Set up a mass production base for high-performance aviation parts
On June 2, China Hengrui Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as HRC), the world’s leading provider of integrated solutions for lightweight composite materials, settled in the high-tech industrial development zone of Changshu City, Jiangsu Province. Opened the “aircraft era” of HRC.
Aerospace is the largest market for existing applications of carbon fiber. In 2019, the global aviation composite market output value is close to 100 billion yuan and maintains an annual growth rate of 12%. In contrast, the domestic aviation carbon fiber composite material market is still small. In the global composite materials market, the output of aviation applications accounted for 23%, and the output value accounted for as high as 63%. In China, the output and output value of the aviation field accounted for only 3.7% and 23%, respectively. Therefore, it can be seen that carbon fiber composite materials are in China. There is still huge room for growth in applications in the aerospace field. It is estimated that in the next 10 years, China’s carbon fiber composite material market will be in a stage of rapid growth, gradually becoming the third pole outside of the United States and Europe, and the market size is expected to reach more than 50 billion yuan. It can be said that the development and upgrading of the carbon fiber composite material industry will also be a microcosm of China’s transformation from a manufacturing power to a manufacturing power.
According to calculations, each kilogram of aircraft can reduce operating costs by more than 130,000 yuan, while the increased material cost is only 15% of its benefits, and the rate of return is more than 7 times. Therefore, aircraft manufacturers and airlines are rushing to composite materials. . The amount of carbon fiber composite materials on the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 XWB exceeds 50% of the fuselage structure. This benchmark case has a huge leading role for aviation manufacturers around the world. The application ratio of carbon fiber composite materials on the domestic C919 mid-size passenger aircraft is about 12%, and it will reach 51% on the C929 model, which undoubtedly best verifies this trend. The molding of composite materials is the most value-added link in the aviation manufacturing industry chain. Under the current circumstances, it is also a relatively weak link. The challenges are mainly focused on the improvement of composite material production processes and the reduction of costs. As a new force that has attracted much attention and is focused on high-performance carbon fiber composite parts forming research and development and mass production of expert-based enterprises, after five years of rapid development, HRC has formed a deep layout in the automotive field, becoming Volvo, Geely, FAW and many other well-known domestic and foreign automobile OEMs have designated carbon fiber parts suppliers. At the same time, they are also involved in and emerging in aerospace, rail transit and other fields. In the middle of 2018, HRC has already started the development and production of aerospace parts projects; in 2019, HRC established aerospace as a separate business department, recruiting and training a highly specialized international team in more than two years of practice. The technical team of aviation experts provides a wealth of talent and experience for the preparation of the new aerospace parts production base. At the same time, with the help of the group company’s strong international cooperation network and resources, as well as the scarce domestic and foreign capability of providing comprehensive solutions from engineering design to mass production, the aerospace parts mass production base will be able to take the lead with a mature attitude at the beginning of its establishment. The standard and efficient operation are quickly put into formal operation.
The first phase of the project has a registered capital of US$33.8 million and a total investment of US$100 million. It will be equipped with autoclave, OOA and thermoplastic molding technology in a modern industrial plant of 20,000 square meters, as well as office, inspection, assembly and packaging. And other supporting functional areas. With domestic and foreign mainstream aviation main engine manufacturers and rail transit companies as the core service industries, we will also vigorously develop blue ocean fields that also contain huge opportunities such as shipbuilding, marine engineering, and industrial energy, and strive to make a big difference in the broader potential market.