The car giant started by marrying the daughter of the king

Chapter 179 If you don’t want to do your job well, don’t do it!

Bearing steel, as the most demanding grade of steel in the steel production industry, is also known as the "king of steel" because it is widely used in various fields such as industrial machinery, equipment manufacturing, transportation, aerospace, etc.

Its working environment often requires strong extrusion, friction or high temperature, so higher requirements are placed on its toughness, wear resistance and service life.

This requires that the bearing steel needs to have high purity and high uniformity. The oxygen content in the steel must be controlled to the lowest level, and the interior must be pure enough to have fewer inclusions. The particles in the material must also be as small and dispersed as possible. It can be said that the production technology of bearing steel is very difficult.

Taking these issues into consideration, Jiang Hui proposed the technical solution of improving the technology of bearing steel itself and the heat treatment technology during the bearing processing process.

It can be said that this solution reduces the difficulty of the solution.

As the chief engineer of Shougang, Zuo Guangsheng naturally knows this.

However, even so, he still felt that the improvement plan proposed by Jiang Hui was fraught with difficulties.

"Assistant Jiang, the main changes in this technical improvement are the change in formula and the improvement in purity, which puts high demands on the performance of the equipment."

“We may need to make some modifications to the equipment to fully meet this requirement.”

Shougang is now in a critical period of factory expansion and reform, and is certainly unwilling to shut down some equipment for transformation.

That would affect the factory's output and ultimately the workers' welfare.

Zuo Guangsheng is also very clear about this.

“Chief Engineer Zuo, does this mean that Shougang has no confidence in completing the task of improving bearing steel technology?”

Zou Yuan didn't expect that after he and his group had been communicating for a long time today, the result would be like this.

If Shougang itself has no confidence, it is hard to believe that they can complete this task well.

"How about you hold another meeting to discuss it internally, and we can come back the day after tomorrow to exchange ideas?"

Zhu Jiansheng also felt very disappointed. The Hummer project could not wait that long, and this matter had to be resolved as soon as possible.

If Shougang can't handle it, it will have to communicate immediately with other steel mills.

The information on the improvement of bearing steel technology was known to several steel mills, and he could fully accept this result, provided that there was a manufacturer who could master this technology.

Even Zhu Jiansheng was thinking of finding several steel mills to produce this new generation of bearing steel at the same time. They would use the products of whichever company produced it first.

"This matter is indeed quite serious, and it would be good for Shougang to discuss it internally."

"Professor Zou, Director Zhu, how about we go back and discuss whether the plan can be further optimized?"

Jiang Hui was also a little disappointed with Shougang's performance.

As one of the first eight factories to undergo reform, Jiang Hui has the impression that Shougang will have very good performance in the next decade.

Now it seems that good performance and high technical level are two different things.

The reform simply injected vitality into the factories, increased output and reduced production costs.

But this does not mean that Shougang’s R&D and technical strengths have undergone earth-shaking changes.

"I will gather all the people from the various departments in the factory to have a good discussion and see how to implement this plan."

Zuo Guangsheng also expressed his efforts appropriately.

However, Zou Yuan, Zhu Jiansheng and Jiang Hui did not take such polite words seriously.

……

"Old Zou, you are more familiar with the situation of domestic steel mills than I am."

"We can't put all our eggs in one basket. We need to work with more steel mills to improve the quality of bearing steel as quickly as possible."

As soon as he left Shougang, Zhu Jiansheng immediately expressed his opinions clearly.

If Shougang doesn't live up to expectations, don't blame him for abandoning them.

Anyway, there are so many steel mills in China, Shougang can make a difference.

As for Shougang’s geographical advantage, it is not completely impossible to be replaced by other manufacturers.

"Ansteel has a relatively high level of technology in military special steels. I can contact them."

"Xinggang has made outstanding achievements in the field of special steel. I can also communicate with them."

"Talk to one or two other companies and send them the proposals as soon as possible so that they can study them carefully."

Zou Yuan gave his opinion without any hesitation.

In his opinion, Shougang only has the geographical advantage of being located in the capital, which makes communication more convenient.

But now the other party has no confidence in completing this project, so there is no need to force it.

Without a butcher, you won’t eat hairy pigs.

"That may be a bit of a hassle for you. It would be best to arrange for several teams to go on business trips to communicate with Anshan Iron and Steel, Xingtai Iron and Steel and other steel mills to see their reactions."

"If necessary, Xiao Jiang can come over and give us guidance on the specific improvement plan later."

Indecisiveness leads to disaster.

Zhu Jiansheng did not hesitate and decided to cooperate with other steel mills.

"We still have a lot of special steels that need to improve their technical level in the future. We really need to find a more professional special steel manufacturer and work together to improve the special steel technology."

"Shougang now relies on high-strength automotive steel plates, and the next few years are expected to be good, but the enthusiasm is not expected to be that high."

"We don't have to hang ourselves on a tree."

Jiang Hui naturally also supported Zhu Jiansheng's decision.

If you can't keep up with the pace of everyone else's progress, you will be abandoned.

Even if you have opinions, it's useless.

Even in the future, for high-strength automotive steel plate projects, we can consider cooperating with other steel mills such as Anshan Iron and Steel, so that Shougang will not monopolize the market.

Anyway, the technology is in the hands of Zou Yuan and Jiang Hui, so it is not particularly difficult to pass it on to other steel mills.

Other steel mills, having seen the benefits of high-strength automotive steel sheets, will certainly be interested.

"No problem. I'll find two associate professors to work on this project when I get back, and try to finalize the renovation plan as soon as possible."

Zou Yuan also knew that this was not the time to be entangled. He should implement the project as soon as possible and not delay the progress of the Hummer project.

……

Jin Tai is the chief engineer of Xinggang. He has been working in the factory since it was founded in 1958.

After struggling for more than 20 years, he finally became the second-in-command in the factory.

This morning, after receiving a call from Professor Zou Yuan from the Steel Metallurgy Department of Capital Iron and Steel Institute, he immediately reported the situation to the factory director Guo Mingqing.

"The Capital Iron and Steel Institute wants to jointly develop a bearing steel with us. Do they already have a specific project plan?" As both a factory and a university are under the Ministry of Metallurgy, Guo Mingqing has naturally had contact with Zou Yuan.

It’s just that before, we only met each other at some meetings and there was no private communication.

Some time ago, Zou Yuan cooperated with Shougang to develop high-strength automotive steel plates, which made him famous in the metallurgical system.

Guo Mingqing even read the related reports several times.

Now that he heard Jin Tai say that a celebrity in the system wanted to cooperate with his factory, he was naturally very interested.

"Yes, they have already determined the material ratio and some key process parameters, and are waiting for us to work together to produce it and conduct technical verification."

"After making appropriate adjustments based on the verification results, we can consider entering large-scale mass production."

"According to Professor Zou, this type of bearing steel will be used on a large scale in the Hummer project in the future, and other bearing manufacturers may also adopt it further."

“This is very beneficial for us to expand our influence.”

"When people buy steel, they often think of big factories like Anshan Iron and Steel, Shougang, and Magang. Manufacturers like us that specialize in producing special steels are less well-known."

"If we can become the most advanced in the country in terms of bearing steel, the significance will be absolutely extraordinary."

"Especially in the context of reform, this is a very impressive achievement."

Although Jintai is no longer young, his vision is not bad, otherwise he would not have been pushing Xinggang to develop into a professional special steel manufacturer.

You know, this track is not easy to walk on.

"If I remember correctly, the steel used by the supporting factories in the capital area is generally purchased from Shougang."

"Why did you consider cooperating with our factory this time?"

Although it was a good thing that Capital Iron and Steel Institute was looking for factories to cooperate in developing bearing steel, Guo Mingqing still wanted to find out the reason to avoid any traps.

"I discussed this issue with Professor Zou over the phone, including the background of developing a new generation of bearing steel."

"The gearbox used in the Hummer project was produced by the Capital Gear Factory, and the transfer case was produced by the factory run by the Capital Institute of Technology."

"Due to the particularity of the project, Hummer has relatively high requirements for the gearbox and transfer case, and the technology did not meet the requirements during the single product testing."

"After their initial analysis, the problem mainly lies in the fact that the performance of the bearing steel does not meet the requirements."

"So Capital Institute of Technology and Capital Institute of Steel are preparing to develop a new bearing steel. To this end, they also contacted Shougang for communication."

"But because the production and testing of these steels requires the modification of some equipment and will delay mass production, Shougang does not seem to be very enthusiastic."

"In this case, Professor Zou found us."

After Jin Tai's explanation, Guo Mingqing breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that this incident is indeed a pleasant surprise for the factory.

As for the delay in development time, he was not particularly worried.

Xinggang's current production capacity is not very high, so it has enough spare time to develop new products.

If Xinggang can really become a leading bearing steel manufacturer in the industry in the future, the benefits will absolutely be enormous.

Their status within the Ministry of Metallurgy will also be raised to a higher level.

"Professor Zou and his team will come to discuss the specific testing plan. During this process, you should first roughly evaluate the feasibility of their plan."

"If you think something is more reliable, then cooperate with it fully."

Guo Mingqing knew Zou Yuan's historical achievements and had high expectations for this cooperation.

On the contrary, after receiving the contact from Capital Iron and Steel Institute, Anshan Iron and Steel Group also arranged special personnel to connect with the company, but the level of attention it paid was far less than that of Xinggang.

This difference is actually very easy to feel.

"Mr. Zhu, I think the next step is to focus on cooperating with Xinggang and specifically guide them to improve their related process control level."

"Shougang and Angang seem to be bullying their owners because of their size. We won't bother them with the bearing steel issue."

After returning from a business trip to Xinggang, Zou Yuan immediately came to Zhu Jiansheng to discuss the next steps.

"Xinggang is very enthusiastic about cooperation?"

Zhu Jiansheng could read a lot of information from Guo Mingqing's words.

When working on a project together, enthusiasm for cooperation is very important.

Otherwise, other people’s human and material resources will not be allocated as a priority, which will be very troublesome.

"Yes, after discussing the specific cooperation plan, the plant director and chief engineer of Xinggang are very supportive of the development of this project."

"They will fully cooperate with us in carrying out various tests, strive to carry out the first test within half a month, and finalize the product within three months."

"As for Shougang, their production schedule is quite full, and the first test is expected to be carried out in a month."

"It will be very difficult to continue coordinating testing resources in the future."

“Although I haven’t personally communicated with Anshan Iron and Steel Group, from previous phone conversations and on-site communication by another associate professor in our department, their attitude is not much different from that of Shougang.”

Zou Yuan quickly introduced the situation of several major steel manufacturers to Zhu Jiansheng.

Their energy is certainly limited, and it is impossible for them to carry out various tests at several steel mills at the same time.

The Ministry of Metallurgy will also have opinions on this way of promoting the project.

So after a preliminary screening, Zou Yuan prepared to vigorously promote Xinggang to implement the new generation of bearing steel.

"What do you think of Xinggang's technical level?"

Although attitude is important, ability should also be paid attention to.

Otherwise, even if the bearing steel is developed, it will be very troublesome if the production quality is unstable.

Anyone who works in industry knows that being able to produce and being able to produce on a large scale with guaranteed quality are two completely different things.

For manufacturers with high level, the quality of each batch of products is highly consistent.

On the contrary, if the quality of a manufacturer is poor, each batch of products will make you doubt whether they are produced by the same factory.

"Xingtai Steel is a professional manufacturer of various special steels. Its scale cannot be compared with that of Shougang and Angang, but in terms of professional technology, I think its level is not much worse than that of Shougang."

Zou Yuan thought about it for a while and gave his own judgment.

In this era, all kinds of technical talents must obey assignments.

Therefore, the technical talent advantages of major cities such as the capital and Shanghai were not as exaggerated as they are in later generations.

"In that case, let's cooperate well with Xinggang and get the bearing steel we need as soon as possible!"

Zhu Zhengfeng made the final decision!
(End of this chapter)