Jiangsu gas boiler manufacturer

Main Ways for Iron and Steel Enterprises to Improve Cost Competitiveness

I. New challenges for China's steel enterprises to improve their competitiveness According to the Suggestions of the CPC Central Committee on Formulating the Eleventh Five Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development adopted at the Fifth Plenary Session of the Sixteenth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, in order to achieve the goal of doubling the per capita GDP by 2010 compared with 2000, China must maintain steady and rapid economic development What is the specific growth rate of, all parties have different forecasts, but generally above 8%. We believe that the growth rate of the national economy in the next five to ten years may be slightly lower than the rate of more than 9% in the past two years, but the main factors driving the consumption of China's steel products, For example, fixed asset investment in real estate, population urbanization, upgrading of residents' consumption structure, the proportion of electromechanical products in export-oriented economy and export products will still exist and will be further deepened. These will further expand the demand for steel products. Therefore, the steel and iron industry still has a large space for development. But we should also be aware that, At present, profound changes are taking place in the supply and demand pattern of iron and steel products, the international environment, resource environment and policy environment for the development of the iron and steel industry. These changes pose new challenges for China's iron and steel industry to improve its international competitiveness. 1. The market environment of the iron and steel industry will gradually tighten, The market environment of the iron and steel industry presents cyclical fluctuations with the cyclical fluctuations of the world economic growth, which is mainly reflected in the large rise and fall of steel prices and the resulting large changes in the profit and loss ratio of enterprises. The formation of the "iron and steel cycle" stems from the changes in the supply and demand relationship of the iron and steel industry, which has two characteristics: one is that iron and steel products are commodities that lack elasticity of demand, Demand will not decrease in the same proportion as the price rises, nor will it increase in the same proportion as the price falls; Second, the steel industry is also an industry with inelastic supply. The price rise will not lead to an immediate increase in supply, and the fall in steel prices will not lead to an immediate reduction in production capacity, even some manufactor In order to reduce fixed costs and increase production with full power, the contradiction between supply and demand will be further aggravated. The characteristics of demand and supply will be combined. Under the induction of demand changes brought about by the speed of economic growth, the steel market will show cyclical fluctuations. Due to the low concentration of the steel industry, This cyclical fluctuation will continue in the foreseeable future. Since China entered the market economy system in 1993, the steel market has experienced a cycle of rising, falling and rising, reaching the bottom at the end of the last century, and the steel price reached a historical high at the end of the first quarter of 2005. From the monthly situation in 2005, because the steel output growth is higher than the demand growth, The supply and demand pattern has begun to reverse, resulting in a significant decline in steel prices, and the profitability of large and medium-sized steel enterprises is declining month by month. Moreover, at present, existing steel production capacity is still continuing to release, and new production capacity is under construction. Many enterprises still have plans to continue expanding production capacity during the "Eleventh Five Year Plan" period. According to the above preliminary judgment, In the next few years, the competition in the steel industry will become more intense, and the price of steel will continue to hover in the average cost area of the industry, The iron rich ores only account for 2.8%. With the rapid growth of China's steel production, the dependence on overseas iron ores has become increasingly high. The import volume has soared from 92.3 million tons in 2001 to 208.09 million tons in 2004. In 2005, the import of iron ores is expected to reach 260 million tons. In 2004, China's dependence on imported ores has been 52%, It is estimated that the degree of dependence on foreign countries will reach 60~65% in five to ten years. Since nearly 70% of the world's international trade volume of iron ore is monopolized by three oligopolies, it is very easy for them to reach agreements to maintain high prices or even limit production and raise prices. At present, there is no mechanism in the international community to restrict this cross-border monopoly. From the perspective of domestic resources, from 2003 to 2010, The overall iron ore production capacity of the country is growing. After reaching the peak in 2010, the capacity is basically stable, and the iron ore production capacity of about 300 million tons can be maintained until about 2020. However, the existing large iron ore resources are basically occupied by large steel enterprises, which will arrange ore production according to their own needs, It is unlikely to increase output to supply other enterprises. Other independent small mines have small resource reserves, low ore grade, and little potential for production increase. Although their production costs are lower than those of imported ores, they are not enough to stabilize the ore prices raised by imported ores. Therefore, if new large iron ore resources cannot be found in China in the future, The domestic ore market will be mainly led by foreign ore prices. The second is coal. Although China is a big coal producer and has more than enough coal resources, the coal industry has been neglected for a long time, and small coal kilns have blossomed everywhere, resulting in oversupply of coal and long-term low-cost operation. This situation not only severely damages resources, but also leaves huge safety arrears and accident potential, This has led to frequent mine accidents. In recent years, the country has continuously strengthened the comprehensive management of coal mines, and the domestic demand for coal has soared. In the past one or two years, the price of coal has more than doubled compared with the end of last century. It is expected that in the future, with a large number of unqualified small coal mines being closed, and large and medium-sized coal mines increasing safety investment, The past era of low coal prices will never return. The iron and steel industry is a high energy consuming industry, with energy consumption accounting for about 25% of the steel cost. China's iron and steel industry is dominated by the blast furnace converter process (long process), and coal is the main energy source of the long process production process, accounting for about three quarters of the total energy consumption. Coal maintains high price operation, It will put great pressure on the cost of steel production. The third is electricity. Electricity consumption accounts for about a quarter of the energy consumption of the steel industry. Since China's electricity supply is dominated by coal consuming thermoelectric power, the rise in coal price will affect the electricity price, indirectly increasing the energy cost of the steel industry. The fourth is oil. There is little oil directly consumed in the process of steel production, The main reason is that internal and external transportation consumes oil. The steel industry is a major consumer of transportation. Roughly measuring the transport capacity of about 5 tons per ton of steel, coupled with the unreasonable layout of China's steel industry, many steel enterprises are located in the inland, and the transport distance is long, so the oil price rise has an important impact on the steel industry. In the past two years, the international oil price has soared, once exceeding 70 dollars per barrel, Some international authorities predict that it may rise to US $100/barrel in the future. If this happens, it will also put great pressure on the cost of the steel industry. Fifth, water resources. The steel industry is also a big water consumer. At present, even the most advanced water-saving enterprises consume about 4 tons of fresh water per ton of steel. China's per capita fresh water resources are only one quarter of the world average, In particular, one third of China's steel production capacity is concentrated in North China, where there is a serious shortage of water. Even if the "South to North Water Transfer" plan is realized, the cost of water transmission is also high. Recently, officials from relevant national institutions announced that "there is still room for water prices to rise". It is expected that the country will continue to promote water conservation by increasing water prices, This will increase cost pressure on the steel industry, New tasks have been proposed for energy conservation, consumption reduction and cost reduction in the iron and steel industry. First, environmental protection. Preventing pollution and improving the environment is one of the important contents of building a harmonious society and promoting sustainable economic development in China. In addition to a few enterprises such as Baosteel, the iron and steel industry in China has a good environmental protection situation, most enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, have a lot of environmental debt; Among the key iron and steel enterprises, 18 are located in provincial capital cities, and 34 are located in large cities with a population of more than one million, which puts great pressure on urban environmental capacity and restricts their own development. The development of circular economy and recycling of "three wastes" can certainly save energy, raw materials, water and reduce pollution charges, which is beneficial to reducing costs, but it is undeniable that, Whether moving to a new site or improving environmental protection facilities on the spot, there will be corresponding costs, such as increasing investment and operating costs. The second is the export of steel products. The national industrial policy clearly defines that the development scale of the steel industry should adapt to the demand of the national economic development for steel products, The national finance and taxation department has also made corresponding policy adjustments in the export tax rebate of steel products and the principle of "production first". These all mean that the country has positioned the steel industry as "meeting domestic demand first", and does not encourage the export of large quantities of steel products, especially the export of low value-added primary steel products. Even if the environmental protection facilities are improved, the steel industry is still an industry with high energy consumption and high resource consumption, Moreover, greenhouse gas emissions cannot be completely eradicated, so the national positioning and policy changes for the steel industry are in line with the guidelines of the 16th National Congress and the 5th Plenary Session of the CPC Central Committee on healthy and coordinated development of the national economy, in line with the national resource strategy and the overall interests of society. However, the national policy of restricting the export of steel products, for the steel industry, It will also increase the pressure on domestic supply and demand and enterprises to reduce costs and increase profits. To sum up, in the next five to ten years, the market competition of the steel industry will continue to intensify, the profit space of enterprises will be significantly reduced, some unbearable backward production capacity will be eliminated, and some advantageous enterprises will be able to obtain greater development opportunities. Follow the historical trend, adapt to changes in the situation and policies, Vigorously reducing costs is the most important measure for inferior enterprises to survive and superior enterprises to develop. It is also the strategic focus for China's iron and steel industry to further improve its overall quality and resist the impact of foreign steel products. 2. The main way to improve the cost competitiveness of iron and steel enterprises 1. Developing circular economy. The focus is to reduce energy consumption, water consumption, etc. Since 1980, The energy consumption of the iron and steel industry has always accounted for about 10% of the total energy consumption of the country. In the energy consumption structure, coal plays a leading role, followed by electricity, and other energy has a small share. In recent years, some large and medium-sized iron and steel enterprises have paid attention to the use of secondary energy, and made great achievements in energy conservation and consumption reduction On the basis of remarkable achievements (referring to full clinker for ironmaking, full refining for steelmaking, full continuous casting, steel rolling, and improving coal injection rate of blast furnace), we have further promoted circular economy and clean production in recent years under the guideline of "source reduction, process control, end resource management". Compared with 1995, the comprehensive energy consumption per ton of steel in 2004 was reduced from 1204kg standard coal to 698kg standard coal, The consumption of fresh water per ton of steel has decreased from 21.4 tons to 4.9 tons, both of which are at the advanced level of the industry. However, Jinan Iron and Steel Group believes that it still has great potential in energy saving and consumption reduction. If there is still some surplus gas that has nowhere to use, it has to bear the pain of releasing, and sensible heat in sintering, continuous casting, rolling and other processes can be recycled. For most other enterprises, especially medium-sized enterprises, Compared with Jinan Iron and Steel Group, there is a big gap. Some enterprises even have a large amount of gas emission while the rolling mill is still burning oil. According to the practice at home and abroad, the major energy-saving projects that should be vigorously promoted in the future are as follows: (1) CDO (dry coke quenching) red coke from coke ovens (950~1050 ℃) The sensible heat contained is equivalent to 35%~40% of the total heat consumed in coking production. 80% of the sensible heat of red coke can be recovered by coke quenching. At the same time, 0.45t of 3.9MPa steam can be produced per ton of coke, up to 0.6t. Dry coke quenching can realize that coke quenching process will not pollute the environment, and is a major project of energy conservation and environmental protection. Production practice of Baosteel, Wuhan Iron and Steel and other enterprises shows that, Dry coke quenching can reduce the energy consumption of the coking process by 68kgce/t. This energy saving amount is about half of the total energy saving of the steel industry, which should attract the attention of leaders at all levels. Dry coke quenching can also improve the quality of coke. M40 can be increased by 3% to 8%, M10 is improved by 0.3%~0.8%. Under the condition that the coke quality remains unchanged, 10%~20% weak caking coal can be added, and 0.38m3/t coke can be saved. The use of dry quenching coke for ironmaking can reduce the coke ratio by 2%, and increase the output by 1%. (2) The blast furnace top gas differential pressure power generation technology (TRT) uses turbine generator sets, and uses the pressure energy of the blast furnace top gas to realize power generation. Theoretically, When the gas pressure of the blast furnace is 80kPa, the electricity generated by the TRT equipment is in balance with the electricity used. Only when the gas pressure is 100kPa can there be economic benefits, while when the gas pressure is greater than 120kPa, there will be obvious benefits. Therefore, increasing the top pressure is beneficial to the blast furnace ironmaking and energy recovery, and should be vigorously promoted. According to the change of top gas pressure, TRT equipment generates about 30~50 kilowatt hours of electricity/ton of iron. Dry dedusting of gas can increase power generation by about 30%. Gas temperature can be increased by 10 ℃, and turbine output can be increased by about 3%. Overall assessment, TRT equipment can recover 30% of the blast furnace blower energy and reduce the energy consumption of the ironmaking process by 11kgce/t. TRT equipment has been made domestically, and the cost of domestic equipment is half lower than that of foreign equipment. When the operating rate of a 2000m3 blast furnace TRT equipment is 85%, the annual power generation can reach 50 million kilowatt hours. At present, more than 80 blast furnaces in China have TRT equipment, and Hangzhou Iron and Steel 420m3 blast furnace successfully uses TRT equipment. (3) Pulverized coal injection technology for blast furnace (PCI) Blast furnace pulverized coal injection is the central link of ironmaking system structure optimization. It is the development direction of blast furnace ironmaking technology at home and abroad. It is also a powerful measure for the iron and steel industry to optimize the energy structure, save energy and reduce consumption, reduce production costs, and achieve environmental friendliness. Replacing coke with coal can not only save energy (coal system process energy consumption is 20~35kgce/t coal, coking process energy consumption is 142.2lkgce/t coke), It alleviates the contradiction of main coking coal shortage in China, reduces the environmental pollution caused by coking process, and can produce considerable economic benefits (according to the current price difference between raw coal and coke, 500~600 yuan of economic benefits can be obtained for every ton of pulverized coal injected). In recent years, the coal injection ratio of blast furnaces in key iron and steel enterprises in China has shown a downward trend. The average coal injection ratio in 2004 was 116kg/t, A decrease of 2kg/t compared with the previous year. According to statistics, the coal injection ratio of 22 units decreased in 2004. The largest unit decrease was 37kg/t. It is worth noting that the coal injection ratio of some large iron and steel enterprises has decreased, which should attract the attention of relevant leaders. (4) The calorific value of gas generated in the production of iron and steel using gas power generation technology accounts for 34.12% of the calorific value of coal purchased, The full, scientific and reasonable use of gas is of great significance to the energy conservation of enterprises. Coke oven gas is a clean, high calorific value and high-quality energy, and should not be used for power generation. Blast furnace and converter gas are fully used in various fields. The remaining part will be used for power generation. Because the energy conversion rate from gas to electricity is low (gas boiler The power generation conversion rate is 25%, Gas Turbine conversion rate is 40%~50%). The use of gas in key enterprises in 2004 is not optimistic. There are 21 enterprises that do not recycle converter gas, and the total recovery of the whole industry is half of that in industrial developed countries. The calorific value of converter gas is more than twice that of blast furnace gas, which is a pity. Some enterprises have about 1/4 of blast furnace gas and coke oven gas released throughout the year, It not only wastes energy, but also pollutes the environment. Therefore, we should vigorously promote the technology of gas power generation, and develop in the direction that steel enterprises only buy coal instead of purchasing power. (5) Fully burning blast furnace gas boiler Blast furnace gas technology boiler Technology is China's invention patent, with 130~220t/h power stations boiler The unit uses 2800~3500kj/Nm3 blast furnace gas with calorific value, for 220t/h boiler For example, the steam parameters at the outlet can reach 540 ℃ and 9.8MPa, which can be matched with a 500MW steam turbine generator set boiler It can be mixed with converter gas. Shougang applies this boiler After that, 576000 tons of steam can be supplied throughout the year. 43.2 million kilowatt hours of electricity can be generated, 176000 tons of standard coal can be saved, and the comprehensive annual benefit is more than 40 million yuan. This technology has been widely used in Anshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., Maanshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., Wuhan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., Shagang, Meishan, No. 1 Shanghai Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., Anyang Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., Xinjiang Bayi Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. and other enterprises. (6) Gas turbine technology (CCPP) Working principle: the gas after dedusting is mixed with air and burned in the combustion chamber of the steam turbine to generate high-temperature and high-pressure gas to drive the turbine unit to work and generate electricity: high-temperature gas enters the waste heat again boiler , generating steam, steam turbine doing work and generating electricity. The advantage of this technical equipment is that boiler 70%~90% more steam power generation; The water consumption is 1/3 less than that of coal fired power plants, which does not cause environmental pollution and occupies a small area. The equipment requires high technical conditions, and it can only play an advantage if there is enough stable gas supply. The gas quality requirements are strict, such as cleanliness, calorific value, pressure, oxygen and hydrogen content, to protect the normal operation and longevity of the equipment. The equipment is complex, strictly controlled, and difficult to maintain, High cost. China has become the largest country in steel production and consumption. In 2003, China's GDP increased by 9.1%, while energy consumption increased by 15.4%. Steel consumption increased by 26.6%. With the continuous growth of steel production capacity, the contradiction between the sustainable supply of iron, manganese and chromium mineral resources in China will become increasingly serious, and problems such as raw material supply, water resources and land resources shortage, environmental pollution and transportation load will become increasingly prominent, In order to ensure the sustainable development of the iron and steel industry, China's iron and steel industry must follow the path of circular economy development in the future, pay attention to energy conservation and various resources, and strive to reduce energy consumption, Many iron and steel powers have invested in many ore supply countries due to the need to control resources. It is reported that Japan JFE Steel bought 20% of the equity of a branch of BHP Billiton in August 2004; South Korea Pohang Group also bought the equity of Canadian and Australian coal mining companies in December 2004. International steel groups are tightening their control over international ore resources. At present, Many domestic steel enterprises with strategic vision are gradually controlling the raw material supply chain. Shanghai Baosteel Group owns 46% of the shares in a new mine of Rio Tinto; Wuhan Iron and Steel Group, Maanshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd Jiangsu Shagang Group and Tangshan Iron and Steel Group reached the largest commercial agreement in history with BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining enterprise, in March 2004. They obtained 40% of the equity of an Australian mine sublet by BHP Billiton through the establishment of a joint venture, from which they can purchase 12 million tons of iron ore every year, The deadline is 25 years. Within 25 years, four iron and steel enterprises will obtain iron ore with a total value of 9 billion US dollars, so that the four enterprises can obtain long-term stable and reasonable iron ore resources, which greatly avoids the operational risk of rising raw materials in the past two years, Major domestic steel enterprises have established strategic alliances with upstream and downstream enterprises. Baosteel Group has not only signed strategic cooperation agreements with iron ore, coal, nonferrous metals, ocean transportation, three domestic automobile giants, China Shipbuilding Group and other upstream and downstream core enterprises, but also invested and participated in relevant businesses simultaneously and even early, Occupy the production share of automobile peripheral industries. Although peers envy Baosteel's "first step" in industrial chain safety, Baosteel is still not satisfied with the existing "safety coefficient", which shows that the industrial chain will occupy a very important strategic position in the future market competition. 3. Realize industrial concentration, The effective way to reduce procurement costs, management and sales costs and reduce management and sales costs is enterprise restructuring and industrial concentration. Taking the European Arcelor Group as an example, on February 28, 2002, France formed the Arcelor Group in Zinole, Luxembourg Albert and Spain Arcelor, becoming the world's largest multinational steel enterprise in that year, This position was maintained until 2004. The annual reports of Arcelor Group disclosed that in 2002, 2003 and 2004, the benefits brought by the merger (Synergy, merger effect) reached 190 million euros, 405 million euros and 560 million euros respectively. According to the company's "merger statement", the merger effect is the annual increase in the profit of the enterprise compared with that before the merger, The balance after deducting the market price changes of raw materials, energy and products every year is the benefit brought by business merger, including common bulk purchase to reduce procurement costs, management organizations and personnel to reduce management costs, joint use of existing sales and service networks to reduce sales costs, and centralized use of R&D resources, In response to market changes and competitive pressures in the steel industry, mergers and acquisitions of global steel enterprises have been in the ascendant in recent years, The M&A price is the highest in the steel industry. In 2005, Mittal and its family controlled enterprise group became the world's largest steel manufacturer, and Arcelor Group ranked second in the world. At present, the trend of global steel industry development is to transfer the production of raw steel to countries with low costs, and this trend will continue to strengthen in the future. After Arcelor Group set up steel plants in Brazil, Both POSCO in South Korea and ThyssenKrupp Group in Germany intend to build steel plants in Brazil. In China, Baosteel has merged with Shanghai Steel's No. 1, No. 3, No. 5 plants and Meishan Iron and Steel Company. WISCO and Hubei Steel, Shougang and Tangshan Steel, Angang and Benxi Steel are seeking cooperation to form regional large steel groups. Foreign investment in China's steel industry has "expanded" The determination is also growing. The galvanized sheet production line jointly built by Germany ThyssenKrupp and Ansteel in Dalian has been put into production; The 1.7 million ton auto plate plant jointly established by Nippon Steel, Arcelor and Baosteel is about to be put into production; The joint venture projects between Japan JFE and Guangzhou Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., South Korea POSCO and Benxi Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. are under construction. Through effective enterprise restructuring and merger, it can effectively reduce management, sales and other operating costs, and improve its market competitiveness. 4. Variety quality optimization. Relative cost reduction Due to the rapid growth of steel supply, the profit space of the steel market will gradually shift to the high value-added varieties that are in short supply in the market, Therefore, attention should be paid to optimizing the variety and quality, The development of new products and the implementation of new technologies will also become an alternative way for enterprises to improve their profitability and reduce costs (Including the analysis of the financial report of Baosteel 1, which ranked the sixth in China, these enterprises produced 284 million tons of crude steel in 2004, achieving sales revenue of US $199.832 billion and an average revenue of US $704 per ton of steel. In the same period, the average sales revenue of large and medium-sized steel enterprises in China per ton of steel was only 3683 yuan, equivalent to US $445, 63.2% of the world's top ten steel. This is certainly related to the fact that foreign prices are higher than China's, But it is mainly caused by the difference in product added value. Due to the difference in added value, the profitability is also very different. The average ton of steel of the world's top ten steel companies achieved a pre interest and tax profit of $115, while China's large and medium-sized enterprises only had $45. Improving product added value depends on technological innovation, which is an inexhaustible driving force for enterprise development, It is a key measure to enhance the market competitiveness of enterprises. Technological innovation refers to the application of innovative knowledge, new technologies and new processes, the adoption of new production methods and management models, the improvement of product quality, the development and production of new products, the provision of new services, the occupation of the market and the realization of market value, We should focus on developing products with high technology content and high added value that are in short supply in the market and varieties that can replace imports. We should constantly improve the variety structure, improve product quality, reduce product costs, expand market share, closely follow the development trend of the world's metallurgical technology frontier, vigorously absorb and study mature technical achievements at home and abroad, and constantly carry out technological innovation, Form a batch of products and process technologies with independent intellectual property rights and competitive advantages. Secondly, we should vigorously promote technological transformation of enterprises. We should carry out technological transformation around increasing varieties, improving quality, promoting cleaner production, improving economic benefits and expanding product exports, vigorously adopt new technologies, new processes, new materials, and constantly improve the level of technological equipment of enterprises, To ensure the production of high-quality steel products that meet the needs of customers. Third, it is necessary to raise funds through multiple channels and increase the intensity of investment in technological innovation. It is necessary to continuously increase the research and development funds of enterprises, and increase non research and development investment such as purchasing patents, technology introduction and technological transformation according to the needs of enterprise development. Fourth, it is necessary to strengthen the management of intellectual property rights, Improve the transformation rate of scientific and technological achievements. On the one hand, we should improve the intellectual property management system, strengthen the development and utilization of intellectual property rights such as patent technology, proprietary technology and technical secrets, and carry out intellectual property protection throughout the process of technological innovation to achieve effective innovation; On the other hand, we should also promote the industrialization of scientific and technological achievements, actively focus on basic work such as equipment updating, technical support, industrial testing, quality management, and information collection, and improve the transformation rate of scientific and technological achievements. Fifth, we should strengthen the application of modern information technology, closely track the development of information technology, and in the process of product development, design, manufacturing, material procurement, and marketing, Modern information technology means should be actively used to realize the informatization of enterprise internal management through the use of computer management systems such as enterprise resource planning (ERP). At the same time, network technology should be used to realize the transmission and sharing of business information and explore new trade methods such as e-commerce (metallurgical management).