a 4-cubic scraper with not too much core technology as a cooperation condition, trying to grasp the voice of core technology.

If we fall behind, we will be beaten. "Wang Youhe, the director of the Equipment Research Institute, recalled," Just calm down and think about it. We do have a gap in technology and management. "If there is a gap, what should we do? Jinchuan continuously improves its cooperation plan, optimizes its implementation, and strengthens technical research on development challenges.

From then on, Jinchuan Nickel Capital Industrial Company explored a way out in the difficult situation. The company conscientiously implements the requirements of Jinchuan Group's deepening reform, gradually digests and solves historical legacy problems, combines its own development status and industry characteristics, adheres to the establishment and improvement of modern enterprise systems, focuses on transforming business mechanisms, strengthens main responsibilities and businesses, comprehensively promotes independent accounting and market-oriented operation of operating units, promotes industrial transformation and upgrading, improves quality and efficiency, and constructs a new texture in "breaking" and "standing", In the market-oriented reform, we must firmly establish the idea of "everything revolves around the market and everything revolves around efficiency", with the goal of increasing income and efficiency and the system of accounting and assessment as the means.

This year, Krushen once again came to Nidu Industrial Company and saw the old "old and small" transformed into a "tall and upscale" new factory with an area of tens of millions of square meters, complete equipment manufacturing production lines, and associated technology research and development centers, heavy equipment manufacturing companies, machining centers... Krushen, who loves to say "no", nodded and smiled, extending his thumb.

Yang Wenbin, Marketing Manager of Nidu Industrial Company, said, "We not only completed the structural components, but also achieved the localization of other key spare parts in the following years. We eliminated the 4-cubic model, developed intelligent and highly automated 4-cubic scrapers, and more than 20 types of underground trackless equipment

Strengthen the research and development and application demonstration of common technologies, and accelerate innovation that can quickly break through and solve problems in a timely manner. At the same time, we aim at emerging industries and intelligent manufacturing, focus on internal self use equipment imports and high-end product equipment replacement projects, cultivate and develop a batch of high-end efficiency products, gradually achieve the transformation from a production service oriented enterprise to a technology output oriented enterprise, and create a business card for industrial manufacturing technology Ma Binwen, Deputy Manager of Underground Trackless Equipment Manufacturing Company, said.

In recent years, Jinchuan Machinery has exported nearly 100 underground trackless equipment such as scrapers, mining trucks, and engineering service vehicles to more than 20 countries such as Russia, Mongolia, South Africa, Australia, and Mexico. The annual export sales have reached about 40 million yuan, and the annual export volume of high-end phosphate copper products and high-precision copper strips is about 1000 tons. This year, the export volume has reached 1500 tons; Mining drilling tools have achieved 80% of product exports, mainly to more than 10 regions and countries such as South America and Australia, India, Russia, etc; The metallurgical furnace engineering and productive service industry in foreign countries are mainly located in regions and countries such as Africa, Indonesia, and India, with an annual revenue of over 100 million yuan.

It is not easy to gradually gain high recognition of the brand from domestic and foreign customers. The brand formation of world-class enterprises is not achieved overnight, and they all go through a gradual growth process. The brand construction of Jinchuan Group not only needs to achieve a brand that is large, strong, and excellent enough, but also needs to last long enough. Only by standing up to the test over time and continuously accumulating brand strength can we establish the image of China's independent brand in the new era, and help improve the awareness and influence of China's independent brand.