Forgotten Memory: The History Of Private Titanium Enterprises In Baoji 40 Years Ago
Today, Baoji titanium industry has become an important pillar of Baoji’s economic development. After decades of development, private titanium enterprises have taken up half of the industry’s development, but now the titanium second generation, titanium third generation who still remember 40 years ago a group of ambitious young people walked the Hard Road? Now that these people are old, some of them are gone, and many of their names are buried in the dust of history, we need to remember them, without the groundbreaking steps they took, Baoji titanium industries. This article is dedicated to the memory of a generation of titanium workers who passed away.
In a ravine in the Qinling Mountains at the southern end of the town, the only titanium-producing and processing factory in China has been built here since the mid-1960s. Here is a collection of almost all the titanium varieties and the most authoritative scientific research institutions. By the early stage of reform and opening up, the annual production capacity of titanium reached nearly 1,000 tons, and established the internationally famous “Baoji Titanium” brand. This provides sufficient human, technical and material resources for the development of private titanium industry in Baoji. It can be said that every private titanium enterprise has at least a government-owned corporation technical personnel. This is the only reason why Baoji’s Titanium Valley industrial cluster can only rise in the town of Maying.
The initial stage (1984-1995)
Baoji Jifeng Titanium Equipment Factory, Baoji’s first privately owned titanium industrial enterprise, was founded in December 1984 with more than 20 employees, it have 8 sets of production equipment, such as lathe, planer, drawing machine, shearing machine, electric furnace, etc. . The annual output of small titanium equipment more than 100 sets, annual output value of more than 500,000 yuan. In 1990,12 related enterprises emerged, such as Baoji Baotai Chemical Plant, Baoji Jintai Titanium Plant, Baoji Welfare Titanium Plant, Baoji Meixian Fan Plant, And Baoji Shuangfu Titanium Plant. At that time, the general characteristics of private enterprises were small-scale, crude production equipment, weak production capacity, private titanium enterprises employed less than 500 people, annual output value of about 20 million yuan.
From 1990 to 1995, private titanium enterprises in Baoji continued to develop rapidly around the production and processing of titanium equipment, which was the leading industry. During this period, there were more than 30 private titanium enterprises in Baoji, with nearly 1,000 employees and an annual output value of nearly 100 million yuan.
Development period (1996-2000)
In 1996, with the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc, trade surged along the border with the former Soviet Union, and much of the raw material for Soviet military Non-ferrous metal was imported inexpensively. The former Soviet Union is the world’s largest producer of titanium and titanium alloy, in submarines, aircraft, ships and other military equipment on a large number of titanium. Some Soviet military equipment was dismantled in large quantities during this period, and stockpiles of titanium raw materials were sold on the black market. In our country’s Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, northeast and other port areas, through smuggling and other means, a large amount of titanium stockpiled in the port black market, sometimes as much as a warehouse of several hundred tons of titanium. At that time, there was a lack of awareness of titanium in China. Titanium material was called “Special stainless steel” at border crossings. At its cheapest, the price was only more than 10 yuan per kilogram, at that time, the price of titanium raw materials in China was more than 80 yuan per kilogram. Faced with huge profits, private companies and individuals in Baoji have rushed to the border ports to source titanium material to be shipped back to Baoji for processing and sales. The port trade has led to a rapid increase in the quantity and output of the private titanium industry in Baoji, and the titanium material trade has also led to a vigorous development of the titanium material processing industry, a number of plate rolling, bar forging, tube rolling, vacuum smelting and other enterprises stand out.
In 1994, Baoji’s first free forging equipment was provided to private enterprises. By 1998, the capacity of forging equipment was gradually increased from 150 tons to 300 to 1,000 tons.
In 1994, the first batch of titanium wire manufacturers, such as Baoji Honghua Factory, Baoji Sanli Company and Baoji Titanium Star Company, entered the field of titanium and refractory metal wire processing.
In 1993, Punan titanium powder factory in Weibin district of Baoji successfully exported titanium powder for foreign aluminum alloy additive enterprises, forming a titanium powder production boom in Weibin District’s Maying town area. More than 20 titanium powder production and processing enterprises have emerged in Maying town area, with an annual output of more than 500 tons of titanium powder. By 1996, the company had formed the domestic titanium powder production base, which mainly consisted of Shanxi Fengxiang titanium powder factory and Baoji Qishan Maite Company.
In 1997, the first titanium tube production line of private enterprises was born in Baoji Baoye Ti-ni Manufacturing Co. , Ltd. , and began to produce the first batch of cold-rolled titanium tubes of private enterprises.
After 1988, private titanium companies in Baoji began to enter the field of titanium composites, titanium equipment with the initial titanium, copper composite hangers as the leading products. By 1996, after mastering the key technology of explosive cladding, the titanium/steel clad plate was produced by explosion. By 2000 more than 20 professional production enterprises, 6 enterprises have a professional explosion field, forming a complete set of production and processing system.
In 1997, in response to the demand of titanium plate re-rolling for trade at Baoji Port, the first plate mill of private titanium enterprises in Baoji went into production, producing the first batch of cold-rolled plates.
Who can remember the names and stories of the first generation of entrepreneurs in these businesses? Are they okay? 40 years from now, who’s Gonna talk about this? Who remembers the China Lumena New Materials Corp. industrial park, Star Industrial Park, Liangquan industrial park, these have been demolished and will be demolished village-level industrial park? Hail to the first titanium builders!
