【Industry Business Card】

Construction machinery industry is the core competitiveness of Hunan industry, since 2010 industrial scale "topped" the country, has been 14 consecutive years in the total assets, operating income, total profit and other major indicators of the country first. As the "capital of construction machinery", Changsha has cultivated 5 "top 50 global construction machinery" enterprises, and is the first in the country and the third in the world. Changsha Construction Machinery Cluster became the first batch of national advanced manufacturing clusters selected and passed the acceptance. In 2023, the total scale of Hunan's construction machinery industry will be about 210 billion yuan, and the "Hunan Army of Construction Machinery" will climb high and new, setting a benchmark and leading the industry in terms of intelligence, greening, and globalization.

(Exterior view of the workshop of Zoomlion Engineering Crane Company in Changsha Economic Development Zone.) Photo by correspondent)

In the middle of the season, the sun burns. Shaanxi Xiaobaodang Coal Mine is 400 meters underground, and the coal sea mining operation is busy. The intelligent complete set of equipment for rapid anchor digging in large section of China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. is fully powered at full power, and the whole process of "exploration-excavation-support-transportation" is collaboratively operated.

The ergonomic efficiency has been improved by 5 times, and the monthly footage has exceeded 1750 meters! This new product solves the worldwide problem that the "digging" and "anchoring" of coal mining equipment cannot be synchronized.

From the world's tallest building to the world's first sea-crossing bridge, from the steel mill furnace at a high temperature of 1000 °C to the extremely cold zone of minus 60 °C, the Sichuan-Tibet Railway above the plateau, and the oil exploration under the deep sea...... Hunan construction machinery industry chain to give full play to its advantages, release potential, forge super equipment, and build a solid "basic plate" for Hunan to build a national important advanced manufacturing highland.

From a lone branch to a multi-point flower

"Advancing to emerging fields, the industry has built a broader 'moat'"

Recently, the world's largest span double-decker suspension bridge, Shiziyang Bridge, ushered in a new construction "super assistant", Zoomlion R20000-720 completed the installation of the tower in the west tower of the bridge.

This is the largest tower crane in the world: the rated lifting moment is 20,000 tons meters, and the maximum lifting capacity is 720 tons.

There is great wisdom in the "big guy". The tower crane integrates 158 innovative scientific research achievements and 305 invention patents, including 12 world-first technologies.

(The world's largest tower crane, Zoomlion R20000-720, rolled off the assembly line in Changde.) Photo by Hunan Daily all-media reporter Lu Rongbing)

The key core technology is the only magic weapon for products to win the market. The camp of "Hunan Army of Construction Machinery" has a "trump card" in hand.

The veteran general, Zoomlion tower crane is proud of the group; Sany excavator has ranked first in sales in the country for 13 consecutive years; Sunward Hydraulic Static Pile Driver and Surface Drilling Equipment Achieve "Reaching the Top".

Cutting-edge enterprises, China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. casts "underground dragons", Xingbang Intelligent focuses on high opportunities and is unstoppable, and Wuxin Tunnel Equipment has also broken into a world in the field of tunnel construction.

Statistics show that Hunan construction machinery products cover 12 categories, more than 100 sub-categories, nearly 500 models, accounting for about 70% of the national construction machinery product categories.

The "view" is even higher. The production and sales of concrete machinery, construction lifting machinery, excavation machinery, piling machinery, roadheaders and other products produced by Hunan enterprises rank first in the country, among which the production and sales of concrete machinery, excavators, construction cranes, full-section tunnel boring machines and other products rank first in the world.

The market is changing, why is Hunan construction machinery "prosperous"?

Yuan Zhen, Secretary-General of Changsha Construction Machinery Industry Association, said that the upgrading of "Hunan brand" construction machinery has never stopped.

For example, in terms of intelligent operations, Sanyi has delivered a disaster relief robot, which can complete tasks such as autonomous return to the starting point and autonomous withdrawal from dangerous environments; The intelligent all-terrain crane has realized the development of core technologies such as one-key telescopic boom and one-key hanging and unloading counterweight.

The products are invincible, and the company expands horizontally. Yuan Zhen believes: "Hunan construction machinery is actively advancing to emerging fields, and the industry has built a broader 'moat'. ”

At present, Hunan has more than 1,000 upstream and downstream enterprises of construction machinery, including 888 industrial enterprises above the designated size, 14 national individual champion enterprises, and 40 national specialized and special new "little giant" enterprises. The driving effect of industrial clusters is becoming more and more obvious, and the integration and development between OEMs, upstream and downstream, related industries and subdivisions are integrated.

For example, after the Wuxin Tunnel Installation, which was listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange in 2021, broke through a world in the field of tunnel equipment, it amplified the advantages of underground tunneling technology experience and "tried the knife" in the mining field, with extraordinary results. Yang Lixiang, general manager of the company's mining equipment division, boldly estimated that the intelligent tunneling drill truck WD561, a "sharp weapon" for small-section tunneling, will become the company's next "explosive product".

On July 23, Shen Xiaoming, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, emphasized in Changsha when investigating the development of the construction machinery industry that it is necessary to vigorously enhance the independent supporting and local supporting capabilities of construction machinery and equipment, increase the introduction of key parts and components supporting enterprises, and strive to make up for the shortcomings of industrial development.

"At present, the construction machinery in our province is about 50% of the nearest matching rate, which is a good level in the industry." According to the relevant person in charge of the provincial construction machinery industry work class, the local supporting facilities are mainly low-end supporting structural parts, and there are still large shortcomings in key large-tonnage engines and high-end hydraulic parts.

Face the pain points and strengthen the chain. At present, in Changsha, Wanxin Seiko has carried out basic construction of the construction project with an annual output of 500,000 reducers; In Yueyang, the processing project of precision forgings and mechanical parts of construction machinery with an annual output of 100,000 tons is being put into trial production; In Loudi, Sany ZTE 10 billion oil cylinder project, part of the equipment is in place for commissioning...... Hunan has upgraded and established a national construction machinery manufacturing innovation center, actively built an industry collaborative innovation network, and worked together to tackle key core technologies such as high-end hydraulic parts, transmission parts, main pumps, and chassis and common technologies in the industry such as construction machinery electrification.

From a digital workshop to a smart chemical site

"In the hardcore world of steel and machinery, industrial AI is already shaping the future."

The 48-ton excavator is digging into the intelligent assembly workshop in the Zoomlion Smart Industrial City, and one is off the assembly line every 6 minutes at the earliest.

On the 0.6 cubic meter valve block, more than 100 holes are of different sizes, but they are all smooth and round. In the machine tool of Sany No. 18 plant, it is formed at one time, and the pass rate is nearly 100%.

The average production capacity has been increased by 70%, the manufacturing cycle has been shortened by 55%, and the process design efficiency has been increased by more than 50%......

Walking into the leading manufacturing workshop of Hunan construction machinery enterprises, the improvement of production quality and efficiency brought by digitalization is direct and enthusiastic.

"In the hardcore world of steel and machinery, industrial AI is already shaping the future." Shen Junwu, deputy director of the process informatization headquarters of Sany Group, said that at first, inside the factory, equipment, production lines, factories, and products broke the data island. Nowadays, the real-time status of the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain is on the data stream.

(Sany Heavy Industry Industrial Park, Changsha Economic Development Zone, is known as the "smartest factory" in the industry, No. 18 plant.) Photo by Hunan Daily all-media reporter Tong Di)

On August 8, the screen of "Sany Group's C-end customer equipment big data management platform" displayed the real-time operation of about 229,400 online construction machinery and equipment, and the platform has accumulated access to the data of nearly one million devices.

The reporter saw that at 12:27 on the same day, the map of Jilin Songyuan lit up with a yellow light, and it was a local excavator customer who sent a maintenance request; At 12:28, the maintenance engineer received the order; At 13:10, troubleshooting, the customer's equipment resumed operation.

In Shen Junwu's view, "digital intelligence" mainly includes three core contents: intelligent manufacturing in the workshop, whether it can achieve digital order scheduling and flexible production; Whether the product is intelligent and can perceive and think; Whether the digital transformation of operation and management can achieve machine decision-making based on big data?

Walking out of the workshop and coming to the construction site, there are more and more unmanned equipment cluster operation scenarios created by the Hunan construction machinery industry chain.

In August 2023, at the construction site of the maintenance project of the 2nd bid section of the Xuzhou Suining section of National Highway 104, a total of 6 equipment including unmanned pavers and unmanned rollers were operated in clusters.

At present, in the first phase of the Anhui Xuanjing Expressway project, the Sany UAV group has completed the construction of the middle surface layer of the two sections of the project, with a cumulative construction mileage of 80 kilometers.

The digital twin system of China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. can "replicate" the construction site.

In the assembly plant of Changsha Second Industrial Park of China Railway Construction Heavy Industry, Wang Yongsheng, deputy director of the Digital Twin Research Institute, tapped the screen, and a digital construction site that "grows together" with the construction site was presented in real time.

"This is a digital twin of the front of the cutterhead of a set of shield machines, and the different colors represent the force and wear of the blades." Wang Yongsheng said that in the past, the shield machine had a situation in the construction, mainly relying on manual judgment, and there may be misjudgment; With the digital twin system, manual errors can be avoided. By analyzing data in real time, engineers can also optimize next-generation products in a targeted manner.

Yuan Zhen said that in terms of intelligence, Hunan construction machinery brand and well-known foreign enterprises run side by side, but in the field of electrification, it has taken the lead. "The leader is not only the product, but also the technology."

In July last year, Zoomlion's battery swap station was put into operation; Not long ago, the 314-axle pure electric concrete mixer truck "E-mixer" was exported to Singapore. Compared with traditional fuel mixers, electric mixers can reduce carbon emissions by 45%.

Electric heavy equipment, the problem of battery life is difficult to solve. Zoomlion has joined forces with Shaanxi Automobile and Ningpu Times to create a full-scene energy replenishment method and customized solutions, and the battery swap process takes less than 5 minutes; The Sany "E-mixer" has a range of up to 150 kilometers and can be fully charged in just 2 hours.

From products to industry to sea

"Globalization is both an urgent and a long-term solution"

In the first half of this year, Hunan Province exported 16.62 billion yuan of construction machinery, another substantial increase.

Since 2021, domestic real estate, infrastructure and other downstream demand has fluctuated, and the construction machinery industry has been dormant at the bottom.

Yuan Zhen, secretary general of Changsha Construction Machinery Industry Association, believes that this round of construction machinery is cold inside and hot outside.

How "hot" is the overseas market?

In the first five months, Sany Group's No. 18 plant received 1,500 batches of foreign guests, an increase of 40% year-on-year.

In the past year, Hunan construction machinery enterprises have been busy participating in the exhibition: they will appear at the United States Leasing Exhibition in February, the 2024 Paris International Construction Machinery and Building Materials Machinery Expo France April, and participate in the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo into Africa (Kenya special session) in May, as well as the Brazil International Construction Machinery Exhibition and the 2024 Viet Nam Mining and Construction Machinery Exhibition......

At the exhibition site, Hunan construction machinery brands such as "Zoomlion Aurora Green", "Sany Red" and "Xingbang Blue" attracted countless fans and won a large number of orders.

In the 90s of the 20th century, the tower crane produced by Jianglu Electromechanical was favored by overseas customers in Southeast Asia and Africa.

Around 2000, the "troika" of Changsha construction machinery began to go to sea, and in the following 20 years, a number of classic cases of international mergers and acquisitions were achieved, and Hunan construction machinery enterprises became famous.

Zhan Chunxin, chairman of Zoomlion, once said that an international enterprise should be good at "buying positions" and "finding vacant seats". "Buying a position" means to integrate superior technology, network channels and other resources through mergers and acquisitions to obtain a new position in the international market; "Find a vacancy", that is, aim at some markets that have just started or have potential, enter first, and quickly occupy a "place".

At present, Zoomlion has a target for choosing international exhibitions. Wu Weiheng, deputy general manager of Zoomlion Overseas Company, introduced that it is the company's regional strategy to develop overseas development by consolidating traditional advantageous markets such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East, focusing on developing fast-growing markets such as Africa and Latin America, and striving to break through high-end developed markets such as Europe and North America.

This is also the "main battlefield" of the future of the global construction machinery industry.

In Western Europe, North America and other regions, there is no shortage of construction machinery giants, how to compete with Caterpillar such a century-old famous enterprise for customers and market?

"Globalization is both an urgent and a long-term solution." Xiang Wenbo, chairman of Sany Group, said that in the past, "internationalization" was simply selling products overseas, and now "globalization" is turning product exports into industrial exports, and further promoting localization through global resource allocation to better meet the needs of global customers.

For example, in the conquest of Europe, Sany first set up an office, then established a branch, and finally upgraded and put into operation Sany Europe Bedburg Industrial Park; The products have also been gradually adjusted from concrete machinery to mobile port machinery, excavators, crawler cranes and pile drivers, and production equipment has been developed according to local conditions.

From simple trade to overseas investment, to the construction of factories and parks; From employing local employees, to improving the local marketing service network, deeply cultivating the international market, and constantly adjusting the strategic layout, "Construction Machinery Xiangjun" is well-known on the world stage.

Focusing on the industrial chain to go to sea, facing the export outlet of construction machinery remanufacturing, Hunan enterprises are vying to be the first to layout.

In the Xiangqiong Advanced Manufacturing Industry Park, Zoomlion is building the "Zoomlion Hainan International High-end Equipment Industrial Park", which will send second-hand equipment to the project base for maintenance, transformation and light assembly in the future, and sell it overseas with the advantage of Oriental Deepwater Port. Sany has built a construction machinery maintenance center and a construction machinery remanufacturing center to further enhance the potential energy of going to sea.

In the first four months of this year, Sany's sales in Europe and North America increased by as much as 120% year-on-year. By the end of 2023, Zoomlion has built nearly 400 directly-operated outlets overseas, with more than 5,000 overseas employees worldwide.

【Discussion of chain owners】

Sany Group: Climb higher to the new

The construction machinery industry is a barometer that reflects the cold and warm infrastructure investment, and it is also one of the industries with fast development, strong technical strength and large market share in China's manufacturing industry. Xiang Wenbo, chairman of Sany Group, believes that the proposal of new quality productivity has brought new development opportunities to traditional industries, and the most important thing for the construction machinery industry is the opportunity given by the times.

It is understood that Sany Group is currently unswervingly promoting the "three modernizations" strategies such as "globalization", "digital intelligence" and "low-carbonization" to build new quality productivity and achieve higher-quality development.

In Xiang Wenbo's view, overseas markets have greater potential for Chinese construction machinery manufacturers, but the globalization of China's construction machinery is still facing many challenges, such as high tariffs on products, industry enterprises to solve these problems through manufacturing globalization, research and development globalization, product and service globalization.

Xiang Wenbo is full of confidence in the development of the industry. He said that the construction machinery industry is in a once-in-a-lifetime technology window period, what enterprises need to do is to create demand through technological innovation, activate demand; There is still a lot of room for human demand for construction machinery, especially the aging of the population will bring greater demand for labor substitution, and construction machinery is far from peaking.