The tide is surging, and it is the right time to fight for the oar. On the spring day of Fuzhou Jiangyin Port, a boatload of ore arrives and enters the production workshop of Kuncai Technology to start the journey of the world's first extraction method of titanium dioxide chloride. This is also the company after 13 years of R & D research, spent more than 3 billion to achieve a huge innovation breakthrough.
"From 0 to 1, the extraction method of chlorinated titanium dioxide process subverted more than 100 years of the industry's traditional technology routes, is Kuncai science and technology to bear the responsibility of the times, the implementation of the new development concept, take the new road of high-quality development of active exploration, but also in the red sea industry we strive to break out of the blue sea world of the fundamental dependence." On the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the listing of the company, Xie Bingkun, chairman of the board of directors of Kuncai Science and Technology, told the media journalists who came to the research quite confidently.
Break through the barriers and be the "Lone Ranger."
As an important inorganic chemical pigment, titanium dioxide is mainly used in building materials, coatings, inks, plastics, ceramics, paper, fiber and other fields. At present, China is a big country of titanium dioxide production, but the quality and brand still lag behind. Before Kuncai Technology developed hydrochloric acid extraction chlorinated titanium dioxide, there are two main production processes: sulfuric acid method and chlorination method. Sulfuric acid method is mainly for the low-end market, the current production capacity is mainly concentrated in China, the market share is as high as 90%, while Europe and the United States are mainly chlorination method, high-end titanium dioxide accounted for about 90%.
Sulfuric acid method has a long history of application, mature technology, but the "three wastes" emissions are large, easy to cause serious pollution. With the increasingly stringent environmental protection regulations, as early as 2006, the United States closed the last domestic production of titanium dioxide sulfate plant. On the other hand, with the development of the national economy and the improvement of people's living standards, high-end titanium dioxide applications and demand is rising, sulfuric acid method in the weather resistance and purity there is a certain gap. This leads to the lack of supply of high-end production capacity in China, and every year we need to import high-quality titanium dioxide from abroad to meet domestic demand.
Chlorination process started later, but the process is simple, large capacity, less pollution, and is now more popular in foreign applications. Although China at the national level since 2005 has begun to encourage and promote the production process of chlorination, but by the shortage of high titanium slag and artificial rutile and other major raw materials and advanced technology monopolized by a small number of international enterprises and other factors, the pace of development is relatively slow.
"People sell 36,000, you sell 16,000. the manufacture of titanium dioxide in China spent the same resources, even half the price of others are not sold, really should not, because it is not a luxury product, not cosmetics, is the bulk of the material, we should not do because we can not do high-quality have to be sold cheaply to other people, this is a very painful thing." How to make China's titanium dioxide enterprises, break through the technical barriers, and international giants have equal rights to dialogue, the realization of the national enterprise self-improvement, so that the global market impressed, became Xie Bingkun heart obsession.
坤彩科技董事长谢秉坤
Xie Bingkun's self-improvement, and not for no reason arrogance. He created the Kun Cai technology, after 24 years of unremitting efforts, from a plant area of only 2,000 square meters of ordinary pearlescent pigment processing plant, grew into the first domestic A-share listed pearlescent powder production enterprises. Nowadays, Kuncai Technology is the global leader of pearlescent pigment production enterprise, with about 75% and 45% of domestic and global market share. As the only enterprise in the world with a complete production system and industrial chain of pearlescent pigment based on synthetic mica, Kuncai Technology's products not only satisfy dozens of industries, but also has strategic partners including PPG, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Shiseido and other Fortune 500 companies in the world.
In Xie Bingkun's view, as an entrepreneur, should stand in the longer term future layout. "If we start from scratch for chlorination method research and development, the future will be in the same position with other chlorinated titanium dioxide enterprises in China, and there is no other advantage, and it is difficult to realize the quality of the process to exceed or the cost of the process to exceed. Therefore, Kuncai decided to fight with our backs against the wall and adopt a new method, the extraction method that no one in the world has ever used, to produce chlorinated titanium white."
It is based on this realization and determination, Xie Bingkun once again led Kuncai technology reloading, "zero crossing", embarked on a difficult road of independent research and development exploration.
Innovation-driven, resilient perseverance
As the industry's most upstream basic raw materials research and development work, its R & D cycle and R & D investment are huge and abrasive. Commitment to a more complex and difficult track, Xie Bingkun rely on a force of hard work and perseverance to innovation.
At the initial stage, Kuncai once offered a huge design fee and commissioned a famous domestic chemical design institute to carry out the design. However, because of the difficulties, the design institute finally returned the design fee, no end. "We have also consulted many colleges and universities, and they do not have the background of this paper or can draw on the patents and literature. As far as I know now, there are less than 500 PhDs worldwide who have worked on this project."
All around the Xie Bingkun decided to Kun color themselves dry.
"Kuncai has the gene to be the first in the world, relying on research and development and innovation to gain a foothold in the market. The reason why our pearlescent pigment can be the largest in the world and sell at a high price is this reason. Kuncai has the gene of innovation, including the innovation of technology, process, management, mode and sales and so on, which we have been exploring, and innovation is the only means for the transformation and upgrading of an enterprise."
In order to master the industry's most high-end preparation process, the company specifically set up by the "Thousand Talents Plan" talent for the scientific and technological leader of the professional and technical team, a number of PhDs and master's degree as the R & D project leader and project leader, but also set a precedent for China's private chemical industry, the first to hire a foreign doctor. Engineer Xie Bingkun is soaked in the field day and night, with the team to draw drawings, do experiments, out of the strategy, think of ways. Technology research, pilot test certification, small-scale production ...... each stage, are full of twists and turns and tribulations.
"This project began to do when we know it is very difficult, but do to the end we realize that it is so difficult." Xie Bingkun recalled, that one of the problems is still fresh in his mind: constantly to break through the cognitive limitations, the limitations of the process, the limitations of the material ......
Huge investment, countless sweat, unexpected setbacks, for the average person, may give up. However, Xie Bingkun will not. As a Wenzhou people, traveled thousands of mountains and tens of thousands of water, think of a thousand ways, say a thousand words, eat a thousand hard "four thousand" spirit, has been deep in his and the enterprise's genes.
So, investing again and attacking again, Kuncai set up another subsidiary, Zhengtai New Material, to start the construction of titanium dioxide and iron oxide project in the second half of 2019. Finally, in 2022 Zhengtai New Material was successfully put into production. At present, the plant has started 2 production lines with a production capacity of 200,000 tons, and the products meet or exceed the standards of international counterparts. This year, Zhengtai New Material strives to put 5 production lines into operation and achieve a production capacity of 500,000 tons. Throughout the "14th Five-Year Plan", the project is planned to reach an overall scale of about 1.5 million tons.
So, investing again and attacking again, Kuncai set up another subsidiary, Zhengtai New Material, to start the construction of titanium dioxide and iron oxide project in the second half of 2019. Finally, in 2022 Zhengtai New Material was successfully put into production. At present, the plant has started 2 production lines with a production capacity of 200,000 tons, and the products meet or exceed the standards of international counterparts. This year, Zhengtai New Material strives to put 5 production lines into operation and achieve a production capacity of 500,000 tons. Throughout the "14th Five-Year Plan", the project is planned to reach an overall scale of about 1.5 million tons.
"This project has gone through 13 years, spent more than 3 billion dollars, is a very significant turn in my life, but also a lifetime experience the most arduous struggle history. Few entrepreneurs can withstand more than ten years of torment day and night, and few can afford such a huge investment in research and development costs and the risks associated with failure. I think this is a kind of give and take." Xie Bingkun firmly believe that to do something successful, technology and ability, never exceed the entrepreneur's determination and perseverance, which is a valuable entrepreneurial spirit. "If lying on the income statement to speak of achievements, this kind of entrepreneur is called a boss, he does not deserve to be an entrepreneur at all."
Technological disruption to achieve blue ocean
The process of mastering the right to speak of technology is arduous, but the rewards are also huge, it is based on Xie Bingkun's insight into the market, obsession with technology and the industry's global awareness, Kuncai technology for their own to open up a broader space for development.
The process of mastering the right to speak of technology is arduous, but the rewards are also huge, it is based on Xie Bingkun's insight into the market, obsession with technology and the industry's global awareness, Kuncai technology for their own to open up a broader space for development.
In terms of price and cost, it is reported that Kuncai Technology's extraction method of preparation process is about 15,000 yuan per ton, if you remove 6,000 yuan of iron oxide, you can keep it at more than nine thousand dollars, compared with the market competitors have a considerable advantage.
In the whole industry chain layout, Xie Bingkun many years ago realized the industry's security of supply of raw materials and price sensitivity issues, the company has been painstakingly for many years layout of the whole industry chain business map, has also begun to bear fruit. Accounting for about 40% of the direct cost of production of titanium and iron, basically by the Fu Shi company (Kuncai technology subsidiary) production, the previous two years the price of titanium tetrachloride and ferric chloride, but also the company's by-products can be met independently. The company also plans to sign an agreement with the government of Panzhihua City, Sichuan Province, the development of ilmenite resources and deep processing of ore project, to ensure the sustainable supply of raw materials for iron ore concentrate powder ...... It is not difficult to see that Xie Bingkun has constructed a trinity of moats for Kuncai Technology, that is, based on the transformation of high-end products of the market moat, based on the advantages of the scale of the cost of the Moat, and based on the advantages of the whole industrial chain layout of the supply chain moat.
"This is a red ocean industry and we made a blue ocean world. We sell until now no profit from the product, our real profit comes from the innovation of technology." Xie Bingkun has seen the huge space brought about by technological disruption.
With the continuous promotion of high-quality development, the demand for inorganic materials will bring more new development opportunities for enterprises. Under the leadership of Xie Bingkun, Kuncai will keep upgrading and optimizing on the road of innovation to write a more brilliant chapter of national enterprise development.
Source: Xinhua