Yong Yang Steel Group: First Self-Developed Universal Rolling Mill in China

On May 12, a delegation from Russia's Evraz Group, one of the largest steel production and mining companies in Russia, visited the light rail and heavy rail workshops of Hebei Yongyang Steel Group Co. As the first steel company in China to use a domestic universal rolling mill, the foreign team was impressed by the company's first-class production technology, advanced corporate philosophy and modern management level.

The Russian Yevlaz Group team visited Hebei Yongyang Steel Group Co Ltd, accompanied by Chairman Du Qingshen (first row right) and General Manager Du Xiaofang (first row centre). 

A delegation from Russia's Yevlaz Group visited Hebei Yongyang Steel Group Co Ltd, accompanied by Chairman Du Qingshen (centre) and General Manager Du Xiaofang (right). 

Founded in 1993, Yongyang Steel Group is one of the top 500 private manufacturing enterprises in China and a national green factory. The company has been committed to building the largest, most diversified and complete production base for light and heavy rails and special mining profiles in China, of which, light rails account for more than 70% of the national market and heavy rails for industrial use account for 60% of the national market, and the products are sold to all parts of China and Southeast Asia. The company actively responds to the national call to carry out restructuring and relocation, and in 2017 became the first private enterprise in Hebei Province to complete the relocation from the city. The company adheres to the concept of high-quality development, focusing on "green production and intelligent manufacturing", and continues to increase investment in science and technology to improve the level of technology and equipment and product quality, and has put into operation the first domestic universal rolling mill light rail production line, the first core equipment national production universal rolling mill (hereinafter referred to as: CMCSD), the first domestic universal rolling mill light rail production line and the first core equipment national production universal rolling mill heavy rail production line, broke the foreign technological monopoly on similar core process and equipment, and the product quality reached the domestic leading level.

Aerial view of Hebei Yong Yang Steel Group

As a complete set of supply partner of the rolling mill area equipment for the light rail and heavy rail line project of Yong Yang Steel Group, CMSD has international first-class metallurgical equipment and metallurgical spare parts production technology. Niu Qiang, deputy general manager of CMCSD and chairman of the board of CMCSD, said that the strong alliance between CMCSD and Yongyang Steel Group has successfully cracked the problem of "necking" of foreign key technology and equipment in the field of rail steel and completely broken the monopoly of foreigners on the technology. It has greatly enhanced China's high-end equipment manufacturing level and production capacity in this field, and has strongly promoted China's rail steel production process and equipment technology to the world's leading level.

Light rail workshop of Hebei Yong Yang Steel Group 

The universal rolling mill designed by CMSD filled a gap in China, and Yong Yang Special Steel, which put the universal rolling mill into practical application, also took a huge risk of the project's success or failure at that time. As an enterprise with both a high sense of social responsibility and deep national sentiment, Chairman Du Qing Shen said that the decision was also made in consideration of the fact that if the universal rolling mill equipment was localised, it would be an honour for Made in China and a victory for the national brand, and the whole industry would benefit. Yongyang Steel Group always insists on high standards in product quality, and orbital steel is the core product of the company, we must make it a benchmark. Since the universal rolling mill has been put into production, it has been running stably and the performance and data have exceeded the imported rolling mill. It has not only improved the company's production efficiency and intelligence level, but also made a new breakthrough in the quality of the company's products, with better mechanical performance, higher precision and stability, meeting the market demand for high quality rails, and taking the company's high quality development to a new level.

Heavy rail workshop of Hebei Yong Yang Steel Group