NHI Headlines
The Cornerstone of New China's Heavy Machinery Industry – Where Does the Innovative Gene of Northern Heavy Industries Come From?
In the China (Shenyang) Industry Museum located in Tiexi District, Shenyang, a rusted steel plate is engraved with the words: "The first batch of molten steel of New China, October 31, 1949, Shenyang Heavy Machinery Factory" – this marks the starting point of a piece of history and a declaration of an era.
Stepping into the China Industry Museum, a group sculpture of Volunteer Army officers and soldiers digging trenches comes into view. The pickaxes in their hands were precisely produced by the Shenyang Heavy Machinery Factory. In that arduous era, the older generation of military-industry workers set a record of "producing 100,000 pickaxes in 19 days"
On November 2, 1948, Shenyang was liberated. At that time, the predecessor of Northern Heavy Industries – Shenyang Heavy Machinery Factory (hereinafter referred to as "Shenzhong") – was "littered with horse manure and in a mess". Amidst the snow-covered ruins, workers responded actively to the call of "getting the factory back in operation (lit. making the factory emit smoke)", and repaired the open-hearth steelmaking furnace in just 8 months.
Industrial Rebirth:
The First Batch of Molten Steel and 100,000 Pickaxes
On October 31, 1949, shortly after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the No. 2 open-hearth furnace in Shenzhong's steelmaking workshop produced the first batch of molten steel of New China. The splashing steel sparks illuminated the joyful faces of the workers in front of the furnace; they cheered and spread the good news. This batch of molten steel symbolized the rebirth of New China's industry and announced the arrival of an era when New China would independently develop its heavy industry.
After the outbreak of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, the Volunteer Army extensively carried out "tunnel warfare" on the front line. It was deep winter then, with thick snow covering the hard rocks and soil. The Volunteer Army officers and soldiers were in urgent need of a large number of pickaxes to build tunnels. Shenzhong resolutely undertook the arduous task of manufacturing 100,000 pickaxes. The factory mobilized workers to collect scrap steel for centralized steelmaking, and ordinary people also donated scrap steel from their homes to support the factory. Qi Baoren, deputy director of the steelmaking workshop, led the workers to develop a new "stacked-core serial casting" process: by placing multiple layers of sand molds in one sand box, several small cast steel blocks could be cast at one time, just like "sugar-coated haws on a stick". Workers fought day and night on the production line and completed this seemingly impossible task in only 19 days, delivering 100,000 pickaxes to the front-line troops as scheduled. These pickaxes provided an important tool for the Volunteer Army to build tunnel fortifications with a total length of thousands of kilometers.
Independent Innovation
The Birth of New China's First Heavy Machinery
In 1952, Shenzhong decided to independently manufacture domestic heavy machinery. Based on the remaining drawings and materials, technician Wang Zheng'an put forward the idea of trial-producing a 5-ton steam hammer and took charge of the product design. On December 16, the steam hammer – 9.5 meters high, 150 tons heavy, and with a nominal pressure of 5 tons – was successfully trial-produced. This steam hammer was the first heavy machine independently manufactured by New China, creating history and becoming a landmark of epoch-making significance.
The successful trial production of the 5-ton steam hammer solved the problem that the country could not forge large components and made a significant contribution to large-scale economic construction.
At that time, the front page of Shenyang Daily published a letter of victory report from Shenzhong employees to Chairman Mao.
In the following years, Shenzhong continued to innovate:In 1953, it successfully designed and manufactured China's first domestic standard spring cone crusher and 20MN hydraulic press; it also successfully trial-produced China's first domestic wet grid ball mill according to foreign drawings.In 1955, it forged a 1,200kW impeller for Shanghai Turbine Factory.In 1956, it produced pier supports for the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge using the "loose tooling forging method"; it manufactured China's first domestic 20MN multi-layer hydraulic press for Shenyang Transformer Factory; and it forged 6-8 crank large marine crankshafts for Dalian Shipyard.....
Breaking the Blockade:
From Tyre-Rim Rolling Mills to 10,000-Ton Extruders
Shenzhong took on a critical mission and designed and manufactured China's first set of domestic railway wheel and tyre-rim rolling mills and supporting equipment for the Wheel and Tyre-Rim Factory of Maanshan Iron and Steel Company in 1962. This set of equipment solved the dilemma faced by China's railway industry and won the Excellent Project Award at the National Science and Technology Conference in 1978.
At the same time, the Party Central Committee decided to independently develop the national defense industry and independently research and manufacture nine sets of large-scale complete sets of equipment. Among them, the 12,500-ton horizontal extruder – a large-scale piece of equipment used in the aviation industry for forging and extruding wing spars, wall panels, profiles, and nose cones of aircraft and missiles – was assigned to Shenzhong. At that time, only the United States and the Soviet Union had 12,500-ton horizontal extruders; China lacked both talents with design experience and any reference materials for reference. Wang Zheng'an, then 36 years old, served as the chief designer and worked out a complete design plan in just 10 days, which was approved in one go. This equipment made China the third country in the world to possess a 10,000-ton hydraulic press.
The equipment manufactured by Shenzhong is more than just machines – they are declarations that have witnessed the solid steps of China's independent development and made outstanding contributions to China becoming the world's largest steel producer and manufacturing power.