Why does Wang Shi Concern Pujiang Cable? Source: China Business Date: February 29, 2012 09:57 Written by: Zhang Yijun
Wang Shi knows that the public transportation engineering in US is the hardest work with the strictest requirements, severe conditions and high-quality requirements for the construction of that are all paid by the federal government and are followed by the taxpayers since it was approved.
Story behind a micro-blog
When passing by San Francisco in September 2011, Wang Shi, who once was study there, looking at the construction site for the bridge at the port of Oakland, wrote down a micro-blog with full of emotion, “High employment troubles US. President Obama devotes all to promote capital construction and create employment opportunities. But unfortunately, many large infrastructure construction contracts were bid by Chinese companies. And the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is one of them. Major single pylon columns and steel parts of this self-anchorage suspension bridge with maximum span are all contracted by Chinese company which not only it saves 400 million of the engineering cost, but its manufacturing technology is also perfect. Technology plus quality and low cost are always the passport on the international.”
This micro-blog with only 138 words was soon transmitted for 2,803 times. It reveals a fact that makes the world manufacturing industry astonished: the fashionable trend of “Made in China” is no longer the low-cost and consumable tag of living goods but quickly become the industry symbol with innovative value.
Wang Shi knows that the public transportation engineering in US is the hardest work with the strictest requirements, severe conditions and high-quality requirements for the construction of that are all paid by the federal government and are followed by the taxpayers since it was approved. So it is uneasy to win the bidding. Tian Deyou, the economic counselor of Consulate-General of China in San Francisco, once commented on this construction that, “This is the first time of China to participate in the construction of US public works in the form of subcontract over the years, and to some extent, it is a milestone in history.”
“Pujiang Cable”, Winner of the Bidding
Do you know what cable is? Doc. Tang Liang, President of Shanghai Ossen Group, defined it in one word, “Cable is the beautiful arc on the long-span bridge. It can pull the bridge high up in the air in the daytime and float on the river at night.” The cables of Golden Gate Bridge completed in 1937 amazed people around the world at one time. In order to flaunt their advance cable manufacturing technique, American specially cut out a length of thick cable and placed it at the bridgehead as a scenery spot.
In the cold wind of December 2011, a new and beautiful sea-crossing arc appeared in the sky of San Francisco Bay. Through years’ selecting around the world, Caltrans and the general contractor ABF Company finally selected Shanghai Pujiang Cable Co., Ltd. of the Ossen Group as their supplier.
The new Bay Bridge locating at the Port of Oakland of USWC costs 7.2 billion dollars. It will be the landmark building of San Francisco after its completion and the single pylon self-anchorage suspension bridge with maximum span in the world. According to the experts in bridge, shock resistance of the new Bay Bridge is required to exceed 8 M which is deemed as the hardest construction and the most expensive bridge with the highest technical content and the longest expected service life.
It is reasonable to choose Pujiang Cable. Though Pujiang Cable is a private firm, it specialized in cable. In the 1990s, Pujiang Cable was established at the historic moment by the advocating of Zhu Rongji, the Mayor of Shanghai at that time, for the reason that Shanghai planned to build Nanpu Bridge. Then Pujiang Cable developed fast and so far, most of the cables of sea-crossing and river-crossing bridges in China are all made by it. In recent years, it wins a lot of bidding overseas and even undertakes the cable supply of Bandra-Worli Bridge in Mumbai, India, Machang Bridge in South Korea, Red River Pipeline Bridge in America and other dozens of bridges. Zhou Xufeng, General Manager of Pujiang Cable said proudly that, “Only four or five enterprises can compete with us. And the competent rival among them is only the Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal.” In the year before last, Pujiang Cable moved to Xitang Town, Jiashan, Zhejiang for further development. Comrade Xi Jinping came and inspected it and highly praised it of “Advanced Manufacturing”.
Advanced Manufacturing Industry must acquire the International Passport
Advanced manufacturing industry can best reflect the overall industrial levels of a country. Vigorous development of private enterprises is much more regarded as a bright scenery line of economic take-off of China. For the past few years, in spite of some economists defamed the Chinese manufacturing industry and there were some people indeed withdraw the investment of manufacturing and invest in other industries, according to the investigation and analysis report issued by China Federation of Industry in August of this year: manufacturing industry accounts for large proportion in top 500 private enterprises in China in 2010. It is more and more obvious that all advanced manufacturing industry with core technology, independent research and development ability and complete assembling capacity trend to develop toward heavy and large-scale industry and turn to international market.
Only getting the acceptance of the world, can advanced manufacturing of Chinese private enterprises rise. Since 1998, China Federation of Industry makes investigation to large-scale private firms for 13 continuous years. And when reviewing the research results of this year, Huang Mengfu, Chairman of China Federation if Industry, emphasized that private manufacturing industry need to “develop from low-end manufacturing toward the manufacturing with high technical content and high additional value”, and thus can be the major new force of implementing “going out” policy.
This process was witnessed by the steady development of Shanghai Ossen Group. Doc. Tang Liang said, and he would insist on engaging in manufacturing industry with all his heart and soul and if he didn’t, he would never make a success. Ossen Group started its business by making prestressing steel (4345,-20.00,-0.46%) and now it has formed a industry chain of the design, production and installation of cable. Pujiang Cable is now the biggest manufacturer of construction and cable for bridge with top professional accreditation and over 70 technical patents.
Tang Liang said in an interview that it was very difficult developing private manufacturing industry and the business of majority of them are despised by stated-owned enterprises. But they must do what others cannot do and so that they can have a say and the initiative to keep a foothold in the world. Otherwise, the private manufacturing enterprise would always be enslaved to the market and even be eliminated in the market fluctuations.
Shoot to Fame at the Place of Humiliation
The sample meaning of the persistent bidding of Pujiang Cable indicates that the Chinese manufacturing industry must possess both hard power and soft power if it wants to have a say and the initiative.
Locating at the earthquake zone, the new Bay Bridge requires highly to the technology of cable. Because of lacking of manufacturer, the owner has to disobey the protective policies that were established for US economic blossom and employment improvement and calls for bids around the world. But the US party is very sharp-sighted for they know that the one who wins the bidding to construct the new Bay Bridge would shoot to fame and so, they are extremely strict in technical indicators. The design plan provided by Pujiang Cable satisfies them with anti-seismic vale of innovative technology for the structure of main cable strands is totally unprecedented. It is a cable strand which can become a quadrangle structure at the bend but a hexagon structure at other places. The error in length of cable strand is less than one in fifteen thousand and there must be a disparity with a length of 180 mm between the inner and outer ring at the bend. This kind of pre-bent and preformed cable strand is pioneering in the world and is first used in the world manufacturing industry.
Though Pujiang Cable has high and creative technology, they may not handle the situation. In today’s globalized world, manufacturing industry must be also proficient in the routine of international business and good at long-term, tough and complicated international negotiations and so as to be socially active. Taking the negotiation between Pujiang Cable and US as the example, it took nearly 7 years from 1999 to 2006 to conclude the negotiation. The Chief Engineer Luo Guoqiang told reporter that, “Before the normal production, the US party asked for a pre-production testing. And 23 experts were invited to monitor this testing. Until to January and July of 2010, have the cable been transported to US in bathes and now they are being installed on the bridge.” It's a very hard ten-year work! Pujiang Cable finally is highly praised by the US supervising engineer that, “Cable strands made by Pujiang Cable are the best.”
Tang Liang deems that once “Pujiang Cable” wins the “passport” of San Francisco-Oakland New Bay Bridge, brand effect of the company will be amplified, which will make it much easier for the company to enter the whole U.S. market and even the European market. And that will be the new breakthrough of “Made-in-China”.