Everything started in the simple four-character "backed by mountains", and the Henan aluminum industry, which has an annual output value of several hundred million yuan, began to rise. Among them, the name of the “pillow†of the gangster column has almost been forgotten today—“Zhengzhou Aluminum Factoryâ€.
The four-point line of bauxite-aluminum-aluminum-aluminum processing and Sheung Wan's fastening of the lower ring determines that China is more likely to cultivate aluminum industrial bases, which is the main source of about 2.3 billion tons of bauxite reserves in China. Distribution provinces: Shanxi, Henan, Guizhou and Guangxi. The alumina production started earlier in 1954 with the sintering method, but since the quality of the bauxite in Henan Province was better than Shandong, the Zhengzhou Aluminum Plant combined method was put into production in 1965, and then it was treated with the Bayer process and sintered. Red mud has increased the recovery of alkali and alumina and quickly became the major supplier of domestic alumina. This chair sat for decades.
The history of development of the aluminum industry in Henan for the past 40 years is almost a remake of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfsâ€â€”even though the name “Snow White†was changed from Zhengzhou Aluminum Factory to China Great Wall Aluminum Company, and then to Chinalco Henan. Branch offices, but the main story of the story has always been the singing and laughing of the “dwarves†of the electrolytic aluminum factory and aluminum processing factory around “herâ€.
The same story is played year after year. The difficulty now is that Henan’s “Snow White†has gradually become a young woman from a young woman. The other new “Princesses†have also begun to be slim. The “dwarfs†everywhere have been springing up and eating. The original thin food, and the National Aluminum Industry under the new policy, destined to part of the "dwarf" must exit the stage. How will the new version of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" be staged?
Unforgettable Great Wall
Outside the two aluminum plants in Shandong and Zhengzhou, the construction of the Bayer process at the Guizhou aluminum plant was earlier, but it did not go smoothly until it was put into operation in 1978. The second phase of the project added a sintering method and was put into production in 1988, forming a joint law. Before 1982, the output of three plants in Shandong, Zhengzhou, and Guizhou could meet the needs of domestic electrolytic aluminum plants. “When the proportion was high in the 1980s, it accounted for more than 40% of the country.†Li Tiangeng, general manager of China Great Wall Aluminum Corporation, graduated in 1982 and was assigned to the Zhengzhou Aluminum Plant, which later changed its name to Great Wall Aluminum, and witnessed its more glorious era.
At the end of the 1970s, China’s economy entered a new period of development, and aluminum consumption has grown rapidly. The former supply balance of aluminum oxide, electrolytic aluminum, has gradually been broken. The accumulation of bauxite geological prospecting laid the foundation for the vigorous development of alumina. The Shanxi Aluminum Plant was first selected and construction of a large aluminum base started.
Since 1983, the Shanxi Aluminum Plant has built a capacity of 1.2 million tons of alumina per year by the hybrid method in 1994 after 10 years of construction. Compared with existing aluminum plants in Zhengzhou and Guizhou Aluminum, there are major improvements in scale, processes, and equipment.
However, the dominance of Great Wall Aluminum has not been replaced by this. The Zhongzhou Aluminum Plant in Henan Province also plans to produce 1.2 million tons of hybrids per year. However, due to many factors such as the market, ideas, and finances, a “protractor†with a small scale and a high debt ratio has been formed. "In 1992, the Zhongzhou Aluminum Plant together with the Zhengzhou Light Metal Research Institute went to the company and became a second-level unit," said Cui Ping, the minister of the Great Wall Aluminum Industry Organization. The above three units, together with Zheng Aluminum Mining Company, merged to form Grow Aluminum. .
Entrusted to the Great Wall Aluminum Corporation, the Zhongzhou Aluminum Plant was out of its predicament and when it was once again dismantled from the Great Wall Aluminum Industry in 2002, it has become another pillar enterprise in Henan Province. The aluminum production of Great Wall Aluminum and Zhongzhou Aluminum was as high as 1.7 million tons and 1.2 million tons respectively, which became the driving force behind the development of electrolytic aluminum in Henan. “The reason why the aluminum industry has become a pillar in Henan, the more important is alumina. One ton of electrolytic aluminum requires two tons of alumina as raw material. Why Henan has concentrated so much on electrolytic aluminum, because there are Great Wall of China and Zhongzhou Aluminum. An alumina company like this factory has abundant raw materials for alumina, so Henan has the very good conditions for dry electrolytic aluminum,†said Li Tiangeng.
Accumulative investment of 14 billion yuan, from Zhengzhou to Gongyi, Luoyang, and then along the 310 National Road has been to the West, after the Xinan County, Dianchi County, Shan County, later arrived in Sanmenxia City, all the way to come, is a large electrolytic aluminum enterprise in Henan Province Centrally distributed area. Many aluminum industry companies in these regions have followed the example of the Great Wall Aluminum industry.
After the listing of China Aluminum in 2002, the aluminum industry assets of the former Great Wall Aluminum went back to the listed company. This part of the assets formed the Chinalco Henan branch. In addition to this, China Aluminum Corporation, together with China National Science and Technology Co., Ltd., Yichuan Power Group, and Luoyang Economic Investment Co., Ltd., jointly invested in the establishment of China Aluminum Henan Aluminum Co., Ltd., which is controlled by Chinalco Aluminum. The main products are aluminum foil blanks and PS. High-precision aluminum and aluminum alloy sheet and foil materials such as plate bases, household appliances aluminum plates, and decorative strips.
Chinalco, with its new name and new appearance in Henan, is no longer the strong upstream company with strong alumina and weak electrolytic aluminum. Its strategy has been transformed into the three routes of the middle and lower reaches. This will affect the pattern of Henan Aluminum.
Toad taste
According to the statistics of related departments, in the 12 major industrial industries in Henan Province, the total profits and taxes of the non-ferrous metals industry have maintained the top position in the past two consecutive years. In 2004, among the 11 provinces with over 1 billion yuan in non-ferrous metals industry in the country, the Henan non-ferrous metal industry reaped national profits with a profit of 7.16 billion yuan, of which aluminum, whether it is production or profits, has accounted for the total non-ferrous metal industry in Henan Province. About 80% of the volume.
These exciting figures do not entirely come from the advantages of natural resources. The proven reserves of bauxite in Henan Province are 435 million tons, ranking second in the country. Also ranked second in the country is its 900,000 tons of aluminum processing capacity, and its aluminum oxide, electrolytic aluminum production capacity of 3.3 million tons, respectively, 2.2 million tons, are among the country's top. In addition, Chinalco Henan Branch has become the largest alumina plant in Asia, and Yichuan Power's primary aluminum production capacity and Mingtai Aluminum's aluminum foil production are also the highest in the country. All these reflect that Henan has indeed grasped the pulse of the rapid development of aluminum industry earlier than other regions in the past few years.
However, the aluminum industry has become a pillar industry in Henan, but it is also destined to share the same concerns of Henan and China Aluminum.
At the end of this year, Cao Yushu, spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission, disclosed that in the first quarter of this year, the actual loss of electrolytic aluminum industry in China was as high as nearly 80%. According to statistics from the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, by the end of February 2005, 34 of China's more than 130 electrolytic aluminum enterprises had completely stopped production.
The harsh facts are placed in front of electrolytic aluminum companies: the average price of electrolytic aluminum in 2004 was around 16,200 yuan per ton. According to statistics, the cost of domestic electrolytic aluminum in the same period is mostly above 16,500 yuan per ton. Therefore, industry insiders generally believe that electrolytic aluminum producers are losing money in addition to companies that purchase alumina (such as electrolytic aluminum companies within Chinalco Group) and electricity at internal preferential prices. This will undoubtedly affect the electrolytic aluminum company in Henan.
According to the 2005 semi-annual report released by Jiaozuo Wanfang, its net profit changed from a profit of 48.05 million yuan in the same period last year to a loss of 36.86 million yuan.
The more serious situation is still behind. After the state abolished 8% of the electrolytic aluminum export tax rebate and decided to increase the export tax by 5%, the Ministry of Commerce issued a notice in mid-August and decided to include aluminum oxide raw materials upstream of electrolytic aluminum as a processing trade prohibited item from August 22. The commodity list, that is, all imported alumina will be subject to 8% customs duty and 17% VAT.
There is no doubt that the Henan Province, which accounts for a large proportion of the industry, has made self-adjustment in this wave of policy changes that have had a major impact on China's aluminum industry.
Pattern determines fate
Among the four links in the aluminum industry, the integration of Henan bauxite has begun. Information from the Henan Provincial Department of Land and Resources shows that 144 bauxite mines in the province will be consolidated into 51, and currently more than 30 small bauxite mines have been closed. The integration of raw materials links will facilitate the more scientific utilization and development of existing bauxite resources in Henan Province. According to current trends, Henan Province intends to make upstream resources more inclined to scale enterprises.
At the Aluminum Industry Symposium held in the middle of the year, the Henan Provincial Development and Reform Commission initially proposed a special plan for the development of the aluminum industry. The answer given was to form three major processing chains, seven large groups, and three gathering areas in the province. During the "15" period, there were 48 aluminum deep processing projects.
Among them, the three major aluminum deep processing chains are: plate blanks - plate - thin plate - deep processing of aluminum foil processing chain, aluminum - die casting deep processing chain and aluminum - profile deep processing chain. The intentions of the three largest aluminum processing industry clusters under construction are based on the existing aluminum processing industry clusters, and guide relevant companies to agglomerate into three aluminum industrial parks in Gongyi, Changge and Shangjie to promote the concentration of production factors and resource sharing. The 7 large aluminum processing enterprise groups planned to be cultivated include Chinalco Group Henan Company, Shenhuo Group, Jiaozuo Wanfang Group, Zhongfu Industry Group, Tianyuan Aluminum Group, Henan Huilong, and Henan Mingtai. Annual development accounts for 70% of the province.
A person from Henan Development and Reform Commission told the reporter that some of the arrangements in the plan may be adjusted. However, from the perspective of its general direction, aluminum processing is used as the starting point, and the idea of ​​driving aluminum oxide and electrolytic aluminum through stronger aluminum processing capabilities is clear.
A senior person in the Henan Aluminum Industry told the reporter that there are two directions in the aluminum industry that have great potential to be tapped: The first is the combination of various production factors. This has been practiced in Henan in the past few years and there have been many The form of coal-electricity-aluminum joint venture, but it can be further strengthened; the other is that the upstream and downstream links are more closely cooperated. For example, there are many companies in the world that directly use electrolyzed primary aluminum liquid billet to forge large slab ingots for hot rolling and roll casting. Volume, and aluminum processing companies in Henan Province and other parts of the country generally buy aluminum ingots after remelting into large ingots and cast laps, which not only increases energy consumption, but also increases production costs.
The above-mentioned sources believe that these two directions require the existing aluminum industry enterprises to further integrate and unite, but at this stage, there are certain government-led factors in the alliance, and more support is provided by state-owned enterprises or state-owned restructuring enterprises, which can be used appropriately. The ability of the market to allocate resources allows different companies to take into account their own long-term and short-board advantage combinations. In this process, they take into account some private enterprises that have demonstrated their own competitive advantages. “There is a lot of room for manoeuvre in the process, but it is not handled well. Instead, It will create internal vicious competition and lift up rocks to hit one's own feet."