Chinese Aviation Industry

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Baosteel switches gears, lands big deal from COMAC
By MENG FANBIN in Beijing and WU YIYAO in Shanghai | China Daily | Updated: 2017-05-10 10:42

On Friday, when COMAC's C919, China's first homebuilt passenger plane, took off from, and then landed safely at, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, it not only completed its first test flight successfully but marked a major milestone for the Shanghai-based Baosteel Special Steel Co Ltd.

For, the C919 used landing gear made by Baosteel Special Steel, also known as Baosteel, which is now the first Chinese supplier of such hardware for passenger jets.

"It is the first time that the 300M steel researched and produced by the company is used in the production of landing gear in China and it shows we have made a breakthrough in this sector," said Zhao Suwu, a senior engineer from Baosteel Special Steel.

"Baosteel Special Steel's landing gear improves greatly China's steel and high-end special steel metallurgy expertise, which has been recognized globally," said Yang Zhiyong, director of the Special Steel Institute,which is part of the Iron and Steel Research Institute.

It also marks the first global foray of Chinese makers of high-end special steel and high-end aviation parts, Yang said.

Landing gear, being the largest and heaviest steel part of an aircraft, is critical as the whole weight of a plane rests on it and it should be able to withstand strong impact during landing.

Special steel that is used to make landing gear is difficult to produce. Standards are exacting to ensure the hardware's stability, impact resistance and fatigue resistance, Zhao said.

The amount of homemade alloy used in the C919 is not much because Chinese special steel and alloy makers' research, quality control and cost control processes are not as mature as foreign competitors', according to a report in China Metallurgical News.

"Steel accounts for only about 10 percent of the whole weight of the jet, so as to reduce weight and save energy. Most of the materials in the plane are alloys and nonmetals," said Yang.

Baosteel Special Steel and Fushun Special Steel Shares Co Ltd, in Liaoning province, are the only two certified domestic steel suppliers for jumbo aircraft, compared with four foreign players, including India's Tata Group and US major Carpenter Technology Corp.

However, COMAC's decision to use Baosteel Special Steel's landing gear is bound to help develop China's aviation steel segment.

After 60 trials for industrial-scale production, the company has developed a homegrown process spanning the whole chain for special steel manufacturing technology for the C919, said Zhao. The research and development process lasted more than seven years, she said.

Over the years, China's steel makers had been blocked from becoming qualified suppliers to aircraft makers and hence have been eager for their big break in the aviation steel segment.

HBIS Group Co Ltd provides high-end steel materials for the die forging machine that makes the C919 landing gear. COMAC's component platform uses modular design,which means each supplier can be replaced.

The China Metallurgical News report quoted a COMAC expert: "It's only a matter of time before China's domestic materials replace the imported ones, given the improvement in the quality of Chinese suppliers' products and their cost control."

Zhang Yu contributed to this story.

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Hendrik_2000 said:

The China Metallurgical News report quoted a COMAC expert: "It's only a matter of time before China's domestic materials replace the imported ones, given the improvement in the quality of Chinese suppliers' products and their cost control."

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Blackstone said:

Yeah, but what's "only a matter of time?" A year? A decade?

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Hendrik_2000 said:

Broadcom posted this excellent article about how advance is Chinese steel industry contrary to SB rambling. If you can make nuclear grade steel you can make anything!. The government need to tap the private company expertise and reinvigorate the SOE. Yup this is the company that make ball point steel and HSR wheel
Broadcom I know you are here

Tisco is China's equivalent to Nippon Steel. Give us more rust resistant consumer products.

With manufacturing upgrades, State-owned firm shows its mettle
By Ren Xiaojin, Jing Shuiyu and Sun Ruisheng (Chinadaily.com.cn) 10:26, May 05, 2017

TISCO's innovation is powering space and nuclear programs and boosting exports

If you see Taiyuan Iron and Steel (Group) Co's recently attained capability to make homemade pen-tip steel for ballpoint pens as a sign of focusing on small things, you'd be mistaken. The nation's top maker of stainless steel has decidedly big plans.

For one, TISCO is going global in line with the Belt and Road Initiative. For another, it is strengthening the supply of high-strength and high-end steel available for China's big-ticket projects, such as bullet trains, next generation nuclear power plants and aerospace programs.

It is now a key cog in the massive manufacturing wheel that powers China's endeavors in industry and science.

A technician inspects the surface of a stainless steel component at a factory of Shanxi-based Taiyuan Iron and Steel (Group) Co, which is staking its future on research and development efforts. Provided to China Daily

As of March, TISCO started to supply stainless steel to Hualong One, the country's domestically developed third-generation reactor, adding one more name to the list of over 10 completed or under construction nuclear power stations that use only TISCO-made stainless steel.

TISCO's high-end products also will shine on the global stage through integration with the Belt and Road vision of huge advances in infrastructure and trade, company officials say. TISCO-made materials are used in the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge, the Temburong Bridge in Brunei, the China-Russia and China-Myanmar natural gas pipelines, a nuclear power station in Pakistan, and even for coins cast in Malaysia, the Netherlands, Poland and Brazil.

For China's military forces, TISCO's materials have proved essential in making Dongfeng missile shells and the latest series of destroyers. It is the only qualified Chinese supplier of low-magnetic steel plate for warships and vessels, TISCO officials said in a statement released exclusively to China Daily.

TISCO's staff has worked hard to achieve technical prowess, particularly in research and development. It has further sharpened its competitive edge through research and development, say officials at the company, which is based in Shanxi province.

Last year, TISCO introduced more than 10 new products, which have garnered a more than 70 percent share of the Chinese market.

Its products have given a major boost to the country's aerospace industry, TISCO says.

The company made a number of components for the new Long March 7 Y2 rocket, which lifted China's first cargo spacecraft, the Tianzhou 1, into orbit on April 20. Tianzhou 1 is the nation's largest and heaviest spacecraft.

The Long March 7Y2 included TISCO's stainless steel, electromagnetic pure iron, high-strength alloy structural steel and other materials. The company's materials also played a key role in the Long March 7 Y1 rocket, the Y2's predecessor and an important milestone in Chinese rocket science.

With manufacturing upgrades, State-owned firm shows its mettle

According to the SOE's military and nuclear power business department, TISCO's high-end steel and iron have been widely used in China's crucial aerospace programs, including the Shenzhou spaceship series and the Chang'e lunar orbiters. Rocket engines use TISCO stainless steel that is resistant to high temperatures.

"With Tianzhou 1's launch behind us, we're set to supply essential materials for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, the world's largest and one of the most critical fusion experiments," the company said in the statement to China Daily.

All the moves mark TISCO's proactive expansion beyond China and into the international market, its chairman, Li Xiaobo, said in the statement.

"We need to move fast to figure out potential demand and to design the best material for clients," Li said. "Simply following others isn't going to work. We'll provide optimized solutions to win the (world's) trust."

TISCO's next ambition is to become the world's most competitive stainless steel enterprise, Li said.

TISCO is further fine-tuning its alignment with visionary national campaigns such as the Belt and Road Initiative, the Made in China 2025 industrial upgrading plan, and the go-global drive of Chinese enterprises. In doing so, TISCO aims to serve high-end markets as well as burgeoning industries from a global perspective, Li said.

Experts see merit in TISCO's plans. Belt and Road and the go-global drive will create new, long-term opportunities for iron and steel companies, says Chen Ziqi, deputy director of metallurgical and building materials for China International Engineering Consulting Corp.

Zhao Ying, a researcher at the Institute of Industrial Economics, which is part of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says that when Chinese companies, particularly SOEs, seek to expand abroad, industrial innovation and long-term investment goals are key to maintaining earnings.

TISCO is allocating 3.5 percent of its annual sales to R&D and innovation, which could mean several billion yuan annually for leading-edge work. This is expected to help it go from a traditional manufacturer to a digital-age global supplier of new products.

"TISCO needs to grab the opportunity presented by supply-side structural reform to expand its product catalog and enhance its competitive edge," Li said.

The company has set a goal to produce 4.5 million metric tons of stainless steel this year, the nation's largest amount. It also intends to top its peers in more than 20 high-end stainless categories, such as steel for spacecraft and nuclear power reactors.

By the end of 2020, TISCO expects high-end and specialized steel to account for 90 percent of its total production, with R&D expenses reaching 5 percent of annual sales.

The company says it made a major breakthrough early this year by launching its duplex stainless steel products - a type of high-strength steel with a high amount of chromium - in Europe's high-end materials market.

"In the past, we had to import steel to produce motors for new energy vehicles, which require extremely good quality," says Zhang Wenkang, chief engineer of TISCO's silicon steel mill. "Now, we've independently developed such material that also performs better in energy efficiency."

Last year, TISCO launched its steel for ballpoint pen tips after spending five years in R&D to develop its own patented technology. It is a breakthrough that could help end China's long reliance on imported products.

Pen-tip steel imports cost the industry $17.3 million a year, according to the China National Light Industry Council.

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Blackstone said:

Nice story by a state-controlled media on a state-owned enterprise.

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