■ Our reporter Lv Zhao Feng Wen / Figure

(hereinafter referred to as Wuhan Panzhou), they are planning to build the third production base in Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone, using the extrusion process to develop, produce and sell high-strength wear-resistant copper alloy materials.

The extrusion process is one of the internationally advanced machining processes, which can avoid defects such as porosity and slagging produced by casting, and will greatly improve production efficiency while improving processing quality. Mr. Wang Lei, Chairman of Wuhan Pancontinental, told the reporter: "Pancontinental has always insisted on practicing good internal skills for development, especially to ensure technical advantages, relying on this extrusion line, it will be more advanced than its domestic competitors in copper alloy materials, and will also be among the international advanced enterprises in the same industry."

Wuhan Panzhou has attached great importance to technology for a long time, and the development and application of synchronizer gear ring in the national "Sixth Five-Year Plan" science and technology project in the 1980s was undertaken by them. Wang Lei is proud to say, "Our advantage is that we have to have our own intellectual property rights for every project we do."

Wuhan Panzhou's products involve automotive transmission synchronizer gear rings, high-strength wear-resistant copper alloy materials, precision stamping parts and so on. Among them, the automotive synchronizer gear ring is the current domestic R&D and production base, which has accounted for 40% of the domestic market, supporting the transmissions of FAW Group, FAW-VW, Chongqing Qingshan, Dongan Mitsubishi, Chongqing Changan, Aisin (Tangshan) and other manufacturers. Wuhan Panzhou's high-quality synchronizer rings not only occupy nearly half of the domestic market, but also are exported to Europe, Japan, the United States and other countries and regions, entering the supporting system of Nissan and other manufacturers.

In terms of copper alloy material, Wuhan Panzhou mainly focuses on high-strength wear-resistant copper alloy and copper sleeve for automobile synchronizer gear ring. The casting section of the company has an annual capacity of 3,000 tons of copper alloy blanks, and the machining section has a fully automatic processing line imported from Japan, with an annual capacity of 15 million pieces of products. In order to improve the quality of products, Wuhan Panzhou has continuously improved the material processing method, from the initial centrifugal casting to the current continuous casting, which can produce 24 hours without interruption, and the efficiency is greatly improved. The extrusion line mentioned at the beginning of the article was built by Wuhan Panzhou to promote the technological progress of material processing, and is expected to be completed in May next year. At present, Wuhan Panzhou is also developing new products in copper alloy materials such as tin bronze bushings, damping rings, copper inserts and metal collector tubes.

Wuhan Panzhou started to develop precision stamped parts for medium-thick plates in 1995 and industrialized them in 2000. They are most proud of the fact that they currently have the 880-ton precision stamping machine with the highest pressure tonnage in the same industry in China. At present, Wuhan Panzhou uses precision stamping and forming and laser welding processes to produce automotive shift mechanism assembly products. Compared with traditional forging and casting, this process can improve processing accuracy, ensure product quality, avoid energy loss from thermal processing, and pollute much less than casting. In foreign countries, this process is called "clean manufacturing".

The unstinting investment in production methods and product technology is the embodiment of Wuhan Panzhou's great practice of internal strength.

After practicing internal strength and having a certain foundation, Wuhan Panzhou's goal became more ambitious. They take the road of introduction, digestion, absorption and innovation. At present, in the synchronizer gear ring, Wuhan Panzhou has established Wuhan Concord Gear Ring Co., Ltd. as a joint venture with Japan Concord Alloy Co.

Wuhan Panzhou's joint venture is not simply exchanging market for technology. They have three principles: First, through the joint venture, the introduction of international advanced R & D design, production and management methods to further enhance the product technology level of the enterprise; second, through the introduction of foreign investment to form a bond to enhance the cohesion of the enterprise, to train and reserve a variety of composite talents for the enterprise, to establish their own technical research and development team; third, through cooperation with advanced foreign enterprises, with the help of external forces to enter the broad international automotive supporting market Third, through cooperation with advanced foreign enterprises, we can enter the broad international automobile market with the help of external force. At present, Wuhan Panzhou's gear ring products have entered the OEM market in Japan. In the near future, their fine blanking products will also enter the European OEM market. These are precisely thanks to Wuhan Panzhou's practice of internal strength and then cooperation with international advanced enterprises.