Yuanxiang New Materials: "Development" of leading silica enterprises

"I was "fudged" into the silica industry. At first, I felt like I was taken into a virgin forest. There are tigers and lions in the forest. You can survive only if you have the courage to fight and persevere." Fujian Yuanxiang New Materials Co., Ltd., listening to Chairman Wang Chenghui's humorous description of his entrepreneurial experience, I know that this is a company and entrepreneur with a story.

No matter how hard it is, you have to persevere

In 2006, the silica industry first appeared, and friends persuaded Wang Chenghui, who was in the electronic equipment business, to join the ranks of entrepreneurship. Attracted by the "attractive" prospect, Wang Chenghui and 3 friends registered Fujian Yuanxiang New Material Co., Ltd. with 37 million yuan.

Traditional silica (commonly known as silica) is mainly used to make the soles of sports shoes, replacing black with white to make the soles more beautiful. Due to the high technical requirements of the silicone rubber industry, few people are willing to take risks in this industry. After a few months of understanding, Wang Chenghui believed that "we must make high-value and high-quality products", so he set his sights on mid-to-high-end silica.

"In the early days of the factory, the equipment produced was mainly assembled with the technical experience of other industries, and the equipment was modified when problems were found." In this way, Yuanxiang New Materials moved forward with difficulty.

In 2008, Yuanxiang New Materials started trial production, and the products were officially launched to the market in March. "The silica industry in Guangdong has developed well and the demand is relatively large, so at the beginning our products were mainly sold to Shenzhen, Guangdong." For the first step of development, Wang Chenghui led two salesmen and a driver to promote it in person.

"At that time, our factory had a daily production capacity of 30 tons. If we didn't open the market, inventory would be a big problem. We ran up to six companies a day, and at night everyone was too tired to straighten their waists." Persevering, finally a company in Shenzhen decided to try their products, and Yuanxiang New Materials began to slowly open up the market.

In March 2008, Yuanxiang New Materials sold 10 tons of output, sold 70 tons in April, and exceeded 150 tons in May. The company's business is becoming more and more clear, but the mid-to-high-end silica is still too advanced in the market at that time, and the demand is not active. In 2011, even though the company was making a profit at the time, several other founding shareholders chose to withdraw their shares together, and only Wang Chenghui was left to insist.

Only with core technology can there be hope, and Wang Chenghui has always hoped to improve the process. After many consultations, Yuanxiang New Materials finally introduced the invention patent technology of "method of preparing high-purity nano-silica from oil shale ash" from Jilin University to optimize the preparation process of precipitated silica, breaking the traditional use of intermittent The process of precipitating silica, adjusting the reaction parameters, using effective additives, and using advanced technologies such as supercritical drying to prepare nano-silica. It can be used in the production of micron-sized silica aerogel, as a matting agent to add high-grade coatings, as an ink adsorbent for color inkjet paper (digital photo paper), to replace or partially replace the products of international monopoly enterprises, and reduce the cost of additives in domestic enterprises. , enhance market competitiveness.

"This technology is unique in the same industry and is at the leading level." Wang Chenghui confidently introduced to us, "The original particle size of the silica products we produce can reach nano-scale, which is not easy to agglomerate, and the products have a high ratio. With excellent properties such as surface area, high pore volume, and high anti-yellowing, it has broad application prospects in the fields of silicone rubber and thermal insulation."

He pointed to a variety of daily common products such as thermal insulation pads and sealing rings, and said: "Our products can not only replace the same expensive imported products, but also partially replace the same expensive fumed silica, which has huge economic and social benefit."

The actual total investment of Yuanxiang New Material's "annual output of 3,000 tons of nano-silica production project" is 12.36 million yuan, of which the company raised 11.46 million yuan by itself. The "6.18" platform gave 900,000 yuan in support funds. "At that time, the new plant was 2,000 square meters, and a lot of money was spent on the purchase of neutralization tanks, filter presses, drying systems, jet mills and other equipment. Thanks to the support of the '6·18' platform, we could better carry out the project. "Wang Chenghui said, "We often go to the '6.18' exhibition to learn from the excellent experience of others, and also inspect the excellent projects suitable for Yuanxiang New Materials."

The chairman of Yuanxiang New Materials and the professor of the Fujian Institute of the Structure of Matter of the Chinese Academy of Sciences took a group photo at the 2013 "6·18" exhibition. Photo courtesy of the enterprise

Only by keeping improving can we go further. Yuanxiang New Materials, which insists on taking quality as the core goal of enterprise management, always puts the quality of its products in the first place. Wang Chenghui said: "Keep improving and create excellence. Only by using innovative thinking to lead the development of enterprises and continuously improve the quality of products can enterprises be in an invincible position." With the steady growth of sales, Yuanxiang New Materials, Increase scientific research investment in product research and development year by year to ensure that products are updated in time, leading the country and keeping up with the world's leading level.

Wang Chenghui said that nano-silica is one of the extremely important high-tech ultra-fine inorganic new materials. At present, only a small number of domestic enterprises can achieve large-scale production. , to improve the level of my country's silica industry and break the monopoly of foreign products. At present, Yuanxiang New Materials occupies about 30% of the market share in the application field of high temperature vulcanized silicone rubber, and its output, quality and sales are all at the forefront of the country. Along the way, Wang Chenghui led Yuanxiang New Materials to innovate and develop step by step with his persistence and forward-looking grasp of the industry. "People's thoughts are very important, and people can go as far as they think." Wang Chenghui said with a smile that he is ready to welcome the arrival of the era of new energy and new materials. (Su Ting and Wang Juan)