Baoji Titanium Enterprises Boost the High-Speed Development of the Industry with Strong Forging Strength

The Long History of the Development of Baoji's Titanium Industrial Chain

The titanium and new materials industrial cluster in Baoji City is one of the pillar industries that Shaanxi Province focuses on developing. It ranks first among the three 100-billion-yuan industrial clusters that Baoji City gives priority to developing and has been included in the national strategic emerging industry cluster development project.

After more than 50 years of operation and development, Baoji non-ferrous metal enterprises have obvious technological advantages in the production of melting, forging, plates, strips, tubes, rods, wires, forgings, castings, composite materials, and deep-processed products, forming a dominant industrial cluster with titanium as the leading element. With Baoti Group as the leading enterprise, more than 500 private enterprises are advancing side by side, and the clustering effect is prominent. In 2021, Baoji titanium enterprises produced and sold more than 60,000 tons of titanium products, and the output value of the titanium industry reached 56 billion yuan. Baoti Group has become a "leading" enterprise in the international and domestic titanium industry. It has strong strength in the research, development, production, and processing equipment, advanced process technology, complete inspection means, and high brand awareness in the market. It provides more than 100 titanium and rare metal grades, as well as thousands of titanium and rare metal materials and component products for the fields of national defense, military industry, aerospace, chemical industry, and ocean.

The vigorous development of titanium and new materials enterprises in Baoji City has made Baoji an excellent ecological place for the development of titanium and rare metal enterprises with the highest concentration of titanium enterprises in China and even in the world and the most complete supporting development of the industrial chain. "Baoji · China Titanium Valley" is renowned worldwide, and four sessions of the "Baoji · China Titanium Valley International Titanium Industry Development Summit Forum and Titanium Product Exhibition" have been held in Baoji City.

In 2021, the titanium and new materials industry was included in the key industrial chain development and improvement work catalogue by the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee and the provincial government. The Baoji Municipal Party Committee and the municipal government formulated the "Action Plan for the High-Quality Development of the Titanium and Titanium Alloy Industrial Chain" and established a special working group for the titanium industrial chain. The office of the special working group for the titanium and titanium alloy industrial chain went deep into enterprises to conduct investigations on key titanium-related enterprises. Starting from understanding the actual situation and strengthening services, it gradually understood the basic information of the production and operation enterprises of more than a dozen main titanium products such as plates, strips, rods, and tubes in the industrial chain, as well as the quantity and enterprise distribution of key equipment in the industrial chain. Baoji titanium enterprises give full play to the strong strength of forging and processing within the local titanium industrial cluster, provide forging and processing services for various fields at home and abroad, play an active role in the research, development, and production of titanium and titanium alloy forging products, and promote the high-quality and rapid development of the titanium industry in "Baoji · China Titanium Valley".

A Large Number of Forging Equipment in the Titanium Industrial Chain

Currently, titanium enterprises in Baoji City own 20 large forging machines with a capacity of more than 1,000 tons. Besides the 10,000-ton, 2,500-ton, and 3,150-ton forging machines of Baoti Group, the SXP-13 radial forging machine, and the 4,500-ton fast forging machine and 3 radial forging machines owned by Baoti Precision Forging Company after its joint venture with Tuopuda and Ruibang Titanium Industry, there are 13 private enterprises in the industrial cluster that have invested in purchasing 20 fast forging machines with a capacity ranging from 800 tons to 8,000 tons. The daily forging throughput of fast forging machines with a capacity of more than 1,000 tons is about 10 to 50 tons. Therefore, the total forging capacity of titanium and titanium alloys in the region has reached more than 200,000 tons, far exceeding the market demand for titanium and titanium alloy ingots and rods in recent years. It is understood that 10 new large forging machines for titanium ingots (with a capacity ranging from 1,600 tons to 10,000 tons) will be put into use. In the next 1 to 3 years, these forging equipment will all form production capacity. In the past two years, some titanium-related enterprises in Xi'an and Xianyang have also newly installed 2,500-ton and 10,000-ton fast forging machines. Coupled with more than 10 small forging machines such as 750 kg to 1,000 kg air hammers and 3 to 5 tons in Baoji City originally, these forging equipment are all the processing capacity for titanium and titanium alloy rods. In the next few years, if the demand for titanium materials does not increase significantly, the insufficient operation of existing fast forging machines in Baoji will become a real problem.