Science and technology 'sharp soldiers', galloping on the new track of high-end titanium materials - written on the occasion of the successful listing of Hunan Xiangtou Jintianyu Titanium Industry Technology Co., Ltd.

(Jintian Titanium Industry's initial public offering of A-shares listing ceremony was held at the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Photo courtesy of Shanghai Stock Exchange.)

November 20, 2024, is a landmark day in the history of Hunan's strategic emerging industries and new materials development!

That morning, Hunan Xiangtou Jintian Titanium Industry Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Jintian Titanium Industry," stock code 688750), a subsidiary of Hunan Energy Investment Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hunan Energy Group"), opened on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. This is the first company in Hunan to be listed on the STAR Market in 2024.

Over mountains and rivers, we never stopped; the long mountains and rivers reflect our original aspiration. In 2006, when China's real estate and other traditional industries were experiencing rapid development, Hunan Energy Group (formerly Xiangtou Group) adhered to its original aspiration of "investing for Hunan," resisting the temptation of short-term high profits, and insisted on empowering the real economy with state-owned capital, aiming at the strategic titanium materials industry and firmly promoting the development of strategic emerging industries. It is precisely because of its unwavering commitment to national interests and deep cultivation of the real economy that Hunan Energy Group has achieved its leading position in the national titanium industry. "The successful listing of Jintian Titanium Industry, and the recognition it has gained from the capital market, was hard-won. This is thanks to the strong leadership of the Provincial Committee and Provincial Government, the strong support of the Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Changde Municipal Committee, Municipal Government, and other departments and local governments as well as all sectors of society, and embodies the hard work and sweat of all employees of the company." said Li Yong, chairman of Hunan Energy Group, emotionally at the new stock issuance and listing ceremony.

Titanium is an important strategic metal, and the processing and research and development capabilities of titanium and titanium alloys have become one of the important standards for measuring the advancement of a country's aerospace, nuclear power, navigation, and deep-sea exploration technologies. Aiming at this "hard bone" of key titanium materials for national high-end equipment manufacturing and strategic emerging industries, Hunan Energy Group has forged the development advantages of "specialized and new," and its original aspiration of striving for the new track of high-end titanium materials remains steadfast and unwavering!

With national interests in mind, the "industry newcomer" makes a stunning "comeback"

At the 2024 Zhuhai Air Show, China's large aircraft, including strategic large transport aircraft, mainline large civil aircraft, and large水上大型飛行平台, gathered in the air. Jintian Titanium Industry's titanium alloy materials are used in the landing gear, structural components, and engines of these large aircraft that fill the Chinese people with pride.

The frequent appearance of "Hunan" brand titanium materials in "national heavyweights" is considered by the industry to be an impossible "comeback".

What is titanium? A strategic metal, accounting for 0.6% of the earth's crust, with characteristics such as lightweight, high strength, and corrosion resistance.

What is titanium used for? From small things like human bones and teeth, to large things like airplanes, ships, and nuclear power plants, the uses of titanium and titanium alloys are extremely wide-ranging.

In fact, titanium metal, with its excellent properties, also has another resounding title - the "entry ticket" for world-leading aerospace and maritime powers.

Aerospace and deep-sea engineering fields, due to their harsh operating environments and continuous performance demands, have extremely high material requirements. Due to the complex smelting process and high processing difficulty, the core technologies for deep processing of titanium metal have long been monopolized by foreign countries, becoming a "bottleneck" problem hindering China's national defense construction and national economic development.

As Hunan, a major province in non-ferrous metal manufacturing, how can it build a strong non-ferrous metal industry, build a technological innovation highland with core competitiveness, and help upgrade and replace national strategic equipment?

When this issue was raised, Hunan Xiangtou Holdings Group, the predecessor of Hunan Energy Group, firmly shouldered the mission of being the undertaker and practitioner of major strategic tasks of the Provincial Committee and Provincial Government, focusing on the needs of major national strategies, and using Hunan Xiangtou Jintian Technology Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Jintian Technology Group) as the main body to develop high-end titanium and titanium alloy industries. As one of the "three titiums" in Jintian Technology Group's high-end titanium and titanium alloy industry chain, Jintian Titanium Industry was born in Changde, Hunan.

Jintian Titanium Industry, facing the pressure of lacking talent, technology, and geographical advantages, fully utilized the Hunan people's spirit of "dare to be the first under heaven" and "enduring hardship," taking the path of independent innovation to start project construction. When the first titanium ingot, the first slab, and the first large-specification bar were successively produced, all the entrepreneurs were excited, and Jintian Titanium Industry built a first-class production line in China, representing the cutting-edge titanium material processing equipment strength in China. However, the threshold for high-end titanium materials is high, and the research and development cycle is long, with high initial investment and no significant returns. As an "industry newcomer" who "emerged from nowhere," Jintian Titanium Industry did not initially have the "entry ticket" for the research and development and production of national defense products, although civilian titanium alloy materials successfully entered overseas markets, the company suffered losses.

Those who do not seek ease will achieve success; those who do not avoid difficulties will make progress.

Do what we should do! Jintian Technology Group and Jintian Titanium Industry continued to increase R&D investment and actively participated in the research and development of materials for national defense supporting projects.

Put people's minds at ease to start businesses! In the early stages of the company's development, when conditions were tight, various subsidies prioritized scientific research and marketing personnel.

State-owned assets provide strong support! Hunan Energy Group withstood the pressure of early industrial development and continued to increase investment in the titanium industry; even during the most difficult times, Hunan Energy Group firmly invested 500 million yuan, increasing the company's registered capital, giving the company peace of mind.

In 2010, Jintian Technology Group decisively implemented "production and investment integration," investing in a listed military enterprise to promote industrial development. This became an important turning point for Jintian Titanium Industry. When Li Xinluo, chairman and then general manager of Jintian Titanium Industry, led the team to contact the other party, the other party threw out a "hard bone" problem - developing an engine blade material. At that time, domestic leading enterprises had not made breakthroughs in the development of this material. Could Jintian Titanium Industry handle it?

"Even with only a glimmer of hope, we must do our utmost." Jintian Titanium Industry took on this challenge. Subsequently, all R&D personnel worked day and night to overcome the difficulties, and finally succeeded after two years. By tackling this "hard bone," Jintian Titanium Industry immediately obtained relevant qualifications and achieved the first application of this titanium alloy product in the field of aero-engines.

Strong winds reveal strong grass, and intense fire refines true gold. With its deep technological strength, Jintian Titanium Industry has successively obtained all national strategic key material R&D and production qualifications, completed the research and development and supply qualification certification of major titanium alloy materials, and greatly improved its own blood-making function, achieving a stunning transformation.

Jintian Titanium Industry's related products have begun to be used in high-end equipment fields such as aviation, aerospace, ships, and weapons, supplying products to military industrial groups such as Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Aero Engine Corporation of China, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, and China North Industries Group Corporation, as well as well-known listed forging manufacturers such as Sanjiao Defence, Parker New Materials, and Aerospace Technology, becoming a major domestic production base for high-end equipment titanium alloy deep processing materials, and firmly occupying a leading position in the domestic titanium material processing industry.

Focus on niche strategic areas to ensure the urgent need for titanium materials in major national equipment

Relying on its technological advantages in the field of high-end titanium alloy materials, JINTIAN Titanium Industry closely follows the national strategy, undertakes the research and production tasks of key materials for many key national equipment models, and establishes leading products such as titanium and titanium alloy bars, forgings, and components, mainly used in high-end equipment fields such as aerospace, ships, and weapons.

How to establish a foothold in the industry and maintain a competitive advantage? Fan Kai, general manager of JINTIAN Titanium Industry, believes that focusing on niche strategic areas and possessing expertise in this field can win recognition.

In 2016, the "black spots" problem of TC18 titanium alloy once plagued the industry. The so-called "black spots" are caused by uneven organization or segregation of components in the material. It not only affects the appearance of the product, but also affects the product's internal quality. For example, it can easily cause micro-cracks and other defects, and the landing gear prepared may break during service, thus causing aviation accidents.

In order to remove the "black spots" from titanium alloys, the R&D team optimized the forging process and used the forging workshop with a temperature of more than 40℃ as a laboratory. Every technical detail was meticulously refined. For a single microscopic component analysis, more than 230 samples were tested, far exceeding the customer's requirement of 30.

After 270 days, JINTIAN Titanium Industry took the lead in the industry to overcome the "black spot" problem of TC18, and successfully established a foothold in the aerospace field. In 2017, the company's TC18 products achieved mass production, with sales revenue exceeding 100 million yuan.

Challenge after challenge, breakthrough after breakthrough, has forged the core competitiveness of JINTIAN Titanium Industry. In just a few years, one major product after another has achieved breakthroughs. The company's mass-produced titanium alloy bars and forgings are widely used in aircraft structural parts, fasteners, and aero-engine components in China, providing key and urgently needed materials for the first flight and mass production of many new types of fighter jets, transport aircraft, and trainer aircraft in China.

Among them, the performance indicators of TC18 titanium alloy materials have reached the advanced domestic level and have become the main supplier of titanium alloys for some types of equipment in the aviation field; TB17 ultra-high strength and toughness titanium alloy materials have achieved a domestic breakthrough in strength and toughness indicators; and the performance indicators of TC32 low-cost medium-strength high-toughness titanium alloy are superior to the current medium-strength structural titanium alloys.

In recent years, JINTIAN Titanium Industry has gradually moved from "light blue" to "dark blue", extending its main products to downstream components and focusing on the research and market layout of titanium alloy components in the shipbuilding and weapons fields. Since 2021, it has successively delivered titanium alloy ultra-high-pressure cylinders in batches to units under China Shipbuilding, realizing the replacement of steel cylinders for a certain type of ship equipment for the first time. At the same time, several types of equipment components are in the research and development process and are expected to achieve mass production.

At present, JINTIAN Titanium Industry has successfully developed and mass-produced nearly 20 grades of titanium alloy materials and several components, many of which fill the domestic gaps. The "Hunan" titanium materials have entered the ranks of the "national team", providing strong support for the upgrading and transformation of China's national defense equipment and ensuring the supply of key materials for China's national defense equipment.

Activating the "spring water" of talents and achieving breakthroughs in multiple technologies

On the morning of November 13, in the conference room of the JINTIAN Titanium Industry Research Building, a project team of more than 10 people from various departments such as production, technology, and sales, is holding a "brainstorming session", in-depth discussion of the technical requirements for undertaking a research project on high-temperature titanium alloys for a certain engine.

Such "Zhuge Liang" meetings are held almost every day at JINTIAN Titanium Industry.

JINTIAN Titanium Industry has 7 doctors, 89 people with intermediate and senior titles, an average team age of about 30, and comes from all over the country. It is a vibrant scientific research and innovation team. Changde, where the company is located, is located in the central region, and does not have an absolute locational advantage nationwide. What attracts high-end talents to take root here?

Plant the phoenix trees and attract the phoenixes. Hunan Energy Group continues to cultivate an innovative soil, optimize conditions for working and starting businesses, and continuously optimizes the company's equity structure, cultivating JINTIAN Titanium Industry into a state-owned capital-controlled mixed-ownership technology-based enterprise. In 2020, according to the "Interim Measures for Equity and Dividend Incentives for State-owned Technology-based Enterprises", under the support of the Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, JINTIAN Titanium Industry implemented employee equity incentives, setting up Changsha Xin Kaiyuan, Changsha Fenghua, and Changsha Yongke as employee equity incentive platforms.

The successful implementation of equity incentives further stimulated the vitality of the company's cadres and employees, especially innovative talents, allowing JINTIAN Titanium Industry to enter the "vision" of the National Industrial Investment Fund. Finally, it stood out from more than 800 selected projects nationwide, and with the support of the "national" fund, it also accelerated the listing process.

Under the leadership of the Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and the guidance of Hunan Energy Group and JINTIAN Technology Group, the company seized the opportunity to be approved as a pilot project for the national "Science and Technology Reform Demonstration Action", and deeply promoted the reform of the company's three systems, building production relations that are adapted to new productive forces.

In order to activate the "spring water" of talents, JINTIAN Titanium Industry has deepened the integration of production, education, and research innovation. It has built a joint training mechanism for "production, education, and research" talents, continuously strengthened joint training with well-known domestic universities, and selected outstanding master's students to pursue doctoral studies.

In terms of reshaping the salary system, it explores the "lump-sum payment" system for scientific research funds, and for various scientific research projects that the national/provincial/municipal project management units clearly require to implement "lump-sum payment" management, the project leader commitment system is implemented, granting the project leader the right to dispose of funds.

Reforms ignite the enthusiasm for innovation and creation. At present, JINTIAN Titanium Industry has obtained more than 70 patents, including more than 40 national invention patents; drafted or participated in nearly 20 national and industry standards; won the first prize of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Science and Technology Award and other honors, and has been recognized as a national-level specialized, refined, and new "small giant" enterprise, achieving a leap from following, catching up to leading in multiple core technologies.

Embrace the blue ocean of the capital market and strive to become a leading domestic and world-class manufacturer of high-end titanium alloy materials

In recent years, the annual compound growth rate of titanium material sales in China has reached 21.17%. The rapid expansion of the industry has created a number of emerging players, such as Western Superconducting, Baoti Group, and Tiangong Group.

Although JINTIAN Titanium Industry started late, there is still a certain gap between its current production capacity, production volume, and market share compared with its listed counterparts in the same industry. With its listing on the capital market this time, JINTIAN Titanium Industry, as a "rising star", has the conditions to surpass others in many aspects.

In its initial public offering, JINTIAN Titanium Industry raised 662 million yuan, mainly used for the advanced titanium alloy project for high-end equipment (Phase I) and supplementary working capital project. JINTIAN Titanium Industry stated that the implementation of this fund-raising investment project will help improve the level of technological equipment, expand the market share of high-end titanium alloy materials, provide high-quality titanium alloy materials for national strategy and national defense strategy, and serve the upgrading and transformation of national defense equipment levels.

This is undoubtedly a significant boost to JINTIAN Titanium Industry's high-end development strategy.

According to JINTIAN Titanium Industry Chairman Li Xinluo, the company's strategic plan proposes a "one body, two wings" development strategy, aiming to build a 10,000-ton titanium alloy material enterprise, creating military aviation titanium alloy production lines, civilian aviation intelligent manufacturing titanium alloy production lines, and a pilot platform for marine equipment parts. This will enrich the product structure, expand the application fields, further integrate the "domestic + foreign" and "military + civilian" markets, and achieve more sustainable development.

It is reported that while prioritizing the supply of strategic national defense materials, JINTIAN Titanium Industry is continuously developing high-end civilian markets such as commercial aircraft and commercial engines.

"Standing at the forefront of China's titanium alloy material field, we will face more complex international competition, and the pressure will increase. JINTIAN Titanium Industry will embark on a second entrepreneurial journey," said Li Xinluo. The first entrepreneurial journey, allowing JINTIAN Titanium Industry to survive and stand up, has been infused with the efforts of Hunan Provincial Committee, Provincial Government, Provincial SASAC, and Hunan Energy Group.

With capital support, we strive to create a path for the second entrepreneurial journey, always committed to serving the national high-end equipment manufacturing industry, and accelerating the development of JINTIAN Titanium Industry into a leading domestic and world-class high-end titanium alloy material manufacturer and industry innovation leader.

Sailing smoothly, the future of JINTIAN Titanium Industry is promising!

Pictures and texts are from Hunan Daily