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发表于 2012-7-9 11:29:52
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对当前中国热处理行业的几点看法
浪翻云 发表于 2012-6-24 22:10 
左总的眼光很准，我在浙江工作的时候，打算借点钱买下一家小型的以离子氮化和台车炉为营业的工厂，试探一 ...
Heat Treating China.
中国热处理行业再次引起国际同行的关注，国际知名热处理专业媒体www.themonty.com 刊登上海热处理厂有限公司董事长@上热左孝顺 的专访，分析当前及未来中国热处理行业的发展趋势及问题
We have all heard about the phenomenal growth in China over the past few years and we are really pleased to be able to offer you an interview with a fellow that entered the commercial heat treating market in that country in 2005 and has since grown his company Shanghai Heat Treatment into a 8 plant location with extremely ambitious plans for the future. Having been to China several times and having met the owner of Shanghai Heat Treatment on my most recent visit I have to say that Kent Zhou is a very intelligent and ambitious fellow who is going to grow the company into a very substantial heat treat in the years to come.
1) Kent you and I have met a couple of times over the years but I am sure our readers would be very interested in knowing how you got started in the heat treating business?
As a Chinese born in the 1970’s, along with a period of about 20 years of rapid developments of China, I’d been driven by the idea of starting my own business. After graduating from Fudan University Graduate School in 2000, I was looking for opportunities, until I met Shanghai Heat Treatment(SHT) at the end of 2005, then bought it out in August 2006. Before buying SHT, I looked into how BODYCOTE bought and merged companies throughout the world, therefore I set up a vision that SHT is going to become a first-class commercial heat treatment company worldwide.
2) So what can you tell us about your company Shanghai Heat Treatment? I know that you now have several locations in China and have been growing at a very fast pace but I for one would be interested in knowing more about the plants, what capabilities they have and what type of products you typically run.
SHT has 8 plants in China now and we have a plans to add 2 or 3 new plants to our list every year for the next 5 years.
3) I have been told by various commercial heat treaters in China that the average commercial shop is doubling in size every two years. Would you agree that this is true or is this overly optimistic?
Doubling in size every 2 years is not representative. In some regions of China, such as the Yangtze River Delta, with the rapid development of a few high-level heat treatment companies, this might be the case but it is not typical.
4) During my last visit to China I was tempted to start my own commercial heat treat shop because of the amazing growth in the industry. However I was told that the rules can be quite different for foreign companies in China as opposed to local companies. Do you think this is true?
Foreign companies may not be able to adapt to business conditions as Chinese companies do, unless they already have an excellent Chinese team. You can refer to the mode of BODYCOTE in Wuxi, which may help you. I don’t suggest any foreign company be run by foreign management without a local team at the ready. Otherwise it may take you a long and arduous period to adjust. You can consider working with a Chinese company, such as SHT to exploit advantages respectively.
5) The big question mark around the world is whether the Chinese economy is slowing down these days. You personally have seen tremendous growth over the past few years-do your expect this to continue?
I agree with you that Chinese economy is slowing down these days. The mode of high economic growth driven by investments has reached its end. The policies of expanding domestic demand only focus on investment demand, rather than consumption demand. Those inefficient projects make it worse because of surplus production.
6) For commercial heat treaters what are the most common processes offered? My guess would be far more atmosphere than vacuum but you obviously have seen a great deal more of the market in China than I have
Your guess about atmosphere and vacuum is right. Though there’s a huge market forbasic heat treatment in China, the entry level is low and the competition is very strong . We (SHT) have moved to other areas, like induction, atmosphere or vacuum.
7) Do you have any guesses as to how many commercial heat treaters there are in China or what the size of the commercial heat treating market is?
According to official statistics, there’re 3500 heat treatment companies in China, but most of them have only one plant, about 5 companies have more than 5 plants. My personal estimate of the market value of commercial heat treatment in China is around 15 to 20 billion RMB.
8) Some of the captive heat treaters I have seen in China are extremely impressive and compare to any in the world. Do you see that most manufacturers in China first think of heat treating in house and then as an afterthought think of commercials or are more manufacturers now considering commercial shops
There are very few large-scale commercial heat treaters with high technology and top-notch equipments, thus manufacturers are apt to heat treat in house , however this is shifting towards the way it is in Europe and America -commercial heat treating. Chinese official stats show that less than 10% of the heat treatment market nationwide is taken up by commercial heat treaters.
9) The perception has always been (and I am not saying that this is necessarily true anymore) is that Chinese builders of new heat treating furnaces do not have the experience building furnaces that Western companies do. Having been to your Shanghai plant I have seen that you have furnaces from a number of different areas. Do you feel that if you want the best furnace available you have to buy it from a Western company or do you see the local builders as having just as good quality probably at a lower price?
Most technologies and designs from Chinese equipment builders originates in the West, maybe they lack in follow-up and updated technology developments, but the price difference is enormous! Like the Bodycote Wuxi plant, where you’ve been to, most equipment there is purchased in China. At the moment, the imported equipment mostly are used in the in house heat treaters, seldom are they seen in a commercial heat treater plant.
10) So what are the latest trends in the heat treating industry in China? Are you seeing growth in any particular areas such as vacuum or Nitriding?
I believe it’s very competitive if we engage in aerospace or defence area, because Chinese large aircraft will have a bright future. You mentioned vacuum or nitriding, I think it has to be in Yangtze River Delta(East China), Pearl River Delta(South China) or areas surrounding Bo Sea(North China), where there’re dense foreign-funded enterprises, furthermore supported by the development of aerospace and defence industry.
11) Every geographic area in the world has it's own particular challenges. As a Canadian I would probably have to say that ours are high wages and a great deal of government red tape. I am sure you have your own challenges-do any come to mind such as long deliveries or a difficulty finding good people?
Besides what you’ve mentioned, there are other difficulties:
1, rising environmental costs;
2, rapid labor cost growth, the gap between China and Europe/America is narrowing;
3, the problem of low end over-capacity of production is severe, the competition is fierce .
12) I know that you have travelled quite extensively visiting different heat treats. Is there anything that jumps out at you as quite a bit different as opposed to how things are done in China?
13) So what does the future hold for Shanghai Heat Treatment)
I’ll answer question 12 and 13 together here.I’d like to summarize my opinion in four aspects:
1, the adv anced, high-end heat treatment equipments (intellectualized, database, remote monitor etc.)
2, quality control system ( iso, ts, etc.)
3, capability to develop whole-process technology
4, chain operation ( standardized, rational layout, human resource training, database construction)
I believe if we would strengthen in these four aspects, we’ll have a very promising future.
14) On a more personal note I believe I have invited you to go snowmobiling in Canada during the winter-are you going to make it this winter? It is truly a Canadian experience.
Thank you for your warm invitation, at the moment I’m not sure if I’ll feel like snowmobiling, but I would appreciate a tour of some heat treatment companies in the North America, or any opportunities to work with top-ranking commercial heat treaters.
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