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Baoji Titanium Industry Co., Ltd.:Internal perfection equals internationa

In 2004, Stainless Steel World paid its first visit to Baoji Titanium Industry Co., Ltd. (Baoti),arguably one of the top titanium products producers and key manufacturers of the Chinatitanium industry National Standards (GB) and the Titanium Industrial Standards (YS). In thepast six years, great developments in application, scale and product range have taken placein the titanium industry. So, how has Baoti made further strides towards its ambitious goal?Stainless Steel World revisited Baoti and interviewed Mr. Jia Shuanxiao, General Manager,and Professor Yang Xiaoming, Vice General Manager and Senior Engineer of Baoti to find outabout the company’s current situation and future vision.

By Juan Huang and Gillian Kersley

Innovation promotes theperfect industry chainWalking around the Baoti plant, also knownas ‘China Titanium City’, the firstimpression is of prosperity. Employees canbe seen busily working in each and everystation. The familiar name “Titanium City”can be traced back to the 1960’s when theenterprise was originally set up, specificallyto support the development of Nationalstate-of-the-art technologies such asaviation and aerospace. At the end of thelast century, a reorganization took placeand the ‘Baoti’ brand was established and

the company has risen to a leading positionin titanium suppliers gaining broadrecognition and appreciation. On enteringthe Baoti plant, Stainless Steel World couldat once see the changes made since ourlast visit and how it has expanded sodramatically, whilst still managing tomaintain the peaceful working environmentenjoyed before. In comparison to 4000t/y in2004, Baoti achieved a sharp rise in itsoutput in 2009 to 17,000t/y. This figuresimply proves that the strategic planningmade six years ago by Baoti has beenaccomplished.

Mr. Jia explained: “The planned ‘tenproduction lines’ and ‘three centers’ arenow becoming a reality, but that’s far fromour ultimate goal. Being an innovativeenterprise, almost every one of theproduction lines is the subject of anongoing renovation plan. For example, themelting system consists of wholly globalimported advanced equipment such as: 7sets of 10t vacuum consumable arcfurnaces and an electron beam cold hearthmelting furnace which results in a totalmelting production of 20,000tpy. We are

2500t fast speed forging press

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al reputation

now building an 8,000t oil press andassociated blending and distributingsystem and electrode compact system.”Mr. Jia continued: “According to our plan,the melting production will reach 25,000 –30,000tpy in two or three years. To theforging system we have added ancillaryequipment such as an annealing furnace,machining equipment, surface treatmentequipment, to support the existing 2500t ahigh speed forging press, and a 3150thydraulic press. Both the productioncapacity and processing skills have beenimproved. Additionally, a German made,10,000t forging press will be commissionedin the next year. This will further enrichBaoti’s forging product specification andvariety and improve the product quality aswell.”Baoti invested 310 million Yuan to establisha new rod and wire production systemwhich mainly produces high quality rod andwire products for the domestic andworldwide aviation industry and high classcivilian markets. This system is now going

through pre-commissioning testing and theestimated titanium rod and wire productionis 2,000tpy and steel products 300,000tpy.With regard to plate and sheet production,RMB 733 million has been invested to buildup a professional titanium strip coilproduction line, which is expected to becommissioned by the end of this year withan annual output of 5000t for Phase 1.“Actually, this is the first of its kind in Chinawhich means the need for this productionin China has been filled by Baoti,”emphasized by Mr. Jia proudly. Also, theirnewly built recycling system with an annualcapacity of 5000t which helps the companyto be more cost-effective and safe duringthe operation is “the only one in the countrythat can handle the work for every processof complete production”. In 2005, Baotiestablished a welded titanium tube plant –the very first one – with Valtimet S.A.S. andTimet Asia Inc. Production is currentlyrunning at 800 tons welded tubes per year.It is also worth mentioning that Baotiestablished a titanium sponge productionline with an annual capacity of 10,000tonsearly in 2007, which made it one of the fewenterprises worldwide operating acomplete titanium industry chain.In addition to the previously mentioned,newly added production systems, mainfacilities and new production lines, Baoti isactive in technical renovation andproduction capacity upgrading with regardto existing production systems. Forexample, major investments on theseamless tube production system,additional pipe rolling mills and anannealing furnace bringing the annualproduction to 2000t.

The plate production system comprisesone wide and heavy plate line plus onenarrow sheet line and the titanium plateranges from 0.5-100mm thickness with awidth of up to 2.8m. An investment of 300million Yuan resulted in upgrades here too,making the products suitable for theaerospace industry which requires the mostadvanced technology and professionalskills. Based on their unique products,Baoti have obtained product certificationfrom Boeing, Airbus, Goodrich and hasbecome their long term supplier. ViceGeneral Manager, Prof. Yang Xiaoming,went on to explain: “The casting system isanother area of focus in Baoti’s productdevelopment plan. From the existinggraphite and lost-wax casting lines, Baotiwill expand their investment to developprecise castings and low cost castings. Thelargest titanium casting facility in China isexpected to be established in the nearfuture.”Regarding the ten product lines, Prof. Yangadded: “The titanium industry is a sunriseindustry. Baoti has decided to take thisopportunity through well planned andproactive preparation. On thecommissioning of the new production lines,our product range will be upgraded by awide margin and will match moreapplications in various industries.”

Why Baoti?Baoti is the only titanium supplier in Chinathat has obtained certification from morethan ten world-class end-users such asAirbus, Boeing, BOMBARDIER, Goodrich,SNECMA, Rolls-Royce, Otto Fuchs KG, etc.

3.3m hot rolling mill

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When asked why clients trust Baoti andprefer its products, Mr. Jia told us: “Thereason is that we care about what ourclients care about, although quality remainsthe key factor. Baoti follows three rules toensure that only quality products aredelivered. Rule one is the professionalquality assurance system, specifically inforce for titanium production. BesidesISO9001:2000, Baoti has obtainedAS/EN9100 Space Quality StandardCertification from the French BVC, and hasalso obtained the EU PED Certificate andNorsok Certificate. In order to furtherexpand the application range of BaotiTitanium products, we have obtained theASME Pressure Vessels Certification aswell as the Nadcap Heat Treatment andNon-destructive Testing SpecialTechniques Certification, etc. Inaccordance with the various standards andcriteria from America, Europe, Japan andRussia, many brands and types of Baoti’sprecision-forged bars and seamless tubesenjoy a worldwide advanced position,especially Ti-6AI-4V sheets and billets.Secondly, the equipment and facilities alsoplay an important role in quality assurance.Besides the new investments in the tenproduction lines, our Test Center and R&DCenter provide solid support at thetechnical level. After continuousinvestments over the past years, the TestCenter is equipped with more than 80 setsof the finest equipment in the world andhas become the most complete andadvanced test lab in north-west China. Forall the physical, chemical and mechanicalproperties, every test requirement can besatisfied here.”“The third key factor for quality is the highlytrained and dedicated personnel,” addedMr. Jia. “This is Baoti’s most valuableresource. 40% of Baoti’s talent team are

specialists including 4 experts who enjoythe National Specific Allowance, 13 senior

engineers with a professorship, 4 pacemakerswithin various fields, and so on.”“Besides the quality issue,” continued Mr.Jia, “credit standing and cost are alsoimportant. Credit standing is deemed asthe core value of Baoti. As a company, weare continually adding advancedequipment and improving product qualityand delivery capability. It is well knownamong our clients that Baoti is a loyal andreliable partner. We are keen on brandbuilding and have earned solid goodwill byproviding world class products andsatisfying service standards and deliverytimes. On the other hand, Baoti takesadvantage of rich human resources andtitanium reserves in China so the cost iscomparatively restrained.”

Most capable R&D center inChina“Baoti’s Research and development Centeris the most capable within the Chinatitanium industry. That is also one reason

why Baoti identifies itself as ‘innovative,’Mr. Jia told us. In order to integrate andmaximize the use of resources of theexisting R&D Center, the Baoti Institute wasfounded in 2009 and has been recognizedas the national technique center andresearch center for titanium products.Based on the rich resources and dedicatedefforts of senior experts, the return has alsobeen valuable: more than 20 researchprojects about new titanium alloys fornational key projects have beenaccomplished in the past few years withindependent intellectual property rights.More than this, the institute has developeddozens of new materials and technologiesfor various industries such as: a low costtitanium alloy for golf club heads withBT341; BT311 plates for broad use inJapan, Europe and America; titanium alloyplates for marine use in deep divingsubmersibles; titanium alloys for aviationaluse as with the Shanghai basedCommercial Aircraft Corporation of ChinaLtd., for which Baoti is the only titaniumsupplier.

Gardens at Baoti facility Bird’s eye view of Baoti Industrial Zone

Electron beam cold hearth melting furnace (EB furnace)

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Baotimet Valinox Tubes, Co., Ltd.established in 2005 with Valtime S.A.S(France) and Timet Asia Inc. (USA) is agood example of this. Of course, when itcomes to cooperation we are both broadand flexible, as in our consignment saleswith stockists and exclusive agents. Baotihas long term business relationships withworld famous stockists and, accordingly,will be setting up liaison offices in America

At the same time as developing titaniumproduction capability, Baoti is also active innew product development and is keen onpromoting balanced development. Baotiwill use the newly erected production linesto produce titanium products for theaerospace industry, titanium alloys, titaniumalloy pipes for the marine industry andplates, forgings and castings, also seekingto develop architectural and decorativetitanium strips, thick wall tubes for the Oil &Gas and seawater desalination industries.In addition, Baoti will further developzirconium, nickel and their alloys and steelsin civil use such as the chemical industry.

Ready for more internationalpartners“The strategic goal of Baoti is to becomeinvolved in more overseas business andthereby play a more important role in theglobal titanium industry,” explained Mr. Jia.In 2009, Baoti achieved titanium productionof 17,000t and 8,982t within the first half of2010, giving the company a 60% share inthe domestic market and 90% in thedomestic space market. As a certifiedtitanium products supplier, long termbusiness relations are already establishedwith Boeing, Airbus and Goodrich as well astheir subcontractors. Baoti’s products havealso been supplied to Japan, Germany, UK,Norway, Sweden, India, Singapore, etc. withover 360 types of products able to bemanufactured up to ASTM, AMS, JIS,ASME or GOST standards.“We are willing and ready to cooperate withmore international partners,” Mr. Jia told us.“In fact, Baoti has a lot of successfulexperience in multi-cultural cooperation.The welded tubes joint venture, Xi’an

Baoti’s management team

Titanium tubes

10t workshop in the melting plant

and Europe to provide an even betterservice to clients and get closer to themarket. Naturally, brokers with salescontracts are also more than welcome,”smiled Mr. Jia.“As well as the business pattern,”continued Prof. Yang, “it is also veryimportant that Baoti offers a muchextended product range and upgradedproduct profile through significantinvestment and research works. In this waywe can work with clients from even moreindustries, such as sports equipment,medical, chemical, oil exploitation andrefineries, etc. Recent examples may helpto give a clearer idea about our specialities:an Indian chemical project, 30t seamlesstitanium tubes, a Middle East seawaterdesalination project, 50t Ti-Mo-Ni seamlesstubes; the Huayang Power Plant (MengJing Power plant), 84.5t Gr2 Titanium plate;Bohai Petroleum Equipment ZhongchengMachinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd., 65ttitanium tubes for oil drilling; Baoji DongliSpecial Metal Co., Ltd, 200t titanium tubesfor oil drilling; Shihlien Chemical IndustrialJiangsu Co., Ltd, 600t tubes for a 1.2million ton soda facility and a 1.2 million tonfor a vacuum salt making facility.”Mr. Jia concluded: “Baoti is well preparedfor this ambitious plan because, as you cansee, we have diversified our productionstructure towards a higher level. Moreupdated and high level quality products fallinto our product category. Win-WinCooperation and Mutual Development isalways Baoti’s most important concept. Weexpect to share our knowledge andresources with more and more clients andpartners globally.”