Aluminum-titanium-boron grain refiner-a mouthful to say, yet an indispensable 'industrial vitamin' in aluminum processing. Used in small amounts but with great effect, adding it refines the grains of aluminum, boosting its strength and toughness.
At the production workshop of Anhui Dongbo Shengye New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. in the Suixi Economic Development Zone, Anhui Province, batches of the latest-generation aluminum-titanium-boron grain refiner are being dried, mixed, reacted, cast-rolled, and packaged in an orderly manner. These products will soon be shipped to nearly 40 countries and regions around the world.
The aluminum industry is like a grand banquet; additives are the oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar-unremarkable to look at, but without them the flavor is all wrong, likened Chen You, the company's production manager.
Production workshop of Anhui Dongbo Shengye New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. Photo by Lyu Huanhuan, People's Daily Online.
The core technology this company holds is called nanoscale regulation. With this approach, Dongbo Shengye broke the long-standing foreign technological monopoly and precisely 'tuned' the microstructure of aluminum to an ideal state. Globally, no more than three companies can achieve this level.
What moved me most about Suixi is the drive to get things done here, and the sincere, thoughtful service of governments at all levels-making one feel this is a place not only to invest but also to settle down, said Chen You earnestly when speaking of his original choice.
The story of Dongbo Shengye is a vivid footnote to the transformation of Suixi's aluminum industry in recent years.
However, the good times did not last. With backward technology, low-end products, and low added value, the old aluminum plant was gradually left behind by the market.
In 2003, this old plant, which had operated for more than 30 years, was shut down completely. In the following years, although some small aluminum-related businesses remained scattered around Suixi, they were essentially workshops-rolling aluminum plates and making construction aluminum-earning only about a hundred yuan per ton, lingering at the very bottom of the industry chain.
