High-quality development research trip | Running towards the "new" old industrial base to polish the "golden signboard" again
News: Tiexi District, Shenyang, Liaoning Province is an important old industrial base in my country. It once produced the first molten steel, the first national emblem, the first tractor, and the first lathe in New China, creating hundreds of firsts in the history of New China's industry. It is a "business card" of New China's industry. However, Tiexi District has had glory and downturn. At the end of the last century, more than 70% of state-owned enterprises here were in a state of suspension or semi-suspension, and 130,000 industrial workers were laid off. After that, Tiexi District struggled to break through, and after completing the adjustment and transformation of the old industrial base, it regained its youth and shouldered the burden of the country. Since the beginning of this year, the economic operation of Tiexi District has been stable and improving. In the first quarter, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size was 17.54 billion yuan, an increase of 15.5%. On the basis of double-digit growth in the same period last year, it still maintained a high growth. What makes the old industrial base revitalized and once again polish the "business card" of "New China's industry"? Let's see the reporter's investigation.
Walking into an equipment manufacturing company in Tiexi District, a new department that was established four months ago attracted the reporter's attention.
More than 100 high-tech talents come from different research directions and majors. Their reorganization has only one purpose, which is to integrate and solve all customer problems. This new department is the company's "Solution Center".
In such a large office, temporary exchanges and discussions between the six business departments can be seen everywhere. From the past of each department doing research and development behind closed doors to the current active division of labor and cooperation around customer needs, everyone's work philosophy has undergone a fundamental change.
The restructuring that Dong Xin mentioned is the mixed ownership reform that Shengang Group started in 2020. Shengang Group introduced the National Advanced Manufacturing Phase II Fund, implemented employee shareholding, and explored the establishment of a modern enterprise system. All members of the group's leadership team resigned from their positions as municipal cadres and became professional managers. The backbone of the group needs to compete for shareholding to take up their posts. Dong Xin passed the competition and became the head of the solution center.
Mixed ownership reform has promoted fundamental changes in the three systems of labor, personnel and distribution. In Shengang Group, the difference between the lowest and highest wages of employees in the same position is about 8 times, depending on their abilities and contributions.
In terms of career development, there are six major promotion channels, including technology, marketing, and management. Employees who perform well in assessments and meet the qualification requirements have the opportunity to develop into senior or chief experts regardless of age and qualifications.
Last year, all indicators of Shengang Group reached historical highs
Founded in 1952, Shenyang Blower Group is my country's first professional fan manufacturer. The various compressors they produce are known as the "heart of industry." In 2023, all indicators of Shenyang Blower Group hit record highs. Compared with 2020 before the mixed ownership reform, the total profit increased by 4 times, the asset-liability ratio decreased by 6 percentage points, and the labor productivity of all employees increased by 30.4%.
Run towards the "new" and jump out of the comfort zone to face new demands
Reform has not only released the vitality of the development of old industrial bases, but also promoted the traditional equipment manufacturing industry to run towards "new". During the visit, in the production workshop of Shengang Group, the reporter saw a piece of equipment that was about to be assembled and rolled off the production line - the air energy storage compressor. It will be transported to the air energy storage project in Golmud, Qinghai as a core component. After the project is completed and put into production at the end of this year, it will become the world's largest demonstration project in the field of liquid air energy storage with the largest power generation capacity and energy storage scale.
In the past, the largest diameter of various compressor units produced by Shenyang Blower Group was 1.8 meters. Entering the emerging energy storage industry, the diameter of compressor units used in the power sector is as long as 2 meters, which brings great challenges to product design.
After the mixed ownership reform, the R&D team took the initiative to jump out of their original comfort zone to adapt to new products and the needs of new users. From single-link R&D to project-based integration, from focusing only on product design to emphasizing application scenario matching and safety, the concept and process of product R&D have changed.
Unveiling the task and taking charge to promote the "last mile" of industrial innovation
Northern Heavy Industries, also located in Tiexi District, is known as the "cradle of the heavy machinery industry in New China". During the visit, the reporter saw different models of shield machines in its production workshop. After the assembly of this shield machine with a length of more than 300 meters, it will be shipped to Gansu and used in the Yinhajidang project among the 172 major water conservancy projects in the country. The more than 300 shield machines manufactured by Northern Heavy Industries have opened up routes for water diversion, highways and railways, pumped storage and other projects, and are truly "heavy weapons of a great country". However, due to the high technical threshold, the localization of the "last mile" of parts is difficult to break through. How to break through this "last mile"? Continue to watch the reporter's investigation.
After Northern Heavy Industries proposed the "bottleneck" technology demand, the Shenyang Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences took the lead and joined forces with more than 40 upstream and downstream units in the industrial chain to finally develop a main bearing with qualified strength and make my country's first fully domestically produced shield machine. During the interview, the reporter found that in Tiexi District, there are many projects like Northern Heavy Industries that promote industrial innovation by taking the lead.
The 29 major scientific and technological projects that Tiexi District has implemented from 2021 to this year were issued by well-known traditional manufacturing companies in Tiexi District, and the winners were technology-related research institutes from across the country. The reporter found that through the government's integration of resources, the support of science and technology for the industry will be more specific and targeted.
On the basis of organized innovation, the digital transformation of traditional manufacturing enterprises is also being promoted simultaneously. Since 2023, 146 technical transformation and upgrading projects have been implemented with a total investment of 14.8 billion yuan.
